RESEARCH EXCERPTS
Robinson, Jo, Why Grassfed Is Best, 2000, Vashon, WA, Vashon Island Press

Before we ate animals grown in feed lots and confinement buildings that eat grain, hay, and additives provided by humans, we ate animals that roamed pastures and ate seeds and grasses provided by nature. A study of the nutritional value of meat from wild game reveals that it is "low in saturated fat and calories but relatively high in omega 3s and CLA". Research also shows that animals raised in factory setting and given "a 'scientifically formulated diet' with its assortment of grains, chemicals, medications, and by-products" is fat-laden and nutrient-deficient.

Just how much better pastured-poultry products are for your health was revealed in a recent study funded by the USDA Sustainable Agriculture and Research Education Program (SARE). An independent lab compared the nutritional value of broilers raised on pasture with conventionally raised chickens. The pasture raised chickens had 21% less total fat, 30% less saturated fat, and 28% fewer calories. The breast meat was so lean that the USDA could classify it as 'fat free'. Yet, the meat had 50% more Vitamin A and 100% more omega-3s.

The SARE study mentioned above also established the nutritional superiority of eggs from pastured poultry. Compared with eggs from caged birds, they had 10% less fat, 40% more Vitamin A, and 400% more omega-3s. An unexpected finding is that the eggs also had 34% less cholesterol.

New research, most of it conducted since 1985, reveals that every cell and system in the human body relies on omega-3s. Your brain, for example, is largely composed of fat and omega-3 fatty acids are the most important of those fats. If your diet has an adequate amount of these nutrients, you have a lower risk of a host of mental disorders including depression, schizophrenia, and dementia.

A few of the other nutrients found in higher levels in meat from grass fed animals are: Vitamin E, Beta-carotene, Vitamin B-12 and Folic acid.