5 Reasons to Eat Pasture Raised in 2021

When Farmer Paul first began his life-changing journey from the standard American diet to a whole foods-centered, paleo diet, he was amazed at how different he felt. Little did he know that what seemed like a small lifestyle change at the time would blossom into a new way of life, a new career, and a mission to bring the life-changing benefits of healthier food to others.  While there are many more than five, we are going to discuss 5 reasons to eat pasture raised in 2021.

Since meat is such an integral part of a paleo diet, the quality of the meat you eat is incredibly important. Especially if you’re going to incorporate bone broth into your diet, which we highly recommend for its nutritional and healing properties, making sure that you consume pasture raised meat (and thus, bones), is essential. Animals that have been fed low grade feed, a pesticide-heavy and grain centered diet, or that have been exposed to a constant supply of antibiotics and/or hormones, are all going to store that in their meat and in their bones. I mean...why take steps to eat healthier and then choose to consume a diet with meat that is filled with chemical and antibiotic residues?? 

Essentially, that’s how Pasturebird was born. We found it so difficult to trust that the meat we were consuming was really all it was cracked up to be - and in some (alright, most) cases, we found that it wasn’t. We learned that many food labels are meaningless, and when you read the fine print of what it takes to slap a “free range” or “organic” label on the meat you see in the grocery store, you’ll understand why we felt that the only way to ensure that the meat we consumed was truly what it was advertised to be was to raise it ourselves! If you’re wondering why we felt that eating pasture raised meat was so important, here are 5 reasons to eat pasture raised in 2021 just a few of the reasons that we made this life changing switch.

Pasture Raised Meat is Better for Your Health - Really!

We know that a lot of people are looking to make healthier choices these days, and adopting a more nutritious and wholesome diet is one of the best changes you can make for your health. Eating pasture raised meat is such an easy dietary change to make, and offers some pretty significant health benefits. 

Because of the varied food sources a pasture raised chicken is exposed to when allowed to scratch and forage on pasture, the resulting meat has been shown to have 3 times the omega-3s, a whopping fifty percent more vitamin A, D, and E, and 21 percent less saturated fat than their conventionally-raised counterparts. It’s also high in glutathione, which helps to detoxify the body and can also reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.

Buying Pasture Raised Meat Supports Local Farms

We know we’re a little biased here, because we are a local farm and loooove to be supported, but whether you purchase your pasture raised meat from Pasturebird or a local farm in your area, know that you’re not only supporting your local farmer and local economy in a big way, but you’re also supporting the way that farmer farms. The truth is, there is a lot of time, effort, and sweat equity that goes into running a farm, especially when it comes to raising animals on pasture. There may be several reasons a farmer decides to focus on pasture raised animals, but a large part of that decision for many farmers is that it’s better for the environment, and better for the animals. It’s definitely not because it’s less expensive or less work! We’ll go into more details about those reasons below, but know that buying pasture raised chicken and supporting the farmers who raise it goes far beyond supporting a local business - you’re supporting a whole farming philosophy that has wide-ranging benefits.

Raising Animals on Pasture Conserves Resources and Improves Sustainability

While conventional farming can often take a toll on land and resources, the way we raise our Pasturebird chickens not only improves sustainability, but actually regenerates the land. We rotate the land that our birds graze on every day, and allow the grazed pasture to grow back before the chickens are allowed to forage there again. In the meantime, the chicken manure that the flock leaves on the grazed pasture gets worked into the soil, improving soil nutrients and the resulting soil quality. This not only produces a happier and healthier bird, but it also restores the soil health so future generations can also benefit from these raising practices.

Pasturebird Chickens are Happier and Healthier

Unlike conventionally raised birds, pasture raised chickens live outdoors in an open air coop that protects them from inclement weather and predators, with constant access to fresh air and sunshine, and a steady diet of insects, worms, seeds, grains, and grass that they obtain through scratching, pecking, and foraging in the soil - the way chickens were meant to do!

Living in cramped quarters with almost no space and little to no access to fresh air and exercise is no way for a chicken to live. Not only are pasture raised chickens happier (ok, we admit that we’re guessing on this one since we can’t speak chicken), but since they have access to plenty of fresh air, sunshine, personal space, and nutritious food, they are much less susceptible to the viruses, parasites, and infections that afflict conventionally raised chickens and require the almost constant use of antibiotics to prevent the spread of disease through the flock. At Pasturebird, we boost our birds’ immune systems naturally with a pasture raised lifestyle, and have a holistic approach to animal wellness.  You can read more about the benefits of raising animals on pasture in this blog post here!

And It Tastes Better Too!

If you need any more reason to make the switch to pasture raised meat, we predict that after one taste you’ll notice the difference and be hooked. Pasture raised chickens live the way chickens are meant to live, and their meat tastes the way chicken is meant to taste! The chickens' varied diet with access to lots of different nutritional sources from foraging, such as nuts, grasses, seeds, worms, and bugs gives the meat a more nutrient dense and complex flavor that conventionally raised chicken just can’t compare to. But, don't take our word for it!  Give it a try and let us know what you think!