Grasslands (Tom Haynes) ponders a talk by Graham Harvey about grass-fed cattle farming and the benefits it can bring to our countryside and our health.
“I’m afraid this is going to be a bit of a gloomy story” says Graham Harvey as he takes the podium to start his talk on his new book: ‘Grass-fed Nation‘. ‘How can a talk about grasses be gloomy?’ I think as Graham starts to discuss the wonders of natural ecosystems. It is safe to say my own mind is dominated by thoughts of grassy habitats and how to protect them. I understand the issues associated with degraded habitats and the damage caused by intensive agriculture to our natural grassland systems. Some recent work I was involved in has shown that grassland habitats are some of the most threatened habitat types in Europe.
…but Graham isn’t here to discuss these things. He is discussing something far closer to home. He is talking about how these grassy farm systems affect our health. He tells the story of an agriculturally intensified system of food production that seems to be on the edge of lunacy.
We can all close our eyes and imagine peaceful fields full of cows lounging in the sun and having a bit of a munch on the grass (sounds like a good life), but the reality of modern farming methods used to create many of our supermarket-bought products is far from this idyllic scene.
If you’ve ever heard that cows have ‘four stomachs’ then you might also know that this complex digestive system helps cows digest fresh grass, but modern intensive farming methods focus on feeding cows a limited number of grains in massive sheds where cattle are monitored closely by tech. These grains are often prepared so that any bacteria, fungi or insects that might normally feed on the plants is eliminated and in turn doesn’t reduce grain crop yield. Unfortunately, such ‘pests’ are not only linked with eating away at crops, but they are also intrinsically linked to the microbial organisms in a cow’s stomach. These gut bacteria help them digest plant material. The less exposure cows have to these pests, the more their own ability to effectively digest food is reduced. Graham tells us that this also has a significant effect on our own stomachs. Our consumption of meats and dairy products helps us ‘top up’ our own gut microbial organisms, so we share the problems that began inside the cow’s stomach and we are left with digestive systems that struggle to digest many of the things we try and eat each day.
Graham tells us that this has all come to light with modern research into the ‘shikimate pathway’ (google it). Modern herbicides are designed to ‘block’ the shikimate pathway of plants as a means of killing unwanted weeds. Concerns about the knock-on effects of herbicide accumulation in our own digestive systems have been dismissed for years because humans lack a ‘shikimate pathway’, but recent research has shown that our guts are full of organisms that do have a shikimate pathway. So yeah… that means we can all spend a moment considering how our stomachs are gradually building up a pool of gut bacteria that have been modified by industrial grade herbicides throughout our lives. Not a pleasant thought!!!
So how do we reset our bacteria? Graham recommends a detox on products created from these intensified processes and a top up on meats and dairy more strongly associated with grass-fed farming methods. Graham tells us that, although buying organic foods limits our exposure to these nasty herbicides, it doesn’t stop the cattle being housed indoors and fed grain (which still leaves us with our sub-optimal gut bacteria). He tells us that the only viable solution is to buy meats from stockists such as the ‘Pasture-fed Livestock Association‘ where cattle are guaranteed to be fed on fresh grass in actual outdoor areas. I think it really tells you something when the agricultural advisor to The Archers recommends only one safe route of meat purchase.
My own hopes for this grassy world are restored when Graham talks about dairy farming in areas of France and their strong association with diverse and traditionally managed grasslands full of flowers (with bumper farming profits to boot).
It is clear from Graham’s talk that our cultural heritage, our wonderful wildlife, and our health are completely connected. As consumers with bank accounts, as humans with a hunger for dairy and meat, and as members of a complex and diverse natural world; it’s far past time that we started considering the damage we are causing to ourselves and this world by focussing on intensified, enclosed and uncompromising farming.
