Meat is a nutrient-dense powerhouse (providing essentials like zinc, vitamins A, D, and B12), and yet, it can be so polarizing. The most productive conversations tend to be around the approach to the animals and the land. Is there reverence for both?
Last fall, I arranged brand partnerships for a RUNGA wellness event and collaborated with a company doing this well, Force of Nature. Dedicated to stewarding the land and enhancing health, they fueled guests with regenerative beef, bison, and wild boar throughout the weekend.
The argument for regenerative agriculture is a strong one as it fosters:
soil regeneration (check out the Common Ground film for a deep dive into why soil health is critical), which in turn sequesters carbon monoxide
better water absorption and management as a result of improved soil, reducing run-off and the need for irrigation
biodiversity (did anyone see the movie, The Biggest Little Farm, years ago and the beautiful return of animals and pollinators as the once barren land became an oasis?)
nutrient-dense crops and meat and the reduction/elimination of chemicals
Explore Further
ARTICLE: Regenerative Agriculture and the Health Benefits of Regeneratively Raised Meat
ARTICLE: The Field Harvest
“We are part of the natural world, and life is so much bigger than the individual—or any species for that matter—and it’s so much more than the moment that any single flame burns out. The process of life, death, decay, and new life repeats itself in a beautiful chorus that has evolved to play in harmony with nature’s plan. We regard this process with great awe and admiration.” - Taylor Collins, The Field Harvest
PODCAST: The Truth About Meat & Animal Protein in our Diets
This recent podcast stays at a pretty high-level discussion of regenerative agriculture. That said, it’s a nice, digestible introduction by the co-founders of Force of Nature to the importance of this approach compared to the industrial, feedlot model.
Takeaways:
monocropping issues (exclusively growing corn, soy, wheat) including the rate of soil erosion - “we won’t be able to produce food in the current methodology in 60 years if that amount of soil loss continues”
chemical agriculture - “5.6 billion pounds of poison put on these monocrops of food globally (annually)”
“…meat shouldn’t get a pass. We’re opposed to chemical industrial monocropping, but we’re also opposed to industrial factory modeling with animal-based food production, like feedlots; that’s an abomination”
the effects of animal protein and fat on jaw development and teeth (health study of different cultures by Weston A. Price) as outlined here
regenerative represents “an animal that lived an evolutionarily consistent life in a symbiotic fashion with the ecosystem and landscape that it evolved in such that it provided a positive outcome on the landscape”
Additional Online Shops
Nutrient Farm: 100% full-blood Akaushi Wagyu beef, a premium breed originally from Japan. Completely grass-fed, grain-free, and raised in Colorado. Beef sales are temporarily on hold, but I’ve ordered before and this premium meat was priced surprisingly well.
Buy Ranch Direct: A cooperative of family-owned & operated ranches providing grass-fed and finished meats.
White Oak Pastures: Sixth-generation farm that is now zero waste (e.g. hides are dried for pet chew rawhides and fat is rendered down to tallow products). Owner Will Harris boldly transitioned to regenerative farming and ranching in the mid-1990s. He’s a wealth of knowledge with a link to a featured podcast below.
Worth a Listen
Will & Jenni Harris of White Oak Pastures
Zach Bush, M.D. on GMOs, Glyphosate, and Healing the Gut
An oldie from 2018 but Bush gives such an extensive breakdown of the origins of glyphosate (toxic herbicide) and the harm it’s caused to crops and our health that it’s worth including.
Eat well & take care!
x- BB
The father daughter duo on Rogan was eye opening for me! Thanks Briana, love this
Loved that episode and obsessed with force of natures ancestral blend!