Fatty acids in beef from grain- and grass-fed cattle: the unique South African scenario

Objective: Different fatty acids elicit different responses in the human body once ingested. Although red meat is often considered to be a source of fatty acids which has a negative impact on human health, many studies have reflected variability in the quantity and quality of fatty acids found in red meat produced on different production systems in different countries. This study evaluated the fatty acid profile of beef, produced by the grass- and grain-fed production systems practised in South Africa.Design: Data are reported as a percentage of lipid per 100 g total fat to enable a comparison with international findings. Furthermore, the findings are translated into edible meat portions, taking fat trimming (often associated with red meat intake) into consideration in order to determine the contribution which the different products can make to the human diet.Subjects and setting: Three cuts of beef from cattle from four production groups were sampled and the fatty acid composition analysed for the meat and fat fractions.Results: Notable differences were found in the quantity and quality of different fatty acids in beef from the different production systems. When untrimmed, no statistically significant difference was found in the total fat between beef produced on the different production systems. Differences became more significant as trimming was performed. When trimmed of all visible fat, beef from young cattle fed according to a grain-based feeding system contained less total fat (6.96 g), and less saturated fat (2.16 g) per 100 g, than beef produced from their grass-fed counterparts (9.77 g and 3.30 g, respectively). There was a more favourable omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio, i.e. 2.0–2.5:1.0 for grassfed cattle, compared to 8–30:1 for grain-fed cattle, irrespective of the degree of trimming. The beef from the grass-fed cattle also contained a higher quantity of conjugated linoleic acid.Conclusion: A unique classification system for red meat has been implemented in South Africa and dictates the characteristics of the fresh meat that is available to consumers. The results of this study consequently indicate distinctive differences between the fatty acid profile of local red meat and that of beef produce from other countries; often used as a reference for dietary guidance.Keywords: grain fed, grass fed, cattle, fatty acids, red mea

Guiding Nutritious Food Choices and Diets along Food Systems

Poor diets are responsible for more of the global burden of disease than sex, drugs, alcohol, and tobacco combined. Without good health, food security, and nutrition, development is unsustainable. How food is grown, distributed, processed, marketed, and sold determines which foods are available, affordable, and acceptable within the local cultural context. These factors guide food choices, influencing the quality of people’s diets, and hence they play a vital part in health. The food system is complex and is neither nutrition nor health driven. Good nutrition and human health are not seen as important supply chain outcomes, diminishing between the different processes and actors in the chain. This is in contrast to the environmental and labour concerns now also perceived as supply chain issues. Although food loss and waste is now appreciated as key to sustainable food supply chains, the critical role on nutrition security remains obscure. In a free market dispensation, the trade-offs between agricultural production and income generation versus nutrient delivery from farm to fork needs to be addressed. Investment and incentivised initiatives are needed to foster diverse food production, preservation, distribution and influence consumers’ behaviour and consumption. The decisions made at any stage of the food supply chain have implications on consumer choices, dietary patterns, and nutritional outcomes. Leveraging the entire food system is an underused policy response to the growing problem of unhealthy diets

Social circumstances and cultural beliefs influence maternal nutrition, breastfeeding and child feeding practices in South Africa:

Maternal and child undernutrition remain prevalent in developing countries with 45 and 11% of child deaths linked to poor nutrition and suboptimal breastfeeding, respectively. This also has adverse effects on child growth and development. The study determined maternal dietary diversity, breastfeeding and, infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices and identified reasons for such behavior in five rural communities in South Africa, in the context of cultural beliefs and social aspects

Voices of the hungry: a qualitative measure of household food access and food insecurity in South Africa

South Africa is rated a food secure nation, but large numbers of households within the country have inadequate access to nutrient-rich diverse foods. The study sought to investigate households’ physical and economic access and availability of food, in relation to local context which influences households’ access to and ability to grow food which may affect the dietary quality. We sought to understand self-reported healthy diets, food insecurity from the perspective of people who experienced it, barriers to household food security and perceptions and feelings on food access as well as strategies households use to cope with food shortages and their perceptions on improving household food security

