5 Awful Additives You Avoid When You Eat Organic Meat

If you're looking for reliable information about organic meat and why to eat it, you've come to the right place. Cleaver's is all about providing world class meat that's never exposed to the sort of additives you're likely to find in US grown beef. Not only do we offer organically raised steaks, roasts, and ribs, we can also explain why organic is better. Read on to learn all about five awful additives you avoid when you eat organic meat.

1. Synthetic pesticides

Cleaver's never uses synthetic pesticides on the grass our cows eat. We don't use them on our animals, either. A number of synthetic pesticides, including organochlorines, organophosphates, and carbamates are often used in beef production around the world, explains the University of San Diego.

Organochlorines

Sold under names like DDT, toxaphene, Aldrin, and dieldrin, organochlorines are known to cause reproductive and nervous system users in humans. Endocrine damage and immune system compromise are other sorry side effects of this sort of synthetic pesticide.

Organophosphates

Sold as diazinon, glyphosate, and malathion, organophosphates are known to contribute to central nervous system problems in humans. Cleaver's has never used these synthetic pesticides and never will.

Carbamates

Sold to farmers under the names carbofuran, aldicarb, and carbaryl, carbamates are known to cause damage to the central nervous system.

Adverse effects caused by synthetic pesticides can be immediate and acute, or they may show up later in the form of lymphoma, breast cancer, leukemia, asthma, and other medical maladies, warns UCSD. Allergic effects are also known to occur in susceptible persons.

2. Herbicides

We wouldn't be allowed to call ourselves an organic beef ranch if we used herbicides. Cleaver's cows graze on natural grass that's never treated with synthetic herbicides. This isn't always the case with other beef growers who may use herbicides such as glyphosate, imazethapyr, and thifensulfuron.

Glyphosate

Sold under brands name such as Roundup, glyphosate is a broad spectrum amino acid inhibitor that is known to disrupt the human endocrine system. It's also the most popular herbicide in the world and is typically used on genetically modified GMO crops. Roundup is a popular herbicide for home yard and garden use, too. Although Roundup and other glyphosate herbicides are ubiquitous, they are far from benign.

Scientific studies reported in Mother Earth News reveal the startling truth that Roundup and other glyphosate herbicides disrupt normal sex hormones in humans. It doesn't matter how you are exposed to the stuff. Being sprayed with it is obviously a bad thing, but eating beef that spent its life dining on herbicide-treated grass may also be a problem. When you choose Cleaver's organic grass-fed beef, you can rest assured that the meat you feed your family is never exposed to Roundup or any other glyphosate herbicide.

3. Antibiotics

A recent Consumer Reports National Research Center poll queried 500 medical doctors about the use -and overuse- of antibiotics. After analyzing the data, Consumer Reports determined that more than 95 percent of physicians are concerned about the burgeoning problem of infections that resist antibiotics. 85 percent of the doctors that were polled noted that they had treated one or more patients with such an infection in the year leading up to the study. A whopping 35 percent explained that they had at least one patient who died or suffered serious complications as a result of their infection.

Doctors are careful about prescribing antibiotics these days. When they do advise a patient to take antibiotics, they counsel them to take the entire course of medicine. Otherwise, the germs that caused the infection may become stronger and make the person even sicker if the infection recurs.

Antibiotic use in animals cannot be regulated by physicians, however. Add to this the fact that around 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the United States are used on animals, and you can see why it's such a problem. When humans consume meat from animals that were treated with antibiotics, they receive a dose of medicine, too.

Cleaver cows are never subjected to antibiotic treatments. Instead, we provide a healthy natural environment where they can live their life in peace and contentment.

4. Growth hormones

Unless it's certified organic, you can't be sure if the beef on your dinner table was treated with growth hormones. In fact, most cattle raised in the US are given various combinations of natural steroids and synthetic growth hormones at some point in their life. These hormones may be delivered in feed or implanted into the animal. Either way, when growth hormones given to animals to make them bigger, they can adversely affect the health of humans who eat them.

The way we see it, a naturally raised cow is a happier, healthier cow. And that's what makes beef that is sustainable and delicious. Cleaver's never gives our cattle hormones, and we have the organic certifications to prove it.

5. GMO Grass

Cleaver cows spend their lives munching natural, GMO-free grass. Monsanto and other corporations would have you believe that GMO grass resists weeds and contributes to bigger cows, but does that really matter? When in a natural environment that benefits their health (and yours) cows are content to dine upon a variety of grasses and weeds, too. Cleaver's never plants GMO grass and we don't let our cows eat anything unnatural.

Good Things You Get from Organic Beef

When you eat organic grass-fed beef, you get meat that is high in fatty acids called Omega-3 and low in Omega-6 fatty acid. The opposite happens when you eat beef that's been raised or finished on grain. Both are essential nutrients that our bodies don't produce on their own. Omega-3s help regulate cholesterol levels and may improve arthritis symptoms. Omega-6 is also essential, but too much of it can contribute to inflammation, explains BrainMD.

At Cleaver's we treat our cows with kindness and never subject them to synthetic pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, growth hormones, or genetically modified (GMO) grass. Cleaver's is dedicated to providing you with superb meats and accurate information. When you're ready to know more about why we never use awful additives, please visit our website.