RRCCU practices rotational grazing and low-stress
animal handling.
To raise all natural grass-fed and organic Beef , the success is the
careful management of the ranch’s natural grassland resources. Our
pasture, which was recently certified organic, is at its peak in the
early spring where the cattle live a low-stress life. It’s our
goal to manage for healthy soil conditions and to maximize water
saturation on our land. It is also our responsibility to
continually educate ourselves about managing the land with economic
sustainability of natural resources and open space.
Profitable, sustainable agriculture preservation practices will
maintain open space. If you take the profitability out of
agriculture the land will be subdivided. As stewards of the
land , we monitor the condition of the pastures, optimize grazing
patterns and increase wildlife, including bears, mountain lions,
deer, elk, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, squirrels, raccoons, turkeys,
quail, doves, hawks and eagles.
We are dedicated to preserving and improving the natural beauty of
the ranch ecosystem. We work with land management practices to
protect and enhance the environmental and economic quality of the
land.
We will custom raise our Beef for you.
Health
Benefits of Grass-Fed Products
Meat, eggs, and dairy products from pastured animals are ideal for
your health. Compared with commercial products, they offer you more
"good" fats, and fewer "bad" fats. They are also richer in
antioxidants. Just as important, the grass-fed products listed on
eatwild.com are free of added
hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs and chemicals.
Lower in Fat and Calories. There are a number of nutritional
differences between the meat of pasture-raised and feedlot-raised
animals. To begin with, meat from grass-fed cattle, sheep, and bison
is lower in total fat. If the meat is very lean, it can have one
third as much fat as a similar cut from a grain-fed animal. In fact,
as you can see by the graph below, grass-fed beef can have the same
amount of fat as skinless chicken breast, wild deer, or elk.[1]
Research shows that lean beef actually lowers your "bad" LDL
cholesterol levels.[2]
Because meat from grass-fed animals is lower in fat than meat from
grain-fed animals, it is also lower in calories. (Fat has 9 calories
per gram, compared with only 4 calories for protein and
carbohydrates. The greater the fat content, the greater the number
of calories.) As an example, a 6-ounce steak from a grass-finished
steer can have 100 fewer calories than a 6-ounce steak from a
grain-fed steer. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a
year), switching to lean grass fed beef will save you 17,733
calories a year—without requiring any willpower or change in your
eating habits. If everything else in your diet remains constant,
you'll lose about six pounds a year. If all Americans switched to
grass fed meat, our national epidemic of obesity might diminish.
In the past few years, producers of grass-fed beef have been looking
for ways to increase the amount of marbling in the meat so that
consumers will have a more familiar product. But even these fatter
cuts of grass-fed beef are lower in fat and calories than beef from
grain-fed cattle.
Extra Omega-3s. Meat from grass-fed animals has two to four times
more omega-3 fatty acids than meat from grain- fed animals. Omega-3s
are called "good fats" because they play a vital role in every cell
and system in your body. For example, of all the fats, they are the
most heart-friendly. People who have ample amounts of omega-3s in
their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an
irregular heartbeat. Remarkably, they are 50 percent less likely to
suffer a heart attack.[3] Omega-3s are essential for your brain as
well. People with a diet rich in omega-3s are less likely to suffer
from depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder
(hyperactivity), or Alzheimer's disease.[4]
Another benefit of omega-3s is that they may reduce your risk of
cancer. In animal studies, these essential fats have slowed the
growth of a wide array of cancers and also kept them from
spreading.[5] Although the human research is in its infancy,
researchers have shown that omega-3s can slow or even reverse the
extreme weight loss that accompanies advanced cancer and also hasten
recovery from surgery.[6,7]
Omega-3s are most abundant in seafood and certain nuts and seeds
such as flaxseeds and walnuts, but they are also found in animals
raised on pasture. The reason is simple. Omega-3s are formed in the
chloroplasts of green leaves and algae. Sixty percent of the fatty
acids in grass are omega-3s. When cattle are taken off omega-3 rich
grass and shipped to a feedlot to be fattened on omega-3 poor grain,
they begin losing their store of this beneficial fat. Each day that
an animal spends in the feedlot, its supply of omega-3s is
diminished. When chickens are housed indoors and deprived of
greens, their meat and eggs also become artificially low in
omega-3s. Eggs from pastured hens can contain as much as 10 times
more omega-3s than eggs from factory hens.[9]
It has been estimated that only 40 percent of Americans consume an
adequate supply of omega-3 fatty acids. Twenty percent have blood
levels so low that they cannot be detected.[10] Switching to the
meat, milk, and dairy products of grass-fed animals is one way to
restore this vital nutrient to your diet The CLA Bonus. Meat and dairy products from grass-fed ruminants are
the richest known source of another type of good fat called "conjugated linoleic acid" or CLA. When ruminants
are raised on fresh pasture alone, their products contain from three to five times more CLA than products from animals fed conventional
diets.[11] (A steak from the most marbled grass-fed animals will have the most CLA ,as much of the CLA is stored in fat cells.)
