Red Meat vs Poultry Consumption, Farm Subsidies and Nutrient-Rich Foods

Welcome back to my weekly review in which I share three interesting things I have learned this week.

Red meat consumption is down!

We are eating too much red meat! I am sure you have heard this statement before. There are many activist groups telling others to stop eating so much red meat like beef, because it is unhealthy and one of the reasons for the “sharp increase in chronic disease rates in the United States”. Well, all these statements are arguable, and the science isn’t quite there yet, although most people I talk to have accepted them as fact. However, Zeng et al. published an interesting analysis in 2019. They found that Americans are eating far less unprocessed red meat than we did 18 years ago. Instead, we are consuming more poultry! How does that add up with the sharp increase in chronic disease like cancer? Maybe beef isn’t to blame after all?

When did we start subsidizing farms?

Every 5 years the US government renews the Farm Bill, a congressional act that provides funding to farmers. These payments help farms, but they mostly benefit those who buy into the industrial agriculture system of growing crops like corn, wheat and soy. Much more can be done in terms of supporting farms who are trying to switch to a regenerative farming system. But when did the government start subsidizing farmers? It all started with the Great Depression. When it hit, president Hoover initiated a program called the Farm Board. This fixed the price floors for wheat and cotton, meaning that when prices fell the government would step in and buy the crop from the farmers. However, it didn’t end well when tons of farmers switched to growing those two crops in order to be protected from price drops. The overproduction actually led to falling prices and the government had to buy up the surplus and resell it at a huge loss. Then, once President Roosevelt came along, he introduced the Agricultural Adjustment Act. This dealt with the overproduction caused by the previous program by paying farmers not to overproduce and fixing crop prices further! As you can see, farm subsidies started a long time ago and incentivize farmers to grow certain crops over others. I am sure there is much more to it, but it is still good to know how they came about.

Are you eating nutrient-rich foods?

Many of my favorite foods are some of the most nutrient-dense foods out there. What are they? Egg yolks, sardines and blueberries! When cooking, I focus on incorporating the most nutrient-rich ingredients. Well, after reading this article, I was happy to find out that I am already eating a lot of the right foods. However, I was surprised about potatoes and garlic being on the list! I didn’t know about their nutritional value.