> Speaking of pemmican, I ran across this web site that sells pemmican.
> I haven't tried it but I'm thinking about it.  It's $79 for 5 lbs,
> which doesn't seem too bad to me -- 40 2oz servings, about $2 each.
> It's also made from grass fed beef.
>
> http://storesense01.dynamic.net/grassland/Detail.bok?no=159


this pemmican seems paleo at first glance but then you learn that cows are
fed silage in the winter ( not paleo ) for peoples who don't know,  silage
are cut grassed packed in  a big mound to fermente under anaerobic condition
under a plastic tarp.
here is an extract showing the loss in protein in the end product among
other denaturation    from
http://www.vetsci.psu.edu/Ext/Newsletters/Nutrition/hhm11993.htm


Plant protein

The vast majority (75 to 90%) of the total nitrogen in fresh grass is
present as proteins.  This protein is made up of 20 amino acids.  Plant
proteins are primarily water-soluble and can be precipitated by heat or
acids.  Both heat and acid production that occurs during fermentation will
cause the plant proteins to be altered.  Most of the proteins present are
present as enzymes that are involved in the growth and function of the plant
cells.  The amino acid content of many of the grasses and legumes grown in
the Northeast do not vary to any great extent.  Seven amino acids account
for nearly two-thirds of plant proteins found are arginine (the most
abundant), lysine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, alanine, leucine, and
glycine.  Stage of plant growth and soil fertilization are the two factors
that affect the amino acid content most.

Free amino acids, amides, peptides, amines, ureides, nucleotides,
chlorophyll, and nitrates make up the majority of the non-protein nitrogen
compounds found in forage plants.  Under normal circumstances, these account
for 10 to 30% of the total nitrogen found in grasses, legumes, and corn.
The amount of these compounds present in the plant material can be
influenced by a large variety of factors including environmental,
fertilization, species, and stage of growth.  Under normal circumstances, 10
to 25% of the nitrogen in plants is made up of non-protein nitrogen in the
form of free amino acids, amides, peptides, amines, and nitrates.  The
nitrate component of the crop is directly related to the amount of nitrogen
applied to the field and can also be affected by rainfall patterns.
During ensiling there is a rapid hydrolysis of peptide bonds from plant
proteins.  The rate and extent of proteolysis depends on factors such as
plant species, rate and extent of fermentation, temperature of fermentation,
and the dry matter content of the crop.  Certain additives such as anhydrous
ammonia may affect this breakdown. The initial crop wilting period, in the
case of alfalfa or grass silage, can have a major impact on plant protein
hydrolysis.  Prolonging the wilting period and wilting the crop under humid
conditions increases plant hydrolysis.  The end products of protein
hydrolysis during the wilting period are peptides, free amino acids, and
amines.  The wilting period may not affect the overall plant protein
content, but it may increase amino acid deamination.  An increased amino
acid deamination may affect the protein quality of the nitrogen fraction of
the silage.  The effect observed in the end product of prolonged wilting, is
an increase in non-protein nitrogen content of the silage especially
ammonia-N.
Lactic acid bacteria cannot produce their own amino acids and therefore need
an external supply for their growth.  These bacteria can ferment amino acids
as part of their normal growth pattern.  Two specific amino acids that they
ferment are serine and argentine.  Some lactic acid bacteria can also
ferment amines and nitrates and are one of several factors responsible for
nitrate disappearance during ensiling.  In addition, serine and argentine
levels are often quite low in silages, despite being high in the initial
plant before fermentation.



i have been living in a place where cows are free range in the mountain in
the summer and fed silage and hay in the winter . the difference of taste of
the meat depending on the season was very obvious not at the advantage of
the silage fed .

silage don't occur naturally in nature so you can expect genetic
inadaptation to this new food .

jean-claude