defining 'grass fed/pastured' for the general public

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

I think I mentioned before that I've been in contact with the owner of

www.localharvest.org which is a nationwide online database of local farms. I

think it's a superb tool for locating locally raised meat, dairy and organic

produce and hope that it becomes widely used.

In any case, although sally never responded to my question as to whether

she'd like the WAPF to be added to the search criteria, so people could

locate WAPF-affiliated farms, I decided to go ahead and ask the database

owner if he wouldn't mind adding a 'grass fed/pastured' category to it, so

people could locate these foods, whether or not the farms are affiliated

with WAPF. He went ahead and added it, and he asked me to write a definition

of 'grass fed/pastured' to be added to this page of definitions of various

farming methods:

http://www.localharvest.org/organic.jsp

I was supposed to get it to him this weekend, but am running a bit late. I

want to get a little feedback on it before I submit it to him though, and I

thought you guys would be the perfect 'editorial board' :-) So here it is -

i'd love some feedback on it (today, if possible). TIA!

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Grass fed/pastured animals are raised on pasture (grass), as opposed to

being kept in confinement and fed primarily grains. Depending on the region,

some are on pasture 100% of their lives, while others are on pasture

seasonally (spring - fall). Pasturing livestock and poultry is the

traditional method of raising farm animals, is ecologically sustainable,

humane, and produces the most nutritious meat, dairy and eggs.

In recent years research on pastured meat has shown that it is significantly

higher than conventional meat in vit. E, Essential Fatty Acids, Conjugated

Linoleic Acid (CLA) which has anti-cancer properties, beta-carotene and

various other important nutrients. Pastured dairy and eggs are similarly

much higher in various nutrients (including vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin

E, EFAs, vitamin A, and carotenes), than conventional eggs and dairy.

Eating grass is the key to the healthy nutrient profile of these foods, so

be sure to ask farmers what percent of their animals' diet is grass. Cattle,

lamb and bison may be raised on 100% grass as it's their natural diet,

however commercial poultry is typically fed grains, even when on pasture.

But they do have access to grass and bugs making their meat and eggs

healthier than non pastured.

For more information on the benefits of grass fed meat, dairy and eggs, see

www.eatwild.com

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I was wondering if I should mention that 'free range' is not necessarily

equivalent to 'pastured' as 'free range' seems to be a commonly used term,

although 'pastured' seems like it's becoming more frequently used.

???

Suze Fisher

Lapdog Design, Inc.

Web Design & Development

http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze3shjg/

mailto:s.fisher22@...