The opening sentence of the newspaper article was sobering. "Beef, pork and lamb products treated with radiation to kill bacteria and other impurities might be on the way to a supermarket near you." Before reading the article, my immediate thought was, "what's next?" It seems like I'm constantly reading how high-tech and chemically driven tests are making food "safer." However, I can't help but wonder if safer really is safer. Each year, more measures are taken to ensure our food is safe. Whether this involves irradiation, a process of treating foods with beams of energy to destroy bacteria and similar pests, or other measures, the thought of what goes into the production and marketability of our food can be worrisome. Pumped-Up
Cattle One way cattle growers do this is with steroids. Steroids, which sterols, bile acids and sex hormones, speed up the growth process. For many farmers and ranchers, the use of steroids can reduce their feed bills by ten percent or more - a reduction that often is the difference between profit and loss. Saving that much across the board for forty million cattle would result in staggering profits. Data indicate the use of steroids for beef growth is not harmful to humans when cattle are withdrawn from the drugs ninety days before they're slaughtered. Steroid use in the beef industry is highly regulated by the Department of Agriculture, and high-tech tests can indicate if beef contains steroid residue. However, not everyone trusts the government, so the demand for "naturally" grown foods has exploded in recent years, creating an awareness of the benefits of venison as an alternative meat. Venison is no longer only a meat for hunters. The nonhunting, health-conscious segment of society is turning to naturally raised venison as a chemical-free, low-fat source of protein, minerals and vitamins. The
Fat Factor In Rob Wegner's August 1998 Deer & Deer Hunting article, "The Science of Deer Meat," he referenced several studies showing venison's benefits over beef. Wegner discovered that one of the most revealing studies on venison was conducted at North Dakota State University by Martin Marchello. Marchello, an avid deer hunter and proponent of venison in the family diet, found that venison contains a unique balance of protein, fats and minerals which provides humans with a complete food item in a concentrated form. Marchello analyzed fifteen white-tailed deer shot by hunters. Upon examining the loin eye muscles for protein, moisture, fat, calories, cholesterol, amino acids and minerals, he found that venison, like other lean meats, contains a complete complement of essential amino acids, thus giving it a high biological value. That alone should be enough to turn more Americans on to venison. Why? Because we're a fat nation. The average American's diet contains forty percent fat. A healthy diet should include no more than twenty percent fat. Fat comes in three basic forms: saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated. Fat from animal meat is primarily of the saturated variety, which is the most dangerous. Cholesterol content is the other key in determining a meat's health status. Surprisingly, a 3 -1/2-ounce serving of ground beef has forty percent more calories, 223 percent more fat, and 125 percent more cholesterol than the same amount of venison. Of course, ground beef normally contains a large amount of fat so perhaps a better comparison to venison might be lean ground beef. However, even then, venison is far healthier. A 3-1/2 ounce portion of lean ground beef still has thirty-one percent more calories, 189 percent more fat, and 118 percent more cholesterol than an equal amount of venison. Turkey and chicken have few calories and fat than venison, but venison has less cholesterol than both white meats. The way deer and cattle store fat is why venison is healthier than beef. Deer accumulate most of their fat around their organs and in single layers, typically atop muscle and underneath the hide. These fat layers can easily be removed during the butchering process. Whitetails also have less fat in their muscle tissues because they are constantly exercising. Farmers typically fatten their cattle for market, which means they feet them more than ninety percent grain to add weight during the "finishing" stage. The weight gain occurs primarily between the muscle tissues. This creates "marbling," which, while giving beef superb flavor, increases the meat's fat content. Ensuring
Venison Is Healthy Quick field dressing prevents fermentation of the entrails. Besides removing the entrails, hunters should remove all organs from a deer's body cavity. The deer should then be hung to cool. If the body cavity is dirty or coated with stomach fluids, rinse it with clean, cold water and pat it dry with paper toweling. This sounds rudimentary, but many hunters - even seasoned ones - fail to take these precautions. The air temperature and condition of the deer dictate if the carcass should be skinned immediately. If the temperature is cool (below forty degrees Fahrenheit) leave the hide on the deer until you get it to the processor. This prevents the meat from drying out. A
Little Tenderness Young animals are generally tender by nature, and require little or no aging to ensure tenderness. However, if the deer runs a great distance between wounding and death, there's a good chance it will expend all its glycogen reserves. When this happens, the pH level of the meat increases, speeding bacterial growth. "Wounding or even the threat of danger instantaneously triggers the release of adrenaline, which accelerates the animal's heartbeat and constricts visceral blood vessels," says John Stransky, a research forester with the U.S. Forest Service. "This chemical-physiological chain reaction then floods the deer's muscles with blood - the fuel for defense of flight. "The sudden and exaggerated metabolism of extra blood in muscle tissue produces a build-up of lactic and pyruvic acids, both metabolic waste products. Adrenaline in blood-engorged muscles, in combination with unlimited metabolic wastes, is the principal cause of strong or gamey-tasting cooked venison." So, the quality of the venison hanging on the meat pole often depends on what took place in the hours, minutes or seconds before the animal's death. This also determines whether the venison should be aged. The process of aging venison is controversial. Meat cannot be properly aged unless it's hung in a temperature-controlled room for ten to fourteen days. The temperature must remain between 34 and 37 degrees Fahrenheit. This allows enzymes to break down some of the complex proteins in the carcass. When done properly, aging usually improves venison's flavor and tenderness. The key word is usually. Few hunters have the facilities to properly age deer. Therefore, it's not wise to age meat by yourself. Many processors I've talked to over the years say deer younger than 2 _ years old shouldn't be aged. However, the processors agree that venison from old bucks can sometimes be improved by aging. No deer should be aged if the meat is to be chopped or ground. There are two important points to remember for aging venison. First, don't attempt to age a deer that was stressed before it died. Second, pay a professional to age your deer in a temperature-controlled cooler. Is
Meat Good for Everyone? Not exactly. Meat, like so many things, is good for you when consumed in moderation. The medical world has been looking at the benefits of venison because many people cannot digest beef. Numerous physicians and nutritional experts believe venison can greatly help and sometimes reverse chronic conditions like food allergies, sporadic diarrhea and other digestive disorders. For a balanced diet we need to think in terms of the food pyramid. That means a balance of all food groups and no more than four ounces of meet per day. A portion of the meet should not exceed the size of a deck of playing cards. That seems small, but there is growing evidence that even that might be too much for some people. The Key
to Consumption "Your blood type determines your susceptibility to illness, which foods you should eat, and how you should exercise. It is a factor in your energy levels, in the efficiency with which you "burn" calories, in your emotional response to stress, and perhaps even in your personality." According to D'Adamo, the connection between blood type and diet might sound radical, but it's not. "We have long known that there was a missing link between our comprehension of the process that leads either to the path of wellness or to the dismal trail of disease," he writes. "There had to be a reason why there were so many paradoxes in dietary studies and disease survival. There also had to be an explanation for why some people were able to lose weight on particular diets, while others were not; why some people retained vitality late in life, while others deteriorated mentally and physically. "Blood type analysis has given us a way to explain these paradoxes. And the more we explore the connection, the more valid it becomes." For example, D'Adamo believes people with Type O blood can benefit greatly from eating meat. On the other hand, people with Type B blood can benefit from eating venison and avoiding beef. People with Type A or AB blood should avoid both beef and venison, he claims. I've looked closely at the information in D'Adamo's book and similar nutritional publications, and their recommendations have greatly improved my well-being.
Conclusion Remember that catch phrase of the 1980s, "Where's the beef?" My answer is: It's in the venison! |
