Algae-fed beef – good for you, Earth

[ JANUARY 31, 2011 - OKLAHOMA CITY, OK ] - As a society, we are increasingly faced with the task of developing intelligent and innovative solutions to growing health and environmental problems.

One of the largest issues we face as a world economy is greenhouse gas pollution. And one of the largest challenges we face as a nation is the worsening health of our people.

With the lion’s share of GHG emissions, mainly CO2 coming for the power generation sector, major advancements are necessary to stop and ultimately reverse the damage that has been done.

Oklahoman Don Van Pelt Smith thinks he has the perfect solution. He wants to cut down on CO2 emissions from his Oklahoma City natural gas power plant and he wants to eat healthier beef.

Smith wants to grow algae using the CO2 emissions, dewater the algae into a sludge and feed it to cattle, which will produce meat with more omega-3 fats like docosahexaenoic acid, known as DHA, and eicosapentaenoic acid, known as EPA. These are the same types of healthy omega-3 fats that exist in fish and in the small pill many of us take for cardiovascular health.

It has been estimated that only 40 percent of Americans consume an adequate supply of omega-3 fatty acids. Twenty percent have blood levels so low that they cannot be detected. Switching to the meat, milk and dairy products of grass-fed animals is one way to restore this vital nutrient to your diet, as reported by the Food and Drug Administration.

It serves as a good source of vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, needed by the body to convert the potentially dangerous chemical homocysteine to benign molecules. Diets high in vitamin B12-rich foods but low in fat are associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer and other benefits.

Organic beef is a good source of selenium and zinc. The selenium present in lean beef is needed for the proper function of glutathione peroxidase, an antioxidant that reduces the severity of inflammatory conditions like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Lean beef is also a good source of zinc, which is helpful for preventing the damage to blood vessel walls, which can contribute to atherosclerosis. Zinc is also needed for the proper functioning of our immune systems.

Grass-fed beef is higher in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been found to reduce risk of heart disease. It does not raise total blood cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol levels as well, making it a smart choice all around.

The algae-fed beef proposed by Smith is organic in nature and seems to be very comparable to grass-fed beef. And I should know, as I was a lucky dinner guest in his Oklahoma City home to taste-sample the algae-fed beef in comparison to “regular” beef. It was delicious and I couldn’t really tell the difference until Don revealed it after the meal.

Oklahoma State University scientists are proving cows will eat the algae, given the right formula, and other focus groups haven’t detected much change in the flavor of the resulting beef.

Imagine, Oklahoma ingenuity leading this nation to healthier hearts and lungs, all possible – one algae-fed beef steak at a time. Now that’s an idea we can sink our teeth into.

Disclosure: The author of this column has assisted Don Von Pelt Smith and Smith Algae in the development of this business idea.

Jim Roth, a former Oklahoma corporation commissioner, is an attorney with Phillips Murrah P.C. in Oklahoma City, where his practice focuses on clean, green energy for Oklahoma.