You’ve likely heard a lot of talk about grass-fed versus grain-fed beef, but does it actually matter which kind you eat?
Jo Johnson, author of “The Health Benefits of Grass Farming,” explains the difference between grain-fed and grass-fed animals and it is dramatic. An animal’s diet can have a profound influence on the nutrient content of products.
In post-WWII America, a surplus of Ammonium Nitrate (no longer needed for bombs) was converted to chemical fertilizer, and the production of government-subsidized corn created a boom. Combined with other supplements, hormones and antibiotics, the cheap and plentiful corn was quickly found to be a desirable foodstuff for cattle production as the animals gained weight more quickly, reaching a harvest weight up to a year faster than grassfed cows.
This industrialized standard became the norm as breeders responded by selectively breeding for grain diets, creating a breed vastly different from the original breeds such as the Aberdeen Angus of Scotland.
The Aberdeen Angus raised by our farms, on the other hand, is a smaller-framed animal (700 pounds dressed) with a rounder shape, shorter legs and an unaltered digestive tract, which is needed to digest a 100% grass diet.
Simply put, our old-world heritage Aberdeen Angus cattle thrive as they were designed to on a grass-only diet. A modern Angus removed from the feedlot and put on pasture will not “finish,” or fatten up. Our Aberdeen Angus
will actually become ill if put in a feedlot, a result of the bloat and acidosis that often occur in the bovine rumen when fed grains.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EATING GRASS-FED BEEF?
Choosing to eat grass-fed beef over grain-fed is loaded with health benefits, among them weight loss and increased nutrient and vitamin levels. We’ve outlined three important benefits below: N Lower in fat. Grass-fed animals have less fat than grain-fed animals that are fed a combination of grains and hormones that are intended to fatten them up quickly.
Because grass-fed meat is leaner, it also has fewer calories and can lower LDL cholesterol levels (also known as the bad cholesterol). It provides three to five times the Omega-7, which in turn lowers cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and provides two to three times the heart-healthy and cancer-inhibiting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
N Higher Omega-3 levels. Grass-fed animals provide two to six times the cell-boosting Omega-3 fatty acids which play an important role in our bodies. They are essential for proper cell function. They regulate genetic function, help prevent heart disease and stroke, and may help prevent cancer and other conditions. Grass-fed cows have higher fatty acid levels because Omega-3s are formed in the chloroplasts found in the plants they consume on a daily basis, as opposed to grain-fed animals whose levels of fatty acids decrease daily as a result of their diet on the feedlot.
Grass-fed animals also have more vitamin E, vitamin B and beta-carotene, thanks to their healthier diet. N Lower risk of toxins. The hormones, antibiotics and drugs that grain-fed animals are given to promote faster growth are passed onto us when we consume their meat! These hormones may potentially cause cancer and other defects or health problems
Also, grass-fed beef is less likely to contain E. coli bacteria than grain-fed meat, so you have less chance of getting sick from eating it. The conditions that grain-fed animals experience tend to be dirtier and more crowded, leading to them consume more hazardous waste products as well.
Another reason why meat-eaters may choose to eat grass-fed over grain-fed is for humane reasons as to how the cows are raised and the environmental impact from producing the livestock.
We’ll touch more on that next time, but for now, when we say Welcome Back To Flavor, we mean welcome back to the way meat used to taste. It means we want you to taste the old breeds, produced the old way, the way nature intended.
Whether it’s chicken, pork or beef, come on down to Prescott Meat Company and see, taste and feel what you’ve been missing. QCBN
By Mike Wright
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