Real Food, Real Health, and Why Quality Meat Matters

A 6-Week Educational Series

Written by Pamela Rozsa
Posted December 29, 2025

This is a summary of our Six Week 2026 Series 

Why This Series Exists

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

As we step into 2026, we’re sharing what we’ve learned on the ranch and why how your food is raised matters just as much as what you eat.

This six-week educational series is about informed choices — so you can feed your family with confidence.

At Cunningham Pastured Meats, we believe food should:

• Nourish your body
• Respect the animal
• Protect the land
• Earn your trust

Week 1: Protein — The Nutrient Your Body Can’t Afford to Miss

Why Protein Matters More Than Ever

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

Protein:

• Builds and repairs muscle and tissue
• Supports immune health and healing
• Stabilizes blood sugar
• Fuels metabolism
• Preserves strength as we age
• Keeps you satisfied longer

After age 40, the body becomes less efficient at using protein. That means quality and quantity matter more — not less — as we age.

Protein isn’t just about strength. It’s about resilience, energy, and longevity.

Not All Protein Is Created Equal

Animal-based proteins provide all essential amino acids in forms your body can readily absorb.

But even within meat, quality varies dramatically.

How animals are raised affects:

• Nutrient density
• Fatty acid balance
• Digestibility
• Your long-term health

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

👉 Explore pasture-raised protein raised the right way.

Week 2: Raised Right — Grass-Fed vs. Confinement Meat

How Animals Are Raised Shapes Your Food

Modern confinement systems prioritize speed and uniformity. Animals are often raised for efficiency rather than wellbeing.

At Cunningham Ranch, ranching is a responsibility — not a shortcut.

We raise animals on open pasture because it honors the land, the animals, and the people we feed.

Clean Protein Starts on the Land

Pasture-raised animals:

• Move freely
• Graze diverse grasses and forbs
• Experience lower stress
• Produce more nutrient-dense meat

Our Jordan Valley pastures contain over 30 varieties of grasses and legumes that naturally provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and beneficial fatty acids.

When animals eat what they’re biologically designed to eat, the result is meat with:

• A more balanced fatty acid profile
• Improved digestibility
• Greater nutrient density

This isn’t about trends. It’s about nourishment.

Week 3: You Are What Your Food Eats

What Happens Inside the Animal Affects You

Food you can trust isn’t just about flavor — it’s about biology.

As Certified Functional Health Practitioner Marianne Green explains:

“You are eating what the animal eats as well. If animals are GMO-exposed, you are consuming GMOs. When animals are raised in overcrowded systems, we are consuming the antibiotics too.”

Why Antibiotics Matter

Routine antibiotic exposure can:

• Disrupt gut microbiome balance
• Reduce beneficial bacteria
• Increase inflammation
• Impact immune and digestive health

Research suggests gut recovery after antibiotic disruption can take up to two years.

Omega Balance and Inflammation

Grass-fed meats naturally contain:

• Higher omega-3 fatty acids
• Lower inflammatory omega-6s
• Better overall balance

An ideal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is near 3:1. Modern diets often reach 15–20:1.

Omega-3s support:

• Brain and cognitive health
• Heart health
• Skin integrity
• Reduced inflammation

At Cunningham Pastured Meats:

• Animals live outdoors
• Eat diverse pasture
• Are raised without routine antibiotics

Because healthier animals produce healthier food.

Week 4: Soil to Supper — How Land Shapes Nutrition

Nutrient-Dense Meat Begins in the Soil

Quality doesn’t start at harvest. It starts beneath our boots.

Cross S Ranch has been stewarded for over 100 years with a simple principle:

Care for the land, and the land will care for the animals — and the people they feed.

Why Soil Health Matters

Living soil produces mineral-rich forage that nourishes healthier animals.

Independent research (Soil & Food, 2025) found pasture soils contain:

• Higher organic matter
• Greater mineral availability
• Increased plant phytochemicals

Grass-fed beef showed:

• 3.1× higher antioxidant levels
• 2.9× more vitamin A
• 4.2× more vitamin E

Measured Nutritional Differences

Fatty Acid Comparison (% total fatty acids)

A lower ratio supports:

• Reduced inflammation
• Cardiovascular health
• Brain and cellular function

This is nutrient density you can measure — and feel.

👉 Explore nutrient-dense meat raised on healthy land.

Week 5: The Hidden Cost of Cheap Meat

The Ripple Effect of Low Prices

Cheap meat systems often depend on:

• Overcrowded animal conditions
• Grain-heavy diets
• Routine antibiotics
• Accelerated production cycles

The environmental cost appears later through:

• Soil depletion
• Water stress
• Loss of biodiversity
• Fragile food systems

The Cost to Your Body

Poor animal diets lead to:

• Less favorable fat balance
• Lower omega-3 content
• Reduced micronutrients

The portion may look identical — but nourishment is not.

What a Fair Price Supports

Choosing intentional meat supports:

• Ethical animal care
• Regenerative land stewardship
• Nutrient-dense food
• Independent ranchers

You’re investing in the future of food.

Week 6: Why It All Leads to Cunningham

What Sets Cunningham Pastured Meats Apart

Over six weeks, we explored:

• Protein and health foundations
• Grass-fed vs. confinement systems
• Antibiotics and omega balance
• Soil and nutrient density
• The hidden costs of cheap meat

Now we bring it together.

Raised With Intention

It starts with the land:

• Open pasture
• Rotational grazing
• Healthy soil systems

It continues with animal care:

• No antibiotics
• No added hormones
• 100% grass-fed and finished beef
• Humane, slow raising

It’s protected through:

• Clean processing
• Low-stress handling
• Small-batch care

And grounded in trust:

We ranch here. We feed this meat to our own families.

If we wouldn’t serve it at our own table, it doesn’t carry the Cunningham name.

We invite you to eat and enjoy meat as it should be!

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

We invite you to experience meat raised with intention.

Cunningham Pastured Meats — Meat as it should be.

Revisit the 2025 Six Week Ranch Series in One Easy Click