How does the way we raise our livestock affect our health? That is the critical question surrounding Stephan van Vliet’s research. Stephan is a nutrition scientists and metabolomics expert at the Center for Human Nutrition Studies at Utah State University and in the fall of last year, Stephan shared his work with Grassland 2.0 at our fall Digital Dialogue Series.
The Fall 2021 Digital Dialogues series was a 4-part virtual conversation with farmers, researchers and agricultural professionals focusing on the question – what are healthy agroecosystems?
According to van Vliet, a sustainable agroecosystem must link animal, plant, and human health. When it comes to animal-products, regenerative livestock systems that aim to improve soil health, plant-biodiversity, climate resilience and community health are critical to forming healthy linkages.
In his talk Stephan dives into his research exploring nutrient transfer between soil health, plant health, animal health and the human metabolome. Van Vliet stresses that there is a lack of robust human nutrition data looking into the link between livestock production and phytonutrients but that at present biodiverse pasture-raised met and milk looks to be healthier – for example some studies show a potential for anti-inflammatory effects and improved lipoprotein profiles when people consume pasture-raised meat and dairy.
Hear more about his work but listening to this month’s GrassCast podcast which features the audio of Stephan’s presentation in its entirely. Listen to the episode:
Grassland 2.0 will be continuing our Digital Dialogue series in spring 2022 with more engaging conversation. Stay tuned for more information!