Why Pasture-Raised Animal Products Are Better for Your Health and the Environment

Do you want to eat healthy and also help the environment? Consider sourcing pastured animal products, which are both more nutritious and more eco-friendly than conventional products.Animal Products Are Part of an Ancestral DietAnimal products are key components of an ancestral diet, along with starchy and non-starchy vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Meat, eggs, bone broth, organ meats, and sometimes even milk provide high-quality nutrition for humans. Animal products often provide micronutrients that can be hard to obtain elsewhere, including:Vitamin B12CholineHeme ironDHA and EPA (docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid)Vitamin K2SeleniumPreformed vitamin AHigh-quality proteinPasture-raised animal products are better for you and better for the environment. Check out this article from Katie Melville for an updated look at the benefits of pastured animal products. #paleo #wellnessOur ancestors started eating animal products at least 2.5 million years ago. (1) In fact, scholars believe that eating nutrient-dense animal protein is one of the things that helped us evolve into humans in the first place. (2, 3) Looking at modern day hunter–gatherers and ancestral populations, animal protein provides (and has provided) the majority of calories for most traditional human societies. (4) That makes it a core component of an ancestral health-based lifestyle. A Paleo diet that includes pasture-raised meat, eggs, and (if tolerated) dairy is a great starting place for most people. In the ADAPT Health Coach Training Program, we go over the ins and outs of Paleo alongside core principles of Functional and ancestral health. All this is within the context of a program that teaches you what you need to know about communication, presence, mindfulness, behavior change, and the other skills and toolkits needed to become a successful health coach.Click here to find out more about the ADAPT Health Coach Training Program.Pasture-Raised Animal Products Are More NutritiousOne big difference between the average cut of meat at the grocery store and the average animal protein consumed by our ancestors is how the animals were raised. Unfortunately, most of the animal products in industrialized countries today started off in concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) farms. In contrast, the only kinds of animal products our ancestors knew were from pasture-raised animals.A couple of examples to highlight this contrast:Chickens are meant to range free, foraging for bugs and eating greens like clover, in addition to their grain-based food. Instead, industrial chickens are generally housed in crowded environments, with little or no access to fresh air, and fed completely vegetarian diets. (5, 6)Cows are herbivores and meant to eat grass or hay year-round. Instead, CAFO farms mix animal products and animal waste into cattle feed, violating their herbivore nature. (7) Steers are often fed exclusively grains for the last few months of life to fatten them up and to produce a supposedly favorable flavor profile. (8)Put simply, pasture-raised animals are provided the conditions, space, and foods that respect their biology, welfare, and needs.In humans, the saying goes, “you are what you eat.” But the same is true for animals. Just as humans develop chronic illness on a standard American diet, full of inflammatory foods like industrial seed oils, refined grains, and processed sugars, (9) animals fed inappropriate diets become unhealthy
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