Full 2026: 6 week series is housed here: real food, real health, and why quality meat matters

2026 Email 1 of 6 Protein: The Nutrient Your Body Can’t Afford to Miss

Dear Friends,

Over the last year, many of you have asked thoughtful questions about food—why prices are changing, why quality matters, and what truly supports long-term health.

So as we step into 2026, we’re beginning a 6-week educational series to share what we know, what we’ve learned on the ranch, and why how your food is raised matters just as much as what you eat.

We’re starting with the foundation.

Why Protein Matters—Now More Than Ever

Protein isn’t a trend. It’s not a diet phase.
It’s one of the most essential nutrients your body depends on every single day.

Protein:

Builds and repairs muscle and tissue
Supports immune health and healing
Stabilizes blood sugar
Fuels metabolism
Helps preserve strength as we age
Keeps you satisfied longer, reducing cravings

In fact, after age 40, the body becomes less efficient at using protein, meaning quality and quantity matter more—not less—as we get older.

Protein is not just about strength.
It’s about resilience, energy, and longevity.

Not All Protein Is Created Equal

Here’s where things get interesting.

While protein can come from many sources, animal-based proteins are uniquely complete, providing all essential amino acids in forms your body can readily absorb and use.

But even within meat, quality varies dramatically.

How animals are raised—what they eat, how they live, whether they’re stressed or medicated—directly impacts:

• Nutrient density
  
  
• Fatty acid balance
  
  
• Digestibility
  
  
• And ultimately, your health
  
  

This is where grass-fed, pasture-raised meats begin to stand apart.

(And yes—we’ll unpack that fully next week.)

Why We’re Sharing This Series

At Cunningham Pastured Meats, we believe food should:

• Nourish your body
  
  
• Respect the animal
  
  
• Protect the land
  
  
• And earn your trust
  
  

This series isn’t about fear or perfection.
It’s about informed choices—so you can feed your family with confidence.

Coming Up in This 6-Week Series

Over the next several weeks, we’ll explore:

1️⃣ Why protein is essential for health, strength & aging well (published 01/04/26)
2️⃣ Why grass-fed & pasture-raised meats are fundamentally different from conventional meat  (01/11/26)
3️⃣ What antibiotics, confinement, and grain feeding change—inside the animal and inside you (01/18/26)
4️⃣ How soil, grass, and animal health directly influence nutrient density (01/25/26)
5️⃣ The hidden cost of cheap meat: health, environment & long-term impact (02/01/26)
6️⃣ What truly sets Cunningham Pastured Meats apart (02/08/26)
  → including our grass nutrient study and a Heart Your Body Savings Event launching 02/08 through February 14

2026 Email 2 of 6 Raised Right: The Truth About Grass-Fed vs Confinement Meat

Shortcuts Aren't an Option

Dear Friends,

Last week we kicked off our 2026 six-week educational journey—The Meat You Can Trust Series—by talking about protein: why it matters, why quality counts, and why clean, honest protein is the foundation of a healthy life. 

We shared how not all protein is created equal, and once you start paying attention, you begin to see (and, feel) just how much the source truly matters.  

This week we will look at the limitations of conventional, confinement animal productions and why the contrast in protein quality is so stark when animals are denied a natural habitat in which to graze naturally as they do at Cunningham Ranch.

Already familiar with the benefits of high-quality protein? Simply click the button below —or keep scrolling to read Part 2 of The Meat You Can Trust Series.

Thanks for joining us as we unfold another layer of the importance of Meat You Can Trust.

This week, we’re stepping back onto the land and talking about how animals are raised. Specifically, why grass-fed, pasture-raised meat is fundamentally different from conventional confinement meat—animals raised for efficiency and volume rather than wellbeing. 

In large-scale confinement systems, meat is often produced to meet the demands of mass distribution—uniform appearance, extended shelf life, and consistency across thousands of miles. The result may look the same in every package, but flavor, nutrition, and integrity are often sacrificed along the way.

