As discussed in my previous post, the food labeling industry has all sorts of labels without offering explanations. We go to the store and see organic, grass-fed, cage free, free range, wild caught labels, but many of us don’t exactly know what they all mean. Because organic labeling was already discussed, today I will be touching up on grass-fed meats, Free Range/Cage Free eggs, and wild caught fish vs their counterpart.
Wild caught fish are simply fish that are found and caught in the wild. Compared to farm raised fish they are a more natural source of omega 3s, have more calcium, iron, zinc, and potassium. They also contain less fat and depending on the type of wild caught fish, they may also have less calories.
Farm raised fish are fed unnatural diets, including antibiotics to combat the diseases many of them obtain because of their enclosed, dirty environment. The pink in farm raised salmon, for example is an artificial coloring.
Grass-fed meats come from pastor that was fed their natural diet of grass and contain more omega 3s, less fat, more vitamin E and conjugated linoleum acid (CLA) compared to conventional meats that are filled with steroids and pesticides. PLEASE NOTE: Grass-fed meat is not the same as organic meat as organic meat can come from animals fed a grain diet (better than steroids, but not as clean as grass-fed meat).
Eggs are in my opinion one of the most complicated because you can have free range, cage free, vegetarian fed, or omega enriched eggs, and they do not necessarily mean the same thing.
vegetarian fed hens, while their diet is clean, their environment may not be. Below is a useful chart that helps you understand the labeling.
conventional eggs for the most part come from hens that are not only fed unnatural diets, but are also kept in horrid living conditions.
Wether your an animal lover, health nut, or curious about what the different labels actually mean, the choice is up to you!
letlerfit.wordpress.com 