CLA may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer. In laboratory animals, a very small percentage of CLA—a mere 0.1
percent of total calories—greatly reduced tumor growth. [12] There is new evidence that CLA may also reduce cancer risk in humans. In a
Finnish study, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet, had a 60 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those with
the lowest levels. Switching from grain-fed to grassfed meat and dairy products places women in this lowest risk category.13
Researcher Tilak Dhiman from Utah State University estimates that you may be able to lower your risk of cancer simply by eating the
following grassfed products each day: one glass of whole milk, one ounce of cheese, and one serving of meat. You would have to eat five
times that amount of grain-fed meat and dairy products to get the same level of protection. Vitamin E. In addition to being higher in omega-3s and CLA, meat
from grassfed animals is also higher in vitamin E. The graph below shows vitamin E levels in meat from: 1) feedlot cattle, 2) feedlot
cattle given high doses of synthetic vitamin E (1,000 IU per day), and 3) cattle raised on fresh pasture with no added supplements. The
meat from the pastured cattle is four times higher in vitamin E than the meat from the feedlot cattle and, interestingly, almost twice as
high as the meat from the feedlot cattle given vitamin E supplements. [14#] In humans, vitamin E is linked with a lower risk of heart disease and cancer. This potent antioxidant may also have
anti-aging properties. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin E. Data from: Smith, G.C. "Dietary supplementation of vitamin E to
cattle to improve shelf life and case life of beef for domestic and international markets." Colorado State University, Fort Collins,
Colorado 80523-1171
Grass-Fed Basics
Factory Farming. Since the 1960s, most of the meat, poultry, eggs,
and dairy products in the U.S. have been mass produced. Old
McDonald’s Farm has been replaced by large confinement facilities
that produce a year-round supply of meat, chickens, eggs, and dairy
products at a reasonable price. Although the food is cheap and
convenient, factory farming is creating a host of problems,
including:
• Animal stress and abuse
• Air, land, and water pollution
• The unnecessary use of hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs
• Fewer independent farmers and more low-paid farm workers
• The loss of small family farms
• Food with less nutritional value
Unnatural Diets. Animals raised in factory farms are given diets
designed to boost their productivity and lower costs. The main
ingredients are genetically modified grain and soy that are kept at
artificially low prices by government subsidies. To further cut
costs, the feed may also contain “by-product feedstuff” such as
municipal garbage, stale pastry, chicken feathers, and candy. Until
1997, U.S. cattle were also being fed meat that had been trimmed
from other cattle, in effect turning herbivores into carnivores.
This unnatural practice is believed to be the underlying cause of
BSE or “mad cow disease.”
Animal Stress. A high-grain diet can cause physical problems for
ruminants—cud-chewing animals such as cattle, dairy cows, goats,
bison, and sheep. Ruminants are designed to eat fibrous grasses,
plants, and shrubs—not starchy, low-fiber grain. When they are
switched from pasture to grain, they can become afflicted with a
number of disorders, including a common but painful condition called
“subacute acidosis.” Cattle with subacute acidosis kick at their
bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more serious
and sometimes fatal reactions, the animals are given chemical
additives along with a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics. Some
of these antibiotics are the same ones used in human medicine. When
medications are overused in the feedlots, bacteria become resistant
to them. When people become infected with these new,
disease-resistant bacteria, there are fewer medications available to
treat them.
Lower Nutritional Value. Switching grazing animals from their
natural diet of grasses to grains also lowers the nutritional value
of the meat and dairy products. Compared with natural grass-fed
meat, meat from animals raised in feedlots contains more total fat,
saturated fat, cholesterol and calories. It also has less vitamin E,
beta-carotene, vitamin C, and two health-promoting fats called
omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA. Milk
from dairy cows raised in confinement is similarly low in these
nutrients. A rarely discussed outcome of our modern “advances” in
animal science is inferior food.
Caged Pigs, Chickens, Ducks and Geese. Our chickens, turkeys, and
pigs are also being raised in confinement. Typically, they suffer an
even worse fate than the ruminants. Tightly packed into cages,
sheds, or pens, they cannot practice their normal behaviors, such as
rooting, grazing, and roosting. Laying hens are crowded into cages
that are so small that there is not enough room for all of the birds
to sit down at one time. An added insult is that they cannot escape
the stench of their own manure. Meat and eggs from these animals are
lower in a number of key vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids.
Environmental Degradation. When animals are raised in feedlots or
cages, they deposit large amounts of manure in a small amount of
space. The manure must be collected and transported away from the
area, an expensive proposition. To cut costs, it is dumped as close
to the feedlot as possible. As a result, the surrounding soil is
overloaded with nutrients, which can cause ground and water
pollution. When animals are raised outdoors on pasture, their manure
is spread over a wide area of land, making it a welcome source of
organic fertilizer, not a “waste management problem.”
The Art and Science of Grassfarming. Raising animals on pasture
requires more knowledge and skill than sending them to the feedlots.
In order for grass-fed beef to be succulent and tender, for example,
the cattle need high-quality forage, especially in the months prior
to slaughter. This requires healthy soil and careful pasture
management, which keeps the grass at its optimal stage of growth.
