Tag Archives: Monsanto

Beef Is What’s For Dinner

You all know how I like to switch it up from time to time. So why should today be any different? I try to keep us on our toes around here. Notice I include myself in that statement since I never know what will motivate me to write my next post. ☺

Lately we’ve talked about the perils of GMO foods, the demise of Sting’s Broadway adventure and the rowdy antics of a certain clan named McFarland. And there’s no need to expound more on that topic.

So what’s my beef today?

Well…Beef actually.

A while back I wrote a post called, “Have It Your Way—It’s a Whopper.” It was a disturbing report on the use of Horsemeat as a substitute for Cow’s. It turned out to be a very interesting subject about our meat supply, not only here in the U.S., but in Europe, and Great Britain.

Although this isn’t our focus today, many of you had asked me to write a post about how Cattle are raised, what they are fed and the correlation with our food chain and how it affects our health.

According to the National Cattlemen’s Association, Beef is roughly a 55 Billion dollar industry. Last year, the total U.S. beef consumption alone was 25.5 billion pounds. So as you can see, our meat has become an industry.

Before factory farming, cattle were raised on family farms across the country and the process was rather simple. Calves were born in the spring, spent their first months suckling milk from their mother and grazed on sweet grass until they were weaned and turned out onto pastures.

Some cattle were given a moderate amount of grain to enhance that marbling fatty flavor until they grew to maturity and reached the market at two to three years of age. This meat was free of antibiotics, added hormones, feed additives, flavor enhancers, age-delaying gases and salt-water solutions. Mad cow disease and the deadliest strain of E. Coli didn’t exist. People were able to dine on rare steaks with little fear.

Today’s Beef grows to market weight in just one to two years, with cows that may never spend much time in an open grassy pasture. But this process reduces the nutritional value of the meat, stresses the animal out and increases the risk of bacterial infection, never mind the fact that it pollutes the environment and exposes us to a host of unwanted chemicals that include hormones and antibiotics.

Sounds wonderful right?

So what’s the answer?

Eat Grass Fed Beef.

Yet, let me take this even further.

Eat Organic Grass Fed Beef!

Why do I say Organic Grass Fed Beef?

Because cattle may now be forced to indulge in genetically modified grass.

It seems Scotts ‘Miracle-Gro, who created genetically modified RoundUp-Ready Kentucky Bluegrass, has announced that it will conduct field trials at the homes of Scotts’ employees. And they can do this without any government oversight because there are no laws that prohibit or limit the planting of GMO grass.

What this means is cattle will now graze upon GMO Kentucky Bluegrass and people will ingest the RoundUp chemicals sprayed on the cow’s favorite meal. What this means is more exposure to Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide, a chemical that not only has a scientific connection to breast cancer, but also to chronic kidney disease.

And that my friends is why I wrote this post. I felt it important to pass on this information. True, it’s virtually impossible to keep up with everything that goes on with our food chain these days. We can drive ourselves absolutely nuts. But if you want to bite into a juicy burger or steak, make it Organic Grass Fed Beef.

Because Beef is what’s for dinner. Or maybe not. That’s a choice you’ll have to make.

If you have time you may want to pop over to the PBS series “Take Part” for more information on this subject.

And if you want further information about healthy eating, please join me over at Lynn Kelley’s blog as she shares another “Heath and Wellness Wednesday post!”
 

So what do you think? How does this make you feel about how our food is handled? Because most of us live busy lives and the affordability of ground beef, did you find this information helpful? Do you enjoy a good, juicy steak? What healthy favorite foods make it to your family table?
 

Cheers everyone! I hope that life is treating you well. And as always, thank you so much for all your support and wonderful comments!
Karen

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The Hay Isn’t Just In My Jeans!

#SundayPunday

(Photo courtesy of HooplaHa Media/News/Publishing)

Ha, ha, ha! Gotcha! What in the world am I talking about?

Well, I found this picture on my Facebook feed a couple of weeks ago and it made me think about a documentary that hubby and I had watched on Netflix.

Have y’all watched “GMO OMG” yet?

You know how much I love healthy food. I even think Kale is Sexy as a Rockstar! 🙂

Yet, after watching this film, I wondered how many of us out there are concerned about what we eat. How many of us are having issues with our health and wonder if there is a correlation between what we eat and how we feel? How many of us are concerned about where our food comes from and how it is handled?

I had an interesting discussion with my doctor last week after finding out I have a auto-immune disorder. I won’t go into the nitty-gritty of my health issue here. Let’s just say I realize I have to make a change in my lifestyle. I need to be more proactive as to what I take into my mind and body and the things that I eat.

Food matters

For most of us, this is a daily challenge. And for most of us, we do our best to stay within a healthy range as to what we drink and what we eat. But what I find difficult to understand is, while most of us are doing our upmost to watch what we take into our bodies, our food supply is being tainted right before our very eyes.

There, I said it. Our food supply is being tainted my friends.

Hay now, it’s not my wish to play Debbie Downer here. You know how much I hate to play that role. But this subject is important. Too important not to mention.

Thus, may I say, OMG GMO!

Oh wait. That’s “GMO OMG.”

Here’s an introduction to the documentary:

“Today in the United States, by the simple act of feeding ourselves, we are unwittingly participating in the largest experiment ever conducted on human beings. Each of us unknowingly consumes genetically engineered food on a daily basis. The risks and effects to our health and the environment are largely unknown. Yet more and more studies are being conducted around the world, which only provide even more reason for concern. We are the oblivious guinea pigs for wide-scale experimentation of modern biotechnology. GMO OMG tells the story of a fathers discovery of GMOs in relationship to his 3 young children and the world around him.”

You mean humans are being used in a wide-scale experiment for modern biotechnology?

Is it me, or does this sound like the preface for a fiction novel rather than a true life story?

Filmmaker and father Jeremy Seifert took on a huge undertaking in his search for answers about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and how they affect our children and the health of our planet. His journey took him to Haiti, Paris, Norway, and even agri-giant Monsanto when he poses perhaps the ultimate question about what we eat: Is it still possible to reject our current food system, or have we already lost something we can’t get back?

Oh no, no, no. I realize this job isn’t for everyone. But the hay isn’t just in my jeans!

I would like to invite you to take a moment and watch this brief preview:

Hmm. What to do, what to do!?!?

As for me, I’m sticking with organic. Because you know, I think it’s sexy like Kale! But if it’s at all possible, buy from local farmers and farmer’s markets. Of course the best situation would be to grow our own veggies if we have the time and needed space.

But hay, if we’re concerned about what we eat, or have issues with our health and wonder if there is a correlation between what we eat and how we feel, we’ll do whatever it takes to stay healthy, right?

That’s what I thought you’d say. 🙂
 

So what do you think? Have you made any healthy changes in your life? What are your thoughts on the GMO issue? Do you think this is having an affect on the environment? Are organic foods available in your neighborhood? What kinds of food do you and your family enjoy?
 
 
Cheers everyone! I hope that life is treating you well. And as always, thank you so much for all your support and wonderful comments!
Karen

 

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