There are a lot of very good reasons to eat local, grassfed or pastured  products from growers practicing sustainable “beyond organic” agriculture.  Some of the chief reasons are:

• Health
• Quality/Taste
• Animal welfare
• Micro-Environmental benefits (reduced pesticide use)
• Macro-Environmental benefits (reduced petroleum use)
• Economic justice

Now, we’re not saying that any given person has to subscribe to  principles 1-6 to enjoy grassfed products… just that the interest in products  provided by the Guild Farms comes from a vary wide and diverse group of folks.

For example, If you are drawn to Grassfed products for health reasons,  you may want to explore the benefits that this type of farming provides to your  local environment, or you may be inspired to learn more about the incredible  taste differences between factory foods and local farm foods (just for  starters… some day crack open two eggs: one from a battery chicken and the  other from a pastured hen… you’ll wonder how factory chickens can even lay  claim to calling their products “eggs”). 

We hope, that all who come here looking for good food – for whatever the  reason – will endeavor to patronize local farms (whether they belong to NVPG or not) and help to rebuild an agriculture and a rural economy that are both  sustainable.

Jo Robinson, author of Pasture  Perfect and founder of www.eatwild.com has been one of the pioneers of the grassfed movement; her Grass-Fed Basics is  succinct, widely distributed and quoted in it’s entirety below:

Back to Pasture. Since the late 1990s, a  growing number of ranchers have stopped sending their animals to the feedlots  to be fattened on grain, soy and other supplements. Instead, they are keeping  their animals home on the range where they forage on pasture, their native  diet. These new-age ranchers do not treat their livestock with hormones or feed  them growth-promoting additives. As a result, the animals grow at a natural  pace. For these reasons and more, grass-fed animals live low-stress lives and  are so healthy there is no reason to treat them with antibiotics or other  drugs.

More Nutritious. A major benefit of  raising animals on pasture is that their products are healthier for you. For  example, compared with feedlot meat, meat from grass-fed beef, bison, lamb and  goats has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has  more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting  fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA.

The Art and Science of  Grassfarming. Raising animals on pasture requires more knowledge and skill than  sending them to a feedlot. For example, in order for grass-fed beef to be  succulent and tender, the cattle need to forage on high-quality grasses and  legumes, especially in the months prior to slaughter. Providing this nutritious  and natural diet requires healthy soil and careful pasture management so that  the plants are maintained at an optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality  pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, many pasture-based ranchers  refer to themselves as "grassfarmers" rather than “ranchers.” They  raise great grass; the animals do all the rest.

Factory Farming. Raising animals on  pasture is dramatically different from the status quo. Virtually all the meat,  eggs, and dairy products that you find in the supermarket come from animals  raised in confinement in large facilities called CAFOs or “Confined Animal  Feeding Operations.” These highly mechanized operations provide a year-round  supply of food at a reasonable price. Although the food is cheap and  convenient, there is growing recognition that factory farming creates a host of  problems, including:

• Animal stress and  abuse
• Air, land, and water  pollution
• The unnecessary use of  hormones, antibiotics, and other drugs
• Low-paid, stressful  farm work
• The loss of small  family farms
• Food with less nutritional value.

Unnatural Diets. Animals raised in factory farms are given diets  designed to boost their productivity and lower costs. The main ingredients are  genetically modified grain and soy that are kept at artificially low prices by  government subsidies. To further cut costs, the feed may also contain  “by-product feedstuff” such as municipal garbage, stale pastry, chicken  feathers, and candy. Until 1997, U.S. cattle were also being fed meat that had  been trimmed from other cattle, in effect turning herbivores into carnivores.  This unnatural practice is believed to be the underlying cause of BSE or “mad  cow disease.”

Animal Stress. A high-grain diet can cause physical problems for  ruminants—cud-chewing animals such as cattle, dairy cows, goats, bison, and  sheep. Ruminants are designed to eat fibrous grasses, plants, and shrubs—not  starchy, low-fiber grain. When they are switched from pasture to grain, they  can become afflicted with a number of disorders, including a common but painful  condition called “subacute acidosis.” Cattle with subacute acidosis kick at  their bellies, go off their feed, and eat dirt. To prevent more serious and  sometimes fatal reactions, the animals are given chemical additives along with  a constant, low-level dose of antibiotics. Some of these antibiotics are the  same ones used in human medicine. When medications are overused in the  feedlots, bacteria become resistant to them. When people become infected with  these new, disease-resistant bacteria, there are fewer medications available to  treat them.

Caged Pigs, Chickens, Ducks  and Geese. Most of the nation’s  chickens, turkeys, and pigs are also being raised in confinement. Typically,  they suffer an even worse fate than the grazing animals. Tightly packed into  cages, sheds, or pens, they cannot practice their normal behaviors, such as  rooting, grazing, and roosting. Laying hens are crowded into cages that are so  small that there is not enough room for all of the birds to sit down at one  time. An added insult is that they cannot escape the stench of their own  manure. Meat and eggs from these animals are lower in a number of key vitamins  and omega-3 fatty acids. Read  more

Environmental Degradation. When animals are raised in feedlots or cages, they  deposit large amounts of manure in a small amount of space. The manure must be  collected and transported away from the area, an expensive proposition. To cut  costs, it is dumped as close to the feedlot as possible. As a result, the surrounding  soil is overloaded with nutrients, which can cause ground and water pollution.  When animals are raised outdoors on pasture, their manure is spread over a wide  area of land, making it a welcome source of organic fertilizer, not a “waste  management problem

The Healthiest Choice. When you choose to eat meat, eggs, and dairy products  from animals raised on pasture, you are improving the welfare of the animals,  helping to put an end to environmental degradation, helping small-scale  ranchers and farmers make a living from the land, helping to sustain rural  communities, and giving your family the healthiest possible food. It’s a  win-win-win-win situation.

© 2007 by  Jo Robinson

To  learn more details about the benefits of choosing products from pastured animals,  read Pasture Perfect by Jo Robinson or explore her website: http://www.eatwild.com              

Read: Pasture  Perfect