Here’s what’s really going on with mass-produced meats and why you might want to steer clear. Which begs the question, what’s feedstuff? To put it simply, it can include not-so-healthy items like corn byproducts from the distilling industry, potato waste, orange peels, and even candy. So, when you eat factory-farmed animals, you might also get an unintentional serving of “feedstuff.” In short, their bad diet can become your bad diet, which can become counter-productive to your health. The sickened animals can also be given chemical additives, plus constant, low-level doses of antibiotics. Their drugs in turn can enter your system2 when you eat antibiotic-treated animals, which can the stage for drug-resistance in your body3, particularly if you’re a heavy-duty carnivore. While more research is needed to make this correlation, if you don’t want antibiotics in your food at all, it may be best to avoid factory-farmed meat. So what’s the end-result of the feed-’em-fast-and-cheap factory farmed method? It may very well yield less nutritious food with more of the unhealthy fats. It’s no wonder the stuff is so much cheaper than grass-fed. With so little going for it, doesn’t it seem slightly crazy to eat factory-farmed meats? While some factories can produce ethical and sustainable farming practices, it might be difficult to seek those few out—there are plenty more of the conventional, harsh farming environments in our food system. That said, I strongly suggest that if you’re going to eat meat, buy the good stuff, even if it means having to pay a bit more or buy less of it. Choose grass-fed beef, lamb, bison and poultry, to ensure that you’re eating nutritious and healthy meats, as nature intended. To learn more about what to look for when buying meat, check out my post on meat labeling. After his initial medical training in his native South Africa, Lipman spent 18 months working at clinics in the bush. He became familiar with the local traditional healers, called sangomas, which kindled his interest in non-Western healing modalities In 1984, Lipman immigrated to the United States, where he became the chief medical resident at Lincoln Hospital in Bronx, NY. While there, he became fascinated by the hospital’s addiction clinic, which used acupuncture and Chinese medicine making him even more aware of the potential of implementing non-Western medicine to promote holistic wellbeing. He began studying nutrition, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, functional medicine, biofeedback, meditation, and yoga. Lipman founded the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in 1992, where he combines the best of Western medicine and cutting edge nutritional science with age-old healing techniques from the East. As his patient, chef Seamus Mullen, told The New York Times, “If antibiotics are right, he’ll try it. If it’s an anti-inflammatory diet, he’ll do that. He’s looking at the body as a system rather than looking at isolated things.” In addition to his practice, he is also an instructor in mbg’s Functional Nutrition Program. A cutting-edge nutrition deep dive taught by 20+ top health & wellness experts
