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Food Labels Decoded, Grass Fed or Pasture Raised or Pastured

3/23/2024

Grass Fed or Pasture Raised or Pastured

Grass Fed, organic, certified, grassfed, feed, animal feed, pasture, pastured, pasture raised, going true green, sustainability, going green, on-farm inspections, fatty acids, omega 6, grain, animal byproducts, environmental, food, food issues

When we look at the stated rules for any of the above labels, we find the following:

All animals shall have access to pasture continuously when growth is occurring
None of the animals can be confined
Feed should not have grain, synthetic hormones or animal byproducts
Animals may receive antibiotics to treat a current disease
Animals shall not receive antibiotics to prevent a disease
Growth hormones are administered separate from the feed
Animals are to feed on grass from day one to slaughter house

Now when we break down the above information we receive a more accurate image of the labels:

"Have access to pasture continuously" does not mean the animals are all roaming freely. Dairy cows, as well as beef cattle, may have access to the pasture, but the industry's standard is to have the majority of the cows indoors. Without the labels above, the animals are mostly always indoors and on a high-grain feed ration. Additionally, even with the label, keep in mind that there is no requirement for the claim to be verified through on-farm inspections.

When consuming diary, these labels are important, because when cows are given access to pasture, the milk produced is higher in omega-3 fatty acids and has a more favorable omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio. These are beneficial advantages not found with milk from grain-fed cows.

Bill Lauto , GTG
Environmental Scientist
 International Sustainability and Energy Consultant 
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Why Do We Tie Up Our Garbage In Plastic Bags?

3/7/2024

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Plastic, plastic bags, garbage, garbage bags, recycle, microplastic, going true green, sustainability

Beach Clean Up: Compostable Bags or Plastic?

Easy answer... To facilitate easy transportation from indoors to outdoors, and to keep garbage cans more sanitized.

Now I must ask, what was done in yesteryear? There was no such thing as a plastic bag.

In the "Old Days" garbage was tossed in a small pail with a handle, then carried outside to a large garbage can that was put out to the curb on collection days. Every now and then, those pails were washed out. However, plastic bags changed all that, so to avoid using plastic bags today, we need to look into Compostable Bags and taking some additional action.

Households were not zero waste back in yesteryear, nor is zero waste an easy task to accomplish today. First action is to reduce, recycle, and reuse. I put out one garbage can a week, while most of my neighbors with the same situation as me, put out two garbage cans twice a week. All with their garbage tied up nice and tight in a plastic bag. I am also guilty for using plastic bags, but that is mostly because the municipality and unions, do not want their collection agents picking up garbage cans filled with loose debris, and turning the cans upside down to dump out all that garbage. Spillage, when that occurs is a mess, germs can spread, and town / city employees risk back injuries. So most townships and cities want garbage to be bagged.

Nevertheless, still using plastic bags, will cause long term issues in landfills. One such issue I learned about on my first job out of college. I was working as a Specialist Level 2 environmental scientist at a newly designed garbage recycling plant. There I learned the plastic bags when burned, give off dioxins, and dioxin like compounds. That is the same stuff used in agent orange during the Vietnam war.

So another action I took was to search out Compostable Bags. There are many types available on the market today, and a lot easier to find compared to years ago. Try to buy compostable bags with plant-based content, and this will help keep plastic out of our landfills and microplastic particles out of our environment, and us!

Some compostable bags with good reviews are ProGreen, and UNNI ASTM. Both are available at Walmart.

Bill Lauto, at GoingTrueGreen.com
Environmental Scientist
International Sustainability and Energy Consultant
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