Meat yes, meat no. The eternal battle between omnivores, vegetarians and vegans never seems to end. Food choices are at the center of a global debate that has been going on for years and includes various problems: from health to ethics and the environment. Certainly the front of vegetarians and vegans in Italy is constantly increasing: According to the Eurispes 2021 survey, Vegetarians and vegans make up 8,2% of the population.
In 2015, it caused a sensation the alarm launched by prof. Veronese in no uncertain terms after the publication in 'Lancet Oncology' of the study on the relationship between the consumption of red meat, including processed meat, and the risk of cancer: "we have known it for some time, for at least 20 years I was the first, at congresses and meetings information, I repeat that there are epidemiological indications of a link between the consumption of red meat and colon cancer".
Less intransigent was, four years later, a study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine by a group of experts who arrived at more reassuring considerations: "To stay healthy, it is not necessary to reduce the consumption of red and processed meats".
Elena Dogliotti, a member of the scientific supervision of the Umberto Veronesi Foundation, has tried, more recently, to clarify the matter: «The filtered message deviates from the most recent calls for caution and does not take into account the evidence that rewards a diet mainly based on foods of plant origin, considered preventive against chronic diseases".
A publication conducted by Coalvi il now intervenes on the subject Consortium for the Protection of the Piedmontese Cattle Breed entitled "Meat and Health", in which 10 experts agree on the opportunity to direct the choice towards a meat with a low fat content, finding a convincing answer in that of Fassone di Razza Piemontese.
Is eating meat good or bad for health?
Meat has important nutrients, namely the protein defined as "noble", because they have all the essential amino acids, i.e. those that we are unable to synthesize on our own and that we must introduce with a correct diet.
Also, red meat contains the iron in a form that the body absorbs more easily than that present in plants. They are also very precious Vitamins present in meat, such as those of group B, in particular B12 or cobalamin, essential for the construction of red blood cells and for the integrity of our nervous system. These vitamins are not found in foods of plant origin, which is why vegetarians and vegans must integrate them into their diet with specific products.
It is also true that today's meat is very different from that of the past. It's not just about intensive farms, where the animal is often fed with poor quality feed, but also the addition of additives (such as nitrates and preservatives) that enhance the flavor but their excessive consumption can lead to the onset of diseases series such as tumors. Although the use of anabolic substances has been banned in Italy since 1981. The question remains: is eating meat bad for your health?
Meat and Health: the new volume by Coalvi
Already released in 2020, the new edition makes use of the contribution of a new group of doctors and health experts, aimed at shedding light on the controversial topic, with an in-depth study on the Fassone di Razza Piemontese which, as shown by the data, stands out for nutritional properties which make it suitable also for those aiming to prevent the onset of any cardiovascular pathologies.
In this new publication, ten medical experts speak on the binomial "meat and health", each called to analyze a specific aspect of the relationship between meat and health. For example, for Dr. Paolo Godina - biologist and nutritionist specializing in clinical pathology - in a varied and balanced healthy diet, good quality beef can contribute to achieving the best nutritional balance. While on the consumption of the pregnant meat there is the intervention of doctor Luca Mandia – specialist in Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Sacco Hospital in Milan. Doctor Massimiliano Elli, a gynecologist specializing in medicine and biology of reproduction, talks about the weight that food can have on couple fertility. Dr. Mariangela Perego, a specialist in paediatrics, was asked about the role of meat in the age of development, while Dr. Roberto Sala, a specialist in sports medicine, was asked about physical and sporting activity.
And that's not all. The book also deals with a delicate subject such as cardiology. To face it is Dr. Simone Tresoldi, a specialist at the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza: "Not all fats are the same: some of them not only are not harmful but constitute protective elements for various pathologies". Furthermore, Dr. Tresoldi explains, there is "a substantial difference between meat of different species and, for the bovine species, there are also significant differences between one breed and another".
Also in the book you can also find a specific analysis of nutritional values. For example, Fassone meat "is placed in an atherogenic index range between 0,3 and 0,4 in which fish such as sea bream and trout are found". And again, "a similar situation is also encountered in the classification for the thrombogenic index, where Fassone, with an index of just under 1, struggles to compete with fish which is between 0,2 and 0,3, but it is decidedly detached from the beef of Friesian breed which is close to 1,8 and from that of Chianina breed which abundantly exceeds 1,3”.
Leafing through the 64 pages of this book, one reaches an unambiguous answer from the experts, namely the advisability of integrating meat with a low fat and cholesterol content into our diet, such as that of Fassone Piemontese.
The Fassone of Piedmontese breed
Fassone cattle have been raised in Piedmont for centuries: it is the most important native Italian beef breed, among the first in terms of number of animals raised (330). Historically known with the name of "Fassone" (from the Piedmontese "fasòn", which means "well-made"), it is highly appreciated not only for its organoleptic properties but also for the very high yield when stripped and for the greater valorisation of the less precious. Therefore, it is not a question of a tradition but of a real institution for this land. A lean meat with little fat, tender due to the high concentration of liquids, with a full and delicate flavour, appreciable above all in raw preparations. All characteristics that satisfy the demands of the modern consumer, attentive to quality. Following thecaloric intake of this food per 100 grams: fats 46% (73,47 kcal, of which saturated 26,04kcal), carbohydrates 1% (1,14 kcal, of which sugars: 1,14 kcal), fibers 0% (0 kcal) , protein 53% (83,6 kcal).
The quality of Fassone meat derives from a specific genetic characteristic of the Piedmontese breed which is best expressed only with particular attention to the animal's nutrition. hay, cereals, grain legumes, beets and related derivatives are the few foods allowed by the production specification approved with Ministerial Decree.
A proposal from the Coalvi Consortium, whose bureaucratic process began with the approval decree in November 2016 and ended in January 2019 with the launch of the control plan, outlining the starting line for a certification process that will finally is nearing its conclusion. Active since 1984, the Consortium, with 1500 farms and 250 butchers, certifies every year 20 cattle whose meat arrives on the table not only with a guarantee of origin, but also with promises of high quality in order to enhance a product and a whole world to it connected.
