The Smell of Money: Exploring Grassfed Beef Benefits

January 03, 2018 , Ted Slanker

The Smell of Money

Column #124

For some years now the EPA has proposed rules for monitoring and controlling smells from livestock. They say it’s necessary for stopping global warming.

My grandfather had a small farm, typical of the 1930s through early 1960s era. It was in Washington state with a grand view of Mount St. Helens. He had laying hens, pigs, milk cows, a team of draft horses, and raised field crops plus a vegetable garden. By the time I was five years old, I was already well acquainted with farm smells.

Naturally, farm life includes the smells and sights of the great outdoors. Soil, crops, wild flowers, grass, trees, streams, and pure fresh air all have their distinctive aromas and seasonal images. But the animals are the heart of the operation.

The cows came in twice a day for milking and they impregnated the barn with their particular smell. Other smells included those of the draft horses, hay, silage, fresh milk, chickens, and the pigs. And yes, the smells were not just the animals themselves but also their manure. Everyone in the cattle business is accustomed to all these various smells. Not only are the smells pleasing to the soul, they are the smell of money.

But in America where only 2% of the people live on farms these days, there’s a war raging against red meat and livestock. This is mostly due to a huge disconnect between a misinformed majority and a 2% minority that raises food--especially ranchers. The disconnect is led primarily by environmental activist groups relentlessly hammering away at government agencies, the medical community, the media, and educational system with off-the-wall ideas and concepts. They may appear practical and necessary to town folks, but in reality many are pure nonsense.

I’ve written extensively about insane recommendations by people who claim red meats cause chronic diseases. Yes, grain-fed red meats are not as good for you as grass-fed, but they are still way better than whole grains. But grass-fed red meats are exceptionally healthy because they’re from livestock that only ate the foundation food for all animal life--the green leaf. Wild-caught seafood and grass-fed meats are zero glycemic with all nutrients that are perfectly balanced including essential nutrients. They are about the only foods man can live on exclusive of all others and still maintain optimal health. That’s a far cry from most food choices.

As that battle rages on another one is starting. Originally the EPA wanted all large confined animal feeding operations to report hazardous substance air releases from animal waste. All regular ranching operations were exempt. But “citizen groups” challenged the final rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. On April 11, 2017, the Court struck down the final rule, eliminating the reporting exemptions for farms. According to the EPA, in February 2018 U.S. farms, about 44,900 in number, will have to spend 496,893 hours a year at an estimated cost of $14.9 million reporting to federal emergency managers that livestock are releasing gas.

Of course the most worrisome gas is methane. When livestock eat vegetation their digestive process releases methane. The methane rises in the troposphere (the lowest portion of Earth's atmosphere) and breaks down into water and carbon dioxide. Plants of all kinds require the carbon dioxide to grow and as they do they give off oxygen which animals breathe in. It’s a cycle that’s been going for eons. There are many causes for increasing methane concentrations in the atmosphere. But most of them do not have similar natural offsetting methane sinks. In spite of that, soon this cycle of life where animals rely on plants and vise versa will be officially labeled as a dangerous event which ranchers must report to the environmental police.

Those of us who are interested in sanity regarding which food we can eat and how it’s grown must become more active. If we don’t, the radical “citizen groups” will rule our lives and restrict our options by raising our food costs and/or by outlawing our choices outright. Yes, the 2% minority needs our help.

Since so many ideas these days don’t pass the smell test, we’re living in interesting times.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

EPA: Farms to Spend $14.9 Million to Report Manure Emissions from Capital Press

New EPA Rule Stinks of Manure from Beef Magazine

CERCLA and EPCRA Reporting Requirements for Air Releases of Hazardous Substances from Animal Waste at Farms an EPA Mandate

Methane Sinks - The Atmosphere

Benefits to Plants by Plants Need CO2

Man Is an Extension of the Leafy, Green Plant by Ted Slanker

Delusional Veganism by Ted Slanker

The Insane War on Grass-Fed Beef by Ted Slanker

Understanding Glycemic Index and Load by Ted Slanker

Essential Fatty Acids in Health and Chronic Disease by Dr. Artemis P Simopoulos
pdf on file

Ted Slanker’s Omega-3 Blood Test