Plant-based & Sustainable Protein - Part 3
Sustainable Protein Sources
You are what you eat.
And
You are what you eat eats.
I love the simplicity of this statement❤️. It means that the diet and the environment an animal lives in plays a huge role in how health-promoting it is in your body.
Plus, in general, a healthy meat source is also a sustainable one. Lamb might be the one exception to the rule. They’re usually grass-fed, which is wonderfully healthy…but if it’s shipped from New Zealand then it’s much less sustainable (there are local sources though :).
There’s a huge environmental footprint of our current livestock practices. They take up enormous amounts of land space (often at the expense of forests), water, and resources to grow their feed plus they release tons of methane.
I think it’s important to recognize that it’s the practice of conventional meat production that’s the problem. We can raise livestock in a much more humane way and with a much smaller footprint….but, it’s more expensive. It’s not possible to get a $2 hamburger without the use of feedlots and subsidized feed. This means it’s not going to be in everyone’s budget to shift your protein sources…and that’s okay. By adding more low-cost plant-based protein sources into your diet you’ll be doing a lot to reduce your intake of these more problematic protein sources. Win win!
If you’ve got some space in your budget and you’re interested in upping the quality of your meat sources, great! One principle that I’ve found enormously helpful is this:
“Decrease the quantity, increase the quality”
When I first committed to more sustainable sources of meat, I first cut down the amount I was eating by half (either half the serving and/or more vegetarian meals in my week). This opened up space in my budget to pay for more expensive meat sources. And…I found a few ways to get a good deal :)
(If you’re in the Okanagan, BC, check out Ogopogo Meats in Summerland. It’s a bit of a drive but they have amazing products at more reasonable pricing than in a healthfood store :)
Industrial vs. Regenerative Agriculture
There’s a new movement in agriculture called “regenerative agriculture” which involves growing all sorts of food, not just meat production. But, since meat production has the largest ecological footprint, this might be the most effective use of this style of growing food.
This is a focus on regenerating the soil and the earth and using farming techniques as a very effective method of carbon capture. It makes the land more resilient and creates more biodiversity. Animals are used for their unique lifestyle; their natural habits are utilized to help the soil. In a nutshell, it’s using older, more traditional methods to grow our food.
Farms that use this style of agriculture are creating resiliency in our soil and they’re treating their animals humanely and with great respect. The animals are also eating their natural diet, not feed, so their health improves (and so does ours :)
Keep an eye out as this movement grows, and if you’d like to learn more, there’s a great Netflix documentary called “Kiss the Ground”.
They always brag about it…
If you’d like to know if your meat is grown ethically and in a healthy way, it’s usually pretty easy to find out. To justify the increased cost, they (almost) always brag about it. Some smaller butchers/growers don’t (like Ogopogo Meats in Summerland, BC), but bragging is pretty common.
If it doesn’t say “grassfed/grass-finished”, it’s probably not. If it doesn’t say “free range”, it’s probably not. If it doesn’t say “wild” salmon, it definitely isn’t. Always look for the brag.
Let’s dive in!
Wild Game (through an experienced hunter)
This is by far the healthiest and most sustainable source of animal protein. The animal lives life as naturally as possible, forging for nutrient-dense food throughout its life. There’s no feed production or land cleared to raise wild game. And, when hunted by an experienced hunter, those final moments are quick and as pain-free as possible.
But, this type of meat isn’t usually available commercially, and access is only for those who hunt or are friends with a hunter.
Beef
Grass-fed/grass-finished meat (mostly beef or bison):
Notice the addition of “grass-finished”, this is important. All cows are fed grass at the beginning of their lives but are then shipped off to a feedlot.
What a cow eats throughout its life, especially near the end, matters A LOT. By eating their natural diet (grass), these cows are very high in omega-3s and CLA (an anti-cancer fat). Alternatively, feedlot cows are fed corn and soy, leaving them inflamed and full of inflammatory omega-6 fats. More on the perils of feedlot cows below.
This beef will taste different than feedlot beef. It’ll be tougher and a tad “gamey” because it won’t have the fat marbling caused by the high corn/soy diet at the feedlots. It’s how beef should actually taste, but it’s not what we’re used to.
Leaving cows on the pasture for their whole life also leads to lower greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestering. So, it’s better for the environment too :)
Organically grown beef:
To qualify as organic, the animal must be raised as close to natural as possible. This usually means grass-fed/finished for beef, but not always. Some are fed organic feed through the winter.
But, you’ll always avoid: feedlots, tight cages, cramped quarters, and GMO grain.
AVOID - Factory Farmed Beef (this is all beef from a grocery store):
You’ll never see a proud “from a feedlot” or “factory-farmed” sticker on meat grown this way. There’s absolutely no reason to brag about this. All of the warnings about the HUGE eco-footprint of eating beef comes from this style of agriculture.
Large corporations use this style of agriculture because it’s cheap and they claim it’s the only way to fill the beef needs of North America. That’s only true because they use inhumane practices and feed that’s been subsidized by the government (aka, your tax dollars).
Cows are kept in close quarters and are given a diet to fatten them up quickly (corn and soy). They’re usually injected with growth hormone to help them put on a few extra pounds and, until just a few years ago, were given antibiotics to help them gain weight. These inputs leave a residue in the meat which means you’re also consuming growth hormone and antibiotic residue when you eat them.