The impact of animal source food products on human nutrition and health

Throughout the ages the quest for food and drink has influenced humanity’s economic, social and political development, and played a role in the organization of society and history. Nutrition (or what we choose to consume) influences the health of human beings and therefore their quality of life. Animal source foods are often the dietary component that evokes the widest array of complex scientific, economic, environmental and political issues. It is viewed as the most expensive component of any diet, yet can make significant contributions to human health through providing high quantities of essential nutrients. In addition to quantity, the high quality of the nutrients in animal source foods is important as high-quality nutrients are more readily absorbed into the human body than lower-quality nutrients from other food and non-food sources. As South Africans increasingly suffer the consequences of inappropriate diets (over- and under- nutrition), the role of animal source foods as part of a healthy diet requires continuous investment in research and extrapolation of  information towards appropriate guidelines and recommendations.  Although it is often suggested that the intake of animal source foods should be limited because of possible linkages between animal product consumption and health, scientific evidence increasingly indicates the  beneficial role that animal source foods can play in preventing and  combating obesity and certain non-communicable diseases related to over-nutrition. This article aims to describe the nutritional role of animal source foods as part of a healthy South African diet and presents a review of recent findings related to their nutrient contribution, as well as evidence relating to common health concerns.Keywords: Animal source foods, livestock products, nutrition, healt

Research and development on climate change and greenhouse gases in support of climate-smart livestock production and a vibrant industry

Climate change represents a feedback-loop in which livestock production both contributes to the problem and suffers from the consequences. The impact of global warming and continued, uncontrolled release of greenhouse gasses (GHG) has twofold implications for the livestock industry, and consequently food security. Firstly, the continuous increase in ambient temperature is predicted to have a direct effect on the animal, as well as on food and nutrition security, due to changes associated with temperature itself, relative humidity, rainfall distribution in time and space, altered disease distribution, changes in the ecosystem and biome composition. Secondly, the responsibility of livestock production is to limit the release of greenhouse gases (GHG) or the carbon footprint, in order to ensure future sustainability. This can be done by implementing new or adapted climate-smart production systems, the use of known and new technologies to turn waste into assets, and by promoting sustainable human diets with low environmental impacts. The following elements, which are related to livestock production and climate change, are discussed in this paper: (1) restoring the value of grasslands/rangelands, (2) pastoral risk management and decision support systems, (3) improved production efficiency, (4) global warming and sustainable livestock production, (5) the disentanglement between food and nutritional needs, focusing on nutrient rich core foods, (6) GHG from livestock and carbon sequestration, and (7) water and waste management. No single organization (or industry) within South Africa can perform this research and the implementation thereof on its own. The establishment of a (virtual) centre of excellence in climate-smart livestock production and the environment for the livestock industries, with the objective to share research expertise and information, build capacity and conduct research and development studies, should be a priority.Keywords: Food and nutrition, global warming, production efficiency, rangeland, water, wast

Nutrient content of uncooked and cooked meat from South African classes A2 lamb and C2 mutton

The study compared the nutrient content of selected joints of South African mutton (Class C2) (n = 18) and lamb (Class A2) (n = 18) carcasses of fat code 2 in both classes. South African sheep carcasses are classified according to age by dentition: Lamb carcasses of class A2 show the ruction of no incisors and mutton carcasses of class C2 of more than six incisors. Fatness is assessed by the thickness of subcutaneous fat. Chilled carcass sides were subdivided into the primal cuts. The cuts were dissected into meat (muscle, intermuscular and intramuscular fat), bone and subcutaneous fat (SCF). The soft tissue of the carcass was analysed for selected nutrients. It was found that South African lamb and mutton contain less fat than the nutrient values previously assumed as scientifically correct and presented in the National Food Composition Tables of the Medical Research Council (MRC), USDA. The results from this study emphasize the importance of country specific nutrient data on own food commodities.Keywords: Ovis aries, chemical composition, fat content, shoulder, loin, le