World Environment Day: We are committed to doing things differently

For many people, World Environment Day might be a commemorative event that's easy to forget. But, to Grass Roots, it’s an opportunity to recognize the importance of sustainable, regenerative food production systems. It's a chance to remind people that their food choices actually make a difference in the health of the planet.

Most people are so disconnected from their food. When they see a $3.99 pound of ground beef at the grocery store. That's all it is. A pound of meat. Hamburgers. Meatloaf. Whatever they're having for dinner that night.

But here at Grass Roots, when we look at that same pound of supermarket ground beef, we don't just see a pound of meat. We see a pound of meat that was probably raised in confined animal feeding operations. We see the workers who were exploited by those operations to get their product on the shelf in front of you. We see the tiny percentage of profit the farmer actually makes from that meat (which is not much at all), and the poor animal that spent most of its life in a feedlot where it didn't get the freedom to graze on open pasture. And we see the pollution that went into producing that pound of meat.

This farming pollution creates things like the "Dead Zone" in the Gulf Of Mexico, where it's difficult for marine animals to survive. This specific Dead Zone is caused by an influx of nutrients flowing into the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf. Nitrogen and phosphorus often found in fertilizer are the main culprits. Seeping out of crop fields, livestock farms, and even sewer and septic systems, these nutrients can flow into local waterways, leaving a path of pollution on the way south. 

That's why we're committed to doing things differently.

Unlike concentrated feeding operations, our goal actually isn’t to produce meat for the lowest price possible. Instead, our #1 goal is to produce meat in a way that is good for the environment, the animals, our farmers, and YOU.

That's why our farming practices mimic the patterns you see in nature. Our animals are always on the move. They're grazing on fresh pasture. They're spending time in the sunshine. They're doing what they're meant to do and living in harmony with nature.

This year’s theme for World Environment Day is Reimagine, Recreate, Restore and that’s exactly what we do every day. Grass Roots farmers practice regenerative agriculture,  a type of farming that heals degraded soils, improves ecosystem function, and builds biodiversity. This practice is a nature-based solution that can help restore the planet in the face of climate change. Grass Roots farms use regenerative techniques which aid in reversing climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity as we raise our animals. 

Additionally, the use of rotational grazing and grass diversity helps to sequester carbon. This process—reducing atmospheric carbon by pulling it from the air and into the soil—has been shown to slow global warming and mitigate climate change. Soil samples pulled from Grass Roots pastures in 2014 and again in 2018 show a 1% increase in organic matter—which proves that carbon is being sequestered on our farms.

We run our farms the way nature intended. And as a result, our products are healthier, cleaner, and more sustainable than any conventionally-raised meat on the market. 

That way, when you buy a pound of ground beef from Grass Roots — or any other products, for that matter—you can enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing your decision is healthier for you, for the farmers, for the animals, and for the environment.