Environmentally, there’s also a “where do we put all of that poop” problem, and the runoff from feedlots is causing high levels of E.coli in irrigation water in nearby farms. This is one of the reasons that our vegetables get pulled from the shelves due to E.coli contamination.
If you can, avoid or at least reduce your intake of this kind of beef. It’ll help both your body and the environment if we eat less of this kind of beef.
Pork
Pigs are wonderfully intelligent animals that deserve to live a good life. Conventional farming puts pigs in tiny cages so they can’t move around and their given feed to fatten them up quickly.
Alternatively, pasture-raised pork allows the pigs to roam and forage. This makes for happier pigs and healthier pork.
Funnily, I think my husband married me after a conversation we had about bacon. It was early in our dating life and he asked if there’s any way for bacon to be healthy. And, I quickly said, “of course! If you get bacon from pasture-raised pigs and it’s processed without using nitrates, it’s quite healthy!”. I told him where he could get said bacon and he happily ate it almost daily for over a year…plus told everyone who would listen how cool his new girlfriend is because she told him how to have healthy bacon. Thank you, Two Rivers Meats, for creating a product that made my husband so happy!
Fish & Seafood
There’s an enormous difference between wild and farmed fish, especially salmon. Farmed fish tends to be high in PCBs and mercury and due to their diet, they’re not high in omega-3s. And…due to their diet, their colour is naturally grey and are fed dye to make it pink. There’s also a huge ecological footprint for fish farming. Ick.
Here’s a run-down:
Wild fish & Seafood –
Their life hasn’t been influenced by humans until they’re caught. They eat their proper diet and their as healthy as the waters they swim in. This means, there may be a difference in chemical residue between a fish caught in pristine waters vs. more polluted water. Lobster, shrimp, and seafood tend to be more affected by polluted waters because they spend their life on the seafloor. If you can, find out where your fish and seafood were caught. Avoid products from the waters near China or South Asia.
Wild-Caught Fish –
This is a middle ground between farming and wild and can be more cost-effective. The young fish are hatched in fisheries and released when they’re young. Their diet is mostly natural, but their life has been influenced by humans. Wild-caught is really catching on as a farmed-fish alternative.
AVOID - Farmed Fish –
These fish are kept in pens for their entire lives and fed fish feed, which can contain chopped up fish. This concentrates the toxins, leaving them much higher in mercury than wild or wild-caught fish. It also increases inflammatory omega-6s, so you’re not even getting those important omega-3s from your fish dinner.
These pens are usually submerged in the ocean and diseases, parasites, and sea lice that spread through these tightly packed colonies can quickly infect the wild fish sharing the same waters. This is a massive ecological footprint and there’s a call to ban these practices. As consumers, we can create change by avoiding farmed fish as much as possible. If we stop buying their products, then there won’t be a market for them :).
Chicken
Conventional chicken rearing involves stuffing many chickens into dark, sun-deprived barns. They’re bred to have large breasts because that’s what we like to eat, but that extra weight can make it hard for them to walk near the end of their life. A life spent in the dark isn’t a great way to live.
Egg production isn’t much better, with chickens living their lives in small cages. Happily, there are better options :)
But, in general, all forms of chicken production have a much smaller ecological footprint compared to beef.
Free-Range Chicken & Eggs
I’d like to think that all chicken that’s labeled “free-range” is from chickens who were able to roam about out in the sunshine. The legal requirements are that the chickens have some outdoor access, so it’s up to the farmer to determine how big of an area and how much access they have. Proud farmers will show pictures of their happy chickens running around outside in the grass :).
Certified Humane Free Range or Pasture-Raised
You’ll sometimes see an SPCA sticker on these products. This means that each chicken has a specified amount of space to roam around in and time allowed outside (min of 6 hours per day). This is a label to look for if you can’t talk to the farmer directly. “Pasture-raised” have more access to the outside and grass than “free range”.
Organic Chicken
This is another good label to look for if you can’t talk to the farmer. Organic chickens must have outdoor space, exercise areas, shelter to sleep in, and must be antibiotic-free.
Free Run Chicken and Eggs
Free run is better than conventional but not quite as good as free range. Free run chickens aren’t confined into cages (even for eggs) and can run around the barn. They’re also usually given better feed, but that’s up to the farmer. They’re not guaranteed any access to the outside.
Like with other types of animal protein, chickens fed their proper diet (foraging for bugs outdoors and eating veggie scraps) are healthier for us than chickens raised eating only feed.
In Conclusion
There’s no doubt that it’s expensive to eat organic or free-range animal protein exclusively, but I’d argue that if you can only afford organic produce or organic meat/dairy – choose meat & dairy. The difference between conventionally raised animals vs. more humane methods is enormous. The treatment of the animals is more ethical, the ecological footprint is smaller, and it’s healthier for us to eat.
And, do what your budget allows. It’s more important to be able to feed yourself and your family food than to buy “perfectly”. If your budget is tight, look for more plant-based protein sources. They’re SO much cheaper than all animal proteins and nutrient-dense. Just start with one meal and keep what you love
Got any questions or comments? Comment below, jump to our private Facebook Group, or the Ask Lisa page :).