Avoiding Toxins in Your Healthy Lifestyle

The Prime reason eating healthy is the Right Choice

Did you know the supply of Prime & Choice beef cuts are rising? After first thinking this would be a good thing. Given more supply generally means lower prices. But it seems like this may not be such a good thing. Most everyone and many top restaurants serve only Choice, or Prime, cuts of meat and we pay top dollar for this. However, our return on this investment may not be as good as it tastes.

Here is the story, most mainstream outlets didn’t share.

I found this article on Dovers.com very interesting. After reviewing the recent data on the increased percentage of Prime & Choice cuts of beef the found a possible story behind the story. As you may know, Prime & Choice cuts are typically considered the top cuts of beef available on the market. Prime costs the most per pound and is typically used by only high-end chefs. If you are buying Prime, or even Choice cuts, you expect the highest quality. Unfortunately this has now become a question for more research. As reported by Andrew P. Griffith,

“…so far in 2018, a little over 3 percent more cattle are grading Choice or Prime compared to 2015. There are likely several factors impacting the increased percentage of cattle grading Choice or Prime and they may include the removal of the beta agonist Zilmax (zilpaterol) from feedlots, carrying cattle to heavier weights, and genetic improvements.”

Image source- Linked from Drovers.com article

In addition, Prime & Choice Cuts secure the highest prices in the beef market. If you can get a higher yield on these cuts, you can earn more on it’s sale. But now, as the supply of Choice and Prime Beef rise, some question this is a result of some controversial animal growth additives. Don’t bother looking for them on the label, you won’t find them. Given these stories in the news, and my goal of avoiding toxins, as a key part of my Core4-Plus Wellness Plan, I have reaffirmed my investment in eating less “non-organic” meats to be an even more worth while endeavor. This idea is supported by reports of beef import bans around the world.

Banned Beef in Other Markets

“South Korea has suspended some U.S. beef imports after detecting the cattle feed additive zilpaterol in meat supplied by a unit of JBS USA Holdings Inc, raising concerns that the controversial animal growth enhancer may still be in the supply chain weeks after Merck & Co halted sales of Zilmax, the top-selling zilpaterol-based drug.“

And South Korea is not alone. So Americans should demand the highest quality foods and expect their public health officials to focus on the consumer’s health and not the producers health, by making sure the consumer is aware of what is in their meat, so the market can accept, or reject, these additives. Not by regulation, but by information/education. My beef here is more about product labeling and less about regulation. I’m not a food scientist.

As always, disclosure and transparency is the best policy and key part of the reason I started this site.

What do they all know that we are not being told?

“South Korea is among a number of Asian countries, including China, that have not approved zilpaterol for use in meat. Many European countries ban the import of zilpaterol-fed beef due to concerns about the side effects of additives. However, South Korea does accept imports of beef fed with a related variety of beta-agonist drug, ractopamine.”

Apparently, U.S. consumers are being fed a line of bull, and need to learn the skills in order to make a healthy lifestyle their priority and not just affording a “cadillac” health insurance policy at a chuck price to keep them from falling ill. Choice is important, but choosing your investments wisely is even more important.