Not All Beef is for Dinner

Dear Health Conscious Reader,

Have you heard the news? Recently, nearly 900,000 pounds of commercial beef was recalled. And not long before that, a major supermarket chain recalled 466,236 pounds of ground beef.

Why the recalls?

The meat was contaminated with strains of antibiotic-resistant salmonella.

Sadly, we’ve gotten used to hearing about food items being contaminated and recalled. But it shouldn’t be the norm. And just two weeks apart? There’s definitely something wrong.

In this case, it all has to do with factory-farmed beef and the abuse of antibiotic products on the cattle.

Commercial farmers want to turn over as many livestock they can, as quickly as possible. The animals end up penned in crowded feedlots where they become stressed and diseased – and because of the crowded conditions, the disease spreads like wildfire.

So what do the farmers do? They dose the cattle with antibiotics… the same kind us humans use. The result: New antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

And the situation has gotten pretty alarming:

In 1980, less than one percent of livestock was resistant to five different antibiotics. That number grew to 34% by 1996.1 And according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) antiobiotic use in beef, pork and poultry is estimated at 24.6 million pounds annually. That’s almost five and a half times used in human medicine.2

It’s no wonder we’re having so many antibacterial resistant disease outbreaks!

When I was a kid, the meat we ate came from nearby farms where cattle were spread out on long tracts of pasture land. Cattle have successfully survived by grazing on grasslands, prairies, and hillsides for millions of years.

And that’s how it’s supposed to be. You shouldn’t have to worry about salmonella, antiobiotics and synthetic hormones in your beef.

That’s why I went on a mission a few months ago: To find a good source of quality grassfed beef for my readers.

I wanted to work with a small, family-owned farm, just like the ones my Dad and I used to go to.

In the hills of Virginia I found exactly what I was looking for.

I discovered a little known ranch where over 700 head of cattle spend their days grazing in lush, green pasture land.

When I talked to the owner, John, he told me that he rarely has a cow that gets sick. Because when cattle are grassfed, they have virtually no disease.

Instead of being penned up, pumped with antibiotics and fed an unnatural (and unhealthy) diet of grains, John’s cattle roams the countryside grazing on grass. They never get shot up with hormones or drugs of any kind.

I immediately wanted to work with John, but there was a stumbling block: John normally only sells whole, half or quarter steers.

When I asked if he could make an exception for my patients and readers, he agreed to provide a package a specially cut 20 lb. assorted meats… trimmed and packed under the Primal Force name, just for you.

Today, I’m pleased to tell you that the 20 lb. assortment packs are now available. They contain at least 6 lbs. of steak, about 5 lbs. of roast and ribs, and the remainder of the package is made up of ground beef and stew meat.

All the meat from John’s ranch is dry aged for several weeks to create a rich, juicy cut of meat – almost gourmet flavor. And since all of it is fresh, that means it won’t ship for a couple of weeks. But it’s well worth the wait.

Click here to try your Primal Force Grassfed Beef today. I know you’ll love it!

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

  1. Robinson, Jo (2000). Why Grassfed is Best! The Surprising Benefits of Grassfed Meet, Eggs, and Dairy Products. Washington: Vashon Island Press
  2. Union of Concerned Scientists. Hogging it!: Estimates of Antibiotic Abuse in Livestock. UCS, 2001.