Here at the Cunningham Ranch, ranching isn’t a buzzword—it’s a responsibility. Simply put, shortcuts are not an option. We’ve chosen a different path—the road less taken—because it’s the one that honors the land, the animals, and the people we feed. 

Clean Protein Starts on the Road Not Taken

Last week, we talked about protein as the foundation—why our bodies need it and why quality matters. This week, we go a step further. Because protein isn’t just about nutrition on a label; it’s about how that nourishment comes to be.

Cunningham Ranch meats are the alternative to today’s industry standard. While conventional confinement systems are designed for speed, volume, and uniformity, pasture-raised ranching is built around animal health, natural movement, and diets that align with how animals were created to live. That difference shows up not only in how animals are treated, but in the meat itself.

At Cunningham Ranch, we believe animals were meant to live on pasture—moving with the seasons, grazing grass as nature intended, and being handled with care and respect. This stands in direct contrast to confinement feeding, where animals are limited in movement and fed diets chosen for efficiency rather than wellbeing. When animals are raised under stress and outside their natural environment, it affects everything from their health to the quality of the meat they produce.

Pasture-based ranching → meat quality → your health

Stewardship of the land and the animals entrusted to us is something we take seriously, because how an animal lives—and what it eats—directly affects the nourishment it provides. 

Here at our ranch, in Jordan Valley, our pastures are made up of diverse native and improved grasses: perennial grasses, forbs, and seasonal plants that naturally contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and beneficial fatty acids. 

This diversity matters. Animals grazing a varied pasture of grasses and forbs, then finished on meadows, tend to produce meat that is more nutrient-dense by nature, with higher levels of fat-soluble vitamins like A and E, along with a healthier balance of omega-3 fatty acids.

Our cattle benefit from the natural conditions of the high desert, grazing a diverse landscape that includes more than 30 varieties of forbs—such as clover—and legumes like sweet peas, a source of protein and energy (as forage, not seed). This balance is intentionally maintained to support animal health, soil vitality, and the quality of the meat that ultimately reaches your table.

When animals are raised and finished on grass, moving freely and eating what their bodies are meant to digest, the result is meat with a more balanced fatty acid profile and a structure that many people find easier to digest. Customers often tell us they feel satisfied without feeling heavy or sluggish—a difference that starts long before the meat ever reaches the plate. 

Ultimately, this isn’t about labels or trends. It’s about choosing food that supports your health over the long term. Meat raised on healthy pasture tends to nourish more deeply, digest more cleanly, and align better with how our bodies were designed to function. That’s why we remain committed to pasture-based ranching here in Jordan Valley—and why those choices result in The Meat You Can Trust.

Why We’re Sharing This Series

At Cunningham Pastured Meats, we believe food should do four simple things:

Nourish your body

Respect the animal

Protect the land

Earn your trust

That belief is what guides every decision we make—from pasture to plate.

What’s Ahead

An Invitation

If protein is the foundation of health…
Then choosing clean, responsibly raised protein is one of the most powerful decisions you can make.

We invite you to start with meat you can trust—
raised on pasture, finished on grass, and handled with care from ranch to table.

👉 Explore Cunningham Pastured Meats—because your body deserves real nourishment.

With gratitude,
Liz Cunningham
Cunningham Pastured Meats
Meat as it should be.

Over the next several weeks, we’ll continue this conversation by exploring:

Email 3 of 6: What antibiotics, confinement, and grain feeding change—inside the animal and inside your body

Email 4 of 6: How soil health, pasture grasses, and animal wellbeing directly influence nutrient density

Email 5 of 6: The hidden cost of cheap meat—for your health, the environment, and the long term

Email 6 of 6: What truly sets Cunningham Pastured Meats apart
→ including our grass nutrient study and a Heart Your Body Savings Event launching the week of February 14

Revisit the 2025 Six Week Ranch Series in One Easy Click

https://cunninghampasturedmeats.com/blog/all-6-emails-in-series