Because high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal
products, many people who raise animals on pasture refer to
themselves as "grassfarmers" rather than “ranchers.”
Back to Pasture. Since 2000, several thousand ranchers and farmers
across the United States and Canada have stopped sending their
animals to the feedlots. Instead, they are keeping the animals home
on the range and feeding them food that is as close as possible to
their native diets. They do not implant the animals with hormones or
feed them growth-promoting additives. They are content to let the
animals grow at their normal pace. Animals raised on pasture live
very low-stress lives. As a result of their superb nutrition and
lack of stress, they are superbly healthy. When you choose products
from pastured animals, you are eating the food that nature intended.
You are also supporting independent farmers, protecting small farms
and rural communities, safeguarding the environment, promoting
animal welfare, and eating food that is nutritious, wholesome, and
delicious.
To learn more details about the benefits of choosing products from
pastured animals, read Pasture Perfect by Jo Robinson and explore
the wealth of science-based information on Eatwild.com.
© 2006 by Jo Robinson
References
1.Rule, D. C., K. S. Brought on, S. M. Shellito, and G. Maiorano.
"Comparison of Muscle Fatty Acid Profiles and Cholesterol
Concentrations of Bison, Beef Cattle, Elk, and Chicken." J Anim Sci
80, no. 5 (2002): 1202-11.
2. Davidson, M. H., D. Hunninghake, et al. (1999). "Comparison of
the effects of lean red meat vs lean white meat on serum lipid
levels among free-living persons with hypercholesterolemia: a
long-term, randomized clinical trial." Arch Intern Med 159(12):
1331-8. The conclusion of this study: "... diets containing
primarily lean red meat or lean white meat produced similar
reductions in LDL cholesterol and elevations in HDL cholesterol,
which were maintained throughout the 36 weeks of treatment."
3. Siscovick, D. S., T. E. Raghunathan, et al. (1995). "Dietary
Intake and Cell Membrane Levels of Long-Chain n-3 Polyunsaturated
Fatty Acids and the Risk of Primary Cardiac Arrest." JAMA 274(17):
1363-1367.
4. Simopolous, A. P. and Jo Robinson (1999). The Omega Diet. New
York, HarperCollins. My previous book, a collaboration with Dr.
Artemis P. Simopoulos, devotes an entire chapter to the vital role
that omega-3s play in brain function.
5. Rose, D. P., J. M. Connolly, et al. (1995). "Influence of Diets
Containing Eicosapentaenoic or Docasahexaenoic Acid on Growth and
Metastasis of Breast Cancer Cells in Nude Mice." Journal of the
National Cancer Institute 87(8): 587-92.
6. Tisdale, M. J. (1999). "Wasting in cancer." J Nutr 129(1S Suppl):
243S-246S.
7. Tashiro, T., H. Yamamori, et al. (1998). "n-3 versus n-6
polyunsaturated fatty acids in critical illness." Nutrition 14(6):
551-3.
8. Duckett, S. K., D. G. Wagner, et al. (1993). "Effects of time on
feed on beef nutrient composition." J Anim Sci 71(8): 2079-88.
9. Lopez-Bote, C. J., R.Sanz Arias, A.I. Rey, A. Castano, B. Isabel,
J. Thos (1998). "Effect of free-range feeding on omega-3 fatty acids
and alpha-tocopherol content and oxidative stability of eggs."
Animal Feed Science and Technology 72: 33-40.
10. Dolecek, T. A. and G. Grandits (1991). "Dietary Polyunsaturated
Fatty Acids and Mortality in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention
Trial (MRFIT)." World Rev Nutr Diet 66: 205-16.
11. Dhiman, T. R., G. R. Anand, et al. (1999). "Conjugated linoleic
acid content of milk from cows fed different diets." J Dairy Sci
82(10): 2146-56. Interestingly, when the pasture was
machine-harvested and then fed to the animals as hay, the cows
produced far less CLA than when they were grazing on that pasture,
even though the hay was made from the very same grass. The fat that
the animals use to produce CLA is oxidized during the wilting,
drying process. For maximum CLA, animals need to be grazing living
pasture.
12. Ip, C, J.A. Scimeca, et al. (1994) "Conjugated linoleic acid. A
powerful anti-carcinogen from animal fat sources." p. 1053. Cancer
74(3 suppl):1050-4.
13. Aro, A., S. Mannisto, I. Salminen, M. L. Ovaskainen, V. Kataja,
and M. Uusitupa. "Inverse Association between Dietary and Serum
Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Risk of Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal
Women." Nutr Cancer 38, no. 2 (2000): 151-7.
14. Smith, G.C. "Dietary supplementation of vitamin E to cattle to
improve shelf life and case life of beef for domestic and
international markets." Colorado State University, Fort Collins,
Colorado 80523-1171
http://www.csuchico.edu/agr/grassfedbeef/health-benefits/index.html
http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/Grass-fed-Beef-and-Dairy-Study.html
Please go to
www.eatwild.com for more
information.
