I just don't know - Charles, the Bear, AV and many say grain fed is healthy. Perhaps the grass fed people are just trying to make money or has any body got proof or are we just all nuts.
Nicola,
After many years of following gurus I've come to the conclusion that I must reach my own conclusions. One of the problems with gurus is that many are young and their bodies can tolerate much dietary abuse without showing any significant problems, and even when problems do occur the guru may ignore them and continue down a twisted path, convinced of the correctness of what he/she is doing.
TC Frye is a prime example. He was a strict fruitarian even as his health declined and he died at the relatively young age of 61 (if memory serves) proclaiming to the end that his was the proper road.
Charles, is amazing, but still very young. When I was his age I could drink 2 liters of soft drinks every day and still maintain a weight of about 175 without much exercise. I was also a strict vegetarian for about 15 years, much of which spanned is current age group and I would have told you at the time that vegan was the way to go and would point to my own performance as proof that it was proper. Again, a young body can tolerate less than optimal conditions and still perform well.
The Bear has had at least one bout of cancer that I am aware of, and may still be fighting it. Afterall, I haven't heard much from him lately. What caused the cancer? Who knows for sure. He has a long history of drug use and proclaims organ meats and grass fed meats are silly and that grain fed steaks are all you need. After all, he is living proof!
AV is certainly well meaning and is probably responsible for many finding their way to a paleo livestyle, but he is all over the map with his reccommendations. He changes the specific foods that he recommends as well as their proportions more often than I change my socks and I change my socks at least every day. If you want to know what he's currently recommending then check your watch because if it has been more than a few hours he's probably changed his mind on something.
I read what all of them have to say and then test their ideas against what my experience and a bit of critical thinking tells me makes sense. The question on this thread is Grain-fed vs Grass-fed meat. Every biochemist will tell you that there is a significant difference in the fatty acid profiles of the two. What they don't agree on is whether the difference is important to your health or not. My test is simple. Were grain-fed animals around during paleo times as our human species evolved? No? Then what was the normal food of the animals during that period of time? Grass! OK, left to their natural environment, what is the natural food for our animals today? Again grass! This makes me believe that the fatty acid profile of the animals eating grass is probably the best one to support our life and health. Feeding these animal grain is totally a modern contrivance to fatten the animals quickly.
Animals also start to lose their health in the feed lots when they are fed grain as their primary diet, and require constant attention to keep them healthy long enough to make it into our food chain - hence the need for antibiotics and other interventions that are not required for animals eating their natural diet of grass. You also have the problem of the mutation of E-Coli bacteria to an acid resistant form that is dangerous to humans as it is no longer killed in our acidic digestive tracts. This too, is created by feeding the animals an unnatural diet of grains and this risk doesn't exist in animal eating their natural diet of grass.
I'm giving you some of my reasoning for grass-fed vs grain-fed and how I've drawn my conclusions. I don't need AV, Charles, The Bear, or any other guru to tell me what to do. It is enough for me that chemists objectively agree there is a significant difference in the composition of the fat between grain-fed and grass-fed animals. The fact that the natural food for these animals has been grass for millions of years and is still grass today, clinches the argument for me. What could AV, Charles, The Bear, Dr Wigmore, Professor Hotima, TC Frye, or any other guru add that would be meaningful?
Think, we have money to spend but what about all those with children? Don't you feel bad, spending all that extra money and time (we may be food obsessed?). I just feel like that, when I go out in the world or go on different forums - Charles never talks about detox...
Can you proof, that you are doing right with spending time and money for grass fed just for YOU?
Just what expense are you talking about? Since I went grass fed meat my food bill has dropped to around $7 USD per day,and this includes the shipping charges. I don't know of anyone that is eating a Standard American Diet that can do it for even twice this amount per day - and I'd put my age and general health up against anyone. I believe I could easily feed a family of 4 for about $20 per day if I made careful choices and used alternate shipping methods. This is down right cheap.
Based on my own experience, I also bet a family eating grass fed meat as their primary food source would have much lower medical and dental costs over the years potentially saving thousands of dollars. And this doesn't even factor in wages lost due to illness etc.
Lex
