The Hidden Trans Fat Scandal Your "Healthy" Meat Stick Company Doesn't Want You to Know
How the $2.8 Billion Meat Stick Industry Is Secretly Poisoning You With Unlabeled Seed Oils and Trans Fats—While Claiming to Be "Seed Oil Free"
You've done everything right.
You threw out the canola oil. You stopped eating at restaurants that cook with soybean oil. You check every label for sunflower, safflower, and corn oil. You're part of the growing movement of Americans who've woken up to the seed oil scam.
You even pay extra for that "premium" meat stick that proudly declares "NO SEED OILS" on the package.
Congratulations. You're still eating seed oils.
Not a trace amount. Not a negligible quantity. We're talking about hydrogenated vegetable oils—the worst form of seed oils—creating trans fats in every single bite.
And it's completely hidden from the label.
The "Seed Oil Free" Lie That's Killing You
Walk into any health food store. Whole Foods, Sprouts, your local co-op—doesn't matter. Head to the meat stick section. You'll see brand after brand advertising:
"No Seed Oils!"
"Carnivore Approved!"
"Pure Protein - No Vegetable Oils!"
Pick up that $8 Epic Bar. That $6 Chomps stick. That $7 Country Archer "Zero Sugar" option that influencers keep pushing.
They're all lying to you.
Here's the dirty secret: While these companies aren't adding seed oils as an ingredient you can see, they're using encapsulated acids—and those capsules are made from hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Soybean oil. Cottonseed oil. Canola oil. The very same inflammatory, oxidized, industrial waste products you've been avoiding—except now they're hydrogenated (making them trans fats) and hidden under the term "lactic acid starter culture."
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
How They Hide Seed Oils in "Seed Oil Free" Products
Let me break down the chemistry they don't want you to understand:
Lactic acid starter culture and citric acid need protection to survive the manufacturing process. These acids are encapsulated—literally wrapped—in a coating that slowly dissolves.
That coating? Partially hydrogenated soybean oil in 90% of cases.
Why hydrogenated? Because regular seed oils would go rancid. They need the molecular structure of hydrogenation to remain stable for the 18-month shelf life these products demand.
Dr. Catherine Peterson, a lipid biochemist who analyzed 47 popular meat stick brands, found something shocking: "Every single product using encapsulated acids showed markers for trans fats when tested, despite labels claiming zero trans fats and no seed oils. The average was 0.8 grams of hidden trans fats per stick."
You Thought You Escaped Seed Oils—Think Again
Here's what makes this especially insidious:
You're the perfect target.
You're health-conscious. You read labels. You've educated yourself about the dangers of seed oils—how they:
Destroy mitochondrial function
Cause systemic inflammation
Disrupt hormone production
Accumulate in your fat cells for years
Oxidize at body temperature, creating aldehydes more toxic than cigarette smoke
You did everything right. You pay 300% more for "clean" products.
And you're still poisoning yourself with every bite.
The meat stick industry knows you'll pay premium prices to avoid seed oils. So they found a way to include them without listing them. It's not technically illegal—it's just evil.
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
The FDA Loophole That Makes This Legal
Here's where it gets criminal: Thanks to a loophole in FDA labeling laws, if the encapsulation material makes up less than 2% of the total product weight, it doesn't need to be listed as an ingredient. It's considered a "processing aid."
But here's the math they don't want you to do:
Average meat stick: 28 grams
2% of 28 grams: 0.56 grams of hidden seed oils
Eat 3 sticks a day (common for carnivore/keto dieters): 1.68 grams of hidden hydrogenated seed oils daily
That's over 600 grams—more than a pound—of trans fats per year that you don't even know you're eating.
The Carnivore Community Has Been Duped
This is particularly cruel for the carnivore and animal-based communities. These are people who've eliminated seed oils entirely, often to heal autoimmune conditions, reverse metabolic dysfunction, or reduce inflammation.
They're buying $200 worth of "carnivore-approved" meat sticks monthly, thinking they're eating pure animal protein.
Instead, they're consuming more hidden seed oils than someone eating occasional French fries.
Mark Thompson, who runs a popular carnivore YouTube channel, had his inflammation markers tested after two years of "strict carnivore" eating: "My omega-6 levels were through the roof. Turned out I was eating 3-4 'seed oil free' meat sticks daily. The inflammation I blamed on 'adaptation' was actually hidden vegetable oils."
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
Your Gut Microbiome Is Screaming
Wonder why you still have digestive issues on carnivore? Why that expensive "pure meat" snack leaves you bloated? Why your skin isn't clearing up despite eliminating seed oils from your cooking?
You never actually eliminated seed oils.
The hydrogenated oils in encapsulated acids are even worse than regular seed oils:
They resist breakdown by digestive enzymes
They accumulate in cell membranes
They create 10x more oxidative stress than non-hydrogenated oils
They persist in your body for up to 2 years
A 2024 Stanford study found that people consuming products with encapsulated acids had:
73% higher inflammatory markers
45% more gut permeability ("leaky gut")
240% higher levels of lipid peroxides (oxidized fats in the blood)
All while thinking they were eating "clean."
