QuestionQUESTION: Hi RawPalaeoGuy,
I read a posting by you regarding raw meat and bacteria not being harmful.
1) Can you elaborate as to why bacteria are not harmful on raw meat?
Bacteria, like every other living organism, must "eat" and ultimately produce waste. Therefore, I would expect that the meat would contain their waste products. Is this not the case?
Is this waste not harmful, why? Are there studies showing this?
2) What about parasites in the raw meat? I have heard that is high risk.
3) Lastly, when meat starts to ferment, is that not decay? That sounds dangerous.
Please note that I am referring to grass-fed meat only. I am not referring to meat that is grain-fed (which I agree is bad).
I look forward to your response.
ANSWER: If you look online, you will find several references to bacteria being used to actually break down toxic waste(such as in sewers) into harmless compounds.
What it boils down to is that it is not bacteria that are the problem but the environment they exist in. So, eating bacteria-filled faeces is not a good idea, neither is eating bacteria-filled grainfed meat, however raw. Aged, bacteria-rich cooked foods are one of the worst foods to eat as the bacteria therein have to feed on the toxins produced by cooking. On the other hand, bacteria-rich aged, raw grassfed meats are very healthy for one.
The parasites issue is nothing to worry about. Very few RVAFers have reported getting parasites from eating raw meats. Indeed, many RVAFers have eaten lots of raw wild game for many years without any issues either. The very, very few who have gotten issues reported no significant side-effects just issues re and just got rid of them easily with the help of anti-parasitical drugs or herbs. Of course, the only way for you to overcome this phobia is to try RVAF diets and see for yourself that there's nothing to worry about.
As for the issue of raw meat fermenting, many , many RVAFers go in for eating "high-meat" which is aged, raw meat. They do this because "high-meat" is well-known to increase one's mood and energy-levels.There is ample evidence for linking bacteria to an increase in mood-levels:-
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/66840.php
If you want to find out more about the benefits of bacteria and parasites, I suggest you read up everything you can find online about the "hygiene hypothesis". There are now many scientific studies showing that lack of exposure to bacteria and parasites in the developed world has actually led to a dramatic rise in a number of diseases.
HTH,
RPG.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for your response RPG.
1) So, do you consider fermentation to be the same as decay?
The takeaway that I am getting here is that raw meat decays safely, whereas cooked meat decays into harmful compounds.
2) How does this compare to say that of a raw vegetable? For example, if spinach sits too long in the refrigerator, it will reach a point where it does not look safe to eat. Is this different from how meat decays?
3) Do you refrigerate your meat? Or do you let it sit out in the open (meaning at ambient air temperature)? And for how many days can the meat sit out in scenario as described before it starts fermenting?
4) I have heard of good fermentation (with probiotics) vs bad fermentation. How does one recognize whether a food ferments safely or not?
5) I saw that you do not recommend grass-fed raw whole milk. Why? Is it the lactose? How about grass-fed cheese? I read that grass-fed butter is actually very healthy. Do you agree with this?
Thanks again.
AnswerWell, I wouldn't use the word "decay". People who make "high-meat" for example often use the word "ripen" instead, as it is more appropriate.
As for raw plant foods, aging them is fine. They age in much the same way as raw meats.
I do refrigerate my raw meats usually. That is, I will buy raw meats for 14 days in advance and will freeze perhaps half of them at most. I leave the other half in the fridge just cooling them, not freezing them. The only reason I don't just leave them out is that they would start to smell and then offend non-rawists who are often hysterical/phobic about the smell of aged, raw meats. As for time taken to ferment, that depends on one's opinion. Newbies to RVAF diets get scared of leaving raw meats out for more than a day, whereas long-term RVAFers can enjoy "high-meat" that's been left outside the fridge for many weeks.
I have heard that RVAFers usually view aerobic fermentation to be "good" and anaerobic fermentation t to be bad. There is a vague rumour that botulism might occur in an unaerated environment. I am not sure it's true, but I always leave my raw meats to be aged in an aerated environment to be sure.
No, I view raw dairy of any kind to be usually either slightly or severely harmful to people. There are all sorts of ways that raw dairy can harm people, according to reports:- there is the lactose- and casein-intolerance issues, plus the imbalanced calcium:magnesium ratio which can lead to magnesium-deficiency, plus there are the nasty hormones in raw dairy and lactose is supposed to inhibit absorption of copper. There are also other concerns that dairy may weaken bones despite doctors repeating the mantra, over decades, that dairy builds bones.
HTH,
RPG.
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