599: How to Choose Better Protein for Your Health and Budget | Paul Greive

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Max Lugavere (0:56)

What's going on, everybody? It's episode 599 of The Genius Life.

The Genius Life.

What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the show. I'm your host, Max Lugavere. If you thought all I ate was eggs, wild salmon and red meat, well, I'm here to break it to you. I love chicken as well. But when you buy chicken labeled organic, free range or pasture raised, what are you actually paying for? And how closely does the picture on the package match the life that the animal lived? Well, today I'm joined by Paul Greive. He's a former Marine and co-founder of Pasturebird. Paul's farming story started with a family conversation and an unexpected order of 50 backyard chickens. We get into how that became a mission to make pasture raised chicken more accessible, what common grocery store labels do and don't tell you, and how a bird's diet and living conditions may influence the meat on your plate. We also tackle that weird crunchy texture that you sometimes get in chicken breast, the cooking mistakes that can ruin an otherwise great meal, and why buying a whole bird could help stretch your grocery budget. Before we jump in, full disclosure, Pasturebird is a sponsor of this episode of the show, and I've personally tried and loved their chicken. I only partner with brands that I personally enjoy myself or would recommend to loved ones, and I had full editorial control over this conversation. Now, with all that out of the way, please enjoy my conversation covering all things chicken and Pasturebird with Pasturebird founder, Paul Greive. Paul Greive, welcome to the show, how you doing?

Paul Greive (2:35)

Good, man, thank you so much for having me, excited.

Max Lugavere (2:37)

Thanks for coming out, yeah. I'm definitely a huge fan of your product, Pasturebird, and in general, I love chicken, which sometimes doesn't get, it is the most commonly consumed meat in America, and yet it doesn't always get the love that it deserves.

Paul Greive (2:54)

There's some reasons for that, but yeah, we'll talk about that today.

Max Lugavere (2:57)

Let's talk about it, let's talk about it. Before we get to that, I want to know more about your backstory. You have said that the Paleo diet has changed your life, your health in many ways. So I want to know what your health was like before, what the switch was that you made and how it impacted your health.

Paul Greive (3:16)

Yeah, I mean, Paleo is a big deal for me. So I grew up normal city kid eating McDonald's, like the normal program, went into the Marine Corps at 22 years old, caught Lyme disease during sniper school and started getting all the weird health stuff. Like 22, 23, I went from a college athlete to being like brain fog and fatigue and arthritis and just like really feeling like crap. So a bunch of buddies, I mean, Paleo was hitting, this was probably 2010 or something, and Rob Wolf and all the Paleo guys were like going.

Max Lugavere (3:44)

That was the era.

Paul Greive (3:45)

It was the era, it was when it was all getting going. And I just got really interested in it, started eating, reducing inflammation, eating whole food and like felt like a kid again. And that was the first time I'd ever thought, all right, I guess what I put into my body affects the way that I feel. Never thought that would lead me into farming or anything, but that was the start of it.

Max Lugavere (4:02)

But what a concept, right? That what you eat actually can translate into how you feel subjectively. Your entire experience of life is changed by your diet in many ways. It's not the only variable that matters, but it's definitely an important one.