The $300/Month Seed Oil You Don't Know You're Buying
Let's talk money. If you're buying premium "seed oil free" meat sticks:
Average cost: $6 per stick
Typical consumption: 2-3 daily
Monthly cost: $360-540
What you're actually paying for:
10-15% acids and preservatives (encapsulated in seed oils)
3-5% hidden hydrogenated oils
5-10% water weight
A marketing lie
You're literally paying $500 a month to poison yourself with the exact industrial oils you're trying to avoid.
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
Why Every Company Does This (Except One)
The meat industry has a problem: Real meat spoils.
Without encapsulated acids:
Shelf life drops from 18 months to 6 weeks
Product consistency varies
Distribution becomes expensive
Profit margins collapse
So they made a devil's bargain: Use seed oil-encapsulated acids, extend shelf life indefinitely, and hope consumers never figure it out.
For five years, every single commercial meat stick has used this process. Epic, Chomps, Country Archer, Duke's, Vermont, Paleovalley—all of them.
Until now.
The Only Company That Refused to Lie
After investigating every meat stick manufacturer in North America, I found exactly ONE that doesn't use encapsulated acids, hidden seed oils, or any hydrogenated fats: Grazly.
Their ingredient list is almost insultingly simple:
100% grass-fed American beef
Vera Salt (microplastic-free salt from ancient Spanish springs)
Natural collagen casing
That's it. No seed oils. No encapsulation. No "processing aids." No lies.
When I asked Grazly's founders why they don't use encapsulated acids like everyone else, their answer was blunt:
"We started this company because we were sick from hidden seed oils in 'healthy' foods. Why would we poison our customers with the same garbage that made us sick?"
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
How Grazly Achieves the Impossible
Without seed oil-encapsulated preservatives, how do they make shelf-stable meat sticks?
The answer is 200 years old: Proper drying and salt curing.
Instead of using acids to chemically preserve the meat in 24 hours, Grazly:
Uses controlled temperature dehydration
Relies on salt's natural antimicrobial properties
Accepts a shorter shelf life (12 months vs 18+)
It's more expensive. It's more time-consuming. It requires actual craftsmanship instead of industrial chemistry.
But the result? A meat stick with ZERO seed oils—not even hidden ones.
The Price of Truth
Yes, Grazly costs more. $45 for 10 sticks.
But consider what you're NOT paying for:
Hidden seed oils that destroy your mitochondria
Trans fats that accumulate in your cell membranes
Inflammation that requires supplements to combat
Medical bills from seed oil consumption
The lie that you're eating "clean"
When you factor in that Grazly is actually 100% meat (versus 85% meat + 15% seed oil chemistry), you're getting MORE actual food per dollar.
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
What You Need to Do Right Now
First, go check every "seed oil free" product in your house. Look for:
Lactic acid/starter culture
Citric acid
"Natural flavors"
Encapsulated anything
If it has any of these, you're eating hidden seed oils.
Second, demand full disclosure. Contact every brand. Ask: "What are your acids encapsulated with? Will you provide third-party testing for trans fats?"
Watch them squirm.
Third, stop funding the lie. Every dollar you spend on fake "seed oil free" products funds an industry that's literally poisoning people who are trying to heal.
You Deserved The Truth
You did everything right. You researched. You paid more. You changed your entire diet to avoid seed oils.
And they exploited your trust.
They took your desperation to heal and turned it into a marketing opportunity. They slapped "NO SEED OILS" on packages full of hydrogenated soybean oil. They charged you premium prices for the privilege of being poisoned.
The betrayal ends now.
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
Choose Real Food
Grazly exists because two guys got sick from hidden seed oils in "healthy" foods and decided to do something about it.
No venture capital demanding 18-month shelf lives. No industrial processing requiring encapsulation. No lies about what's actually in the product.
Just three ingredients: 100% grass-fed American beef, salt, and natural casing.
The way meat has been preserved for centuries. Before seed oils. Before industrial processing. Before we started hiding poison in "processing aids."
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
This Is Your Moment
You can keep eating hidden seed oils while believing you're "seed oil free."
You can keep wondering why your inflammation won't go away despite "perfect" eating.
You can keep funding companies that lie to your face while poisoning your body.
Or you can choose the only meat stick on the market with truly ZERO seed oils.
No hidden. No encapsulated. No "processing aids."
Just meat.
The seed oil industry has been hiding in your "healthy" snacks for years.
The carnivore community has been unknowingly consuming pounds of trans fats.
Now you know.
What are you going to do about it?
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
Get the only truly seed oil free meat sticks in existence. Limited production available at grazly.co
shop grazly meat sticks
"We started Grazly because we were sick from hidden ingredients in 'healthy' foods. We'll never do that to you."
P.S. Still skeptical? Grazly will ensure a satisfaction guarantee and if any issues arrise with your health after consuming their products, they will issue a full refund and launch an investigation.
P.P.S. Those "carnivore influencers" pushing seed oil-contaminated meat sticks? They're getting paid $5,000-15,000 per post. Grazly refuses to pay for endorsements. The truth should be free.