Why Grass-Fed Beef is Better!
If you’re new to organic/healthier eating, you might have heard a thing or two (or three) about grass fed-beef. You might be wondering, “What’s the big deal with grass-fed beef anyway? Is it really healthier? How is it different than other beef? And why is it more expensive?!”
I found myself asking those same questions nine years ago, when I unexpectedly had to change my diet, due to food intolerances with our eldest daughter. The only beef she would not react to, was grass-fed beef.
While I didn’t take much time to fully understand “why” during that challenging season, I’ve certainly learned a lot about it since. Especially now that we raise our own grass-fed beef! So here’s some basic information to get you going and “in the know”!
Cattle: Herbivores & Ruminants
Let’s dive into cattle anatomy for a second. Cattle are ruminant animals (more than one stomach), who naturally eat a plant and herb based diet. Grass itself is not easy to digest, which is probably why God designed cattle to have four stomachs, each one progressively breaking down digested food until it passes through the intestines.
The rumen (first stomach) is filled with microorganisms, which are able to break down and ferment the cellulose structure of grass. After this happens, the next three stomachs are able to extract the necessary nutrients and calories. Ideally, the pH of the rumen should be around 6.4.
Cattle naturally consume a little grain here and there in the wild. However, when given an excess of grains, the acidity of the stomach is increased (pH between 5.8 and 5.3). This causes the microorganisms in the rumen to deactivate, which means the cattle is no longer able to extract the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
In conventional farming, cattle are often fed a high-grain diet to obtain heavier finishing weights quicker. Unfortunately, this stresses their body, specifically the liver. Just like humans, the body can only take so much stress before intervention is needed. Over the years, antibiotics, vaccines, and growth hormones started being administered to compensate for their poor health and growth rates.
How is Grass-Fed Beef Different/Healthier?
Grass-fed beef is just that. Beef from cattle that were fed grass from the pasture when available and hay during the colder months. There are two different types of grass-fed beef. The first is 100% grass-fed and finished; the other is grass-fed and grain finished.
There are a few additional variables to consider, such as whether the farm also follows organic practices (meaning no: antibiotics, vaccines, growth hormones, chemical pesticides or fertilizers), uses conventional methods, or falls somewhere in-between. What goes into the cattle, goes into the beef, which goes into you!
Because grass-fed cattle grow up on a natural diet, grazing in pastures, their bodies are healthier and less stressed, which makes better quality beef. Grass-fed beef is found to be lower in saturated fats, higher in omega-3 fatty acids, and contains more conjugated linoleic acid and Vitamin E. The color of the fat is also richer (more yellow) due to increased beta-carotene consumed from grass. All of this leads to more flavorful beef!
Did you know?
There’s one thing we’ve learned personally, heard, and read over and over during our health journey and it’s this: Most often, it’s not the actual ingredient someone is reacting to, but rather something “attached” to it.
For example, our daughter was showing signs of intolerance to beef, even through breastmilk. As we dove deeper into the issue, and started learning how conventional beef was raised, we started to wonder if she might not be reacting to the pesticides/fertilizers sprayed on the grass and grain (you know, the ones with warning signs that children shouldn’t play on areas recently sprayed…). Or perhaps, it was a reaction to foreign chemicals injected into the cattle to keep them healthy and grow faster.
Choosing to test this theory, I ate a small amount of 100% organic grass-fed and finished burger, and watched our daughter for any signs of reaction. In the past, her skin would break out around her hands and wrists/she would cry in tummy discomfort/become constipated.
To our relief, nothing ever happened. As I gradually increased how much beef I ate, she continued to do fine. Over time, it was a blessing to feel we could pinpoint some of her intolerances to the same issues, and at the same time sad to know food sources were not being raised as God intended, therefore making them potentially harmful.
Why is Grass-Fed Beef More Expensive?
Cattle raised on a 100% grass-fed diet take longer to mature. Many conventional farmers harvest around 15-18 months, which is why quicker weight gain is desired. We don’t harvest our cattle until they are around 28 months old. Waiting until they’re older produces a better marbling/meat to fat ratio and grazing them an additional summer produces better flavor and more tenderness.
But this also means the cattle need to be fed longer, and since they are not supplemented with cheaper, unhealthy grains, it costs more. Minerals and salts used to round out the cattle’s nutrition is also more expensive, especially certified organic brands; having manure spread as a fertilizer, renting neighbor fields, and maintaining equipment also adds up.
I would venture to say, most small-scale, grass-fed beef farmers, are not in it for the money, but for the quality they know they’re producing. In our case, what started as necessity turned into a passion for shepherding animals the way God originally intended. It’s by no means a cash cow operation! (Hehe, get it?!? Yea ok, I know, that was dorky!)
Grass-Fed Beef: Purchasing Observations
As with everything else, not all things are created equal. I will never forget the summer we started running out of the 100% organic, grass-fed beef we purchased from a local farm. Since our then almost two-year old daughter was still dealing with food intolerances, I purchased a few pounds of 100% organic, grass-fed ground beef from a nearby store, figuring it shouldn’t matter it wasn’t from a small, local farm.
My plan was to slowly transition over to the store bought beef while I still had some of the other left. I prepared the beef the same way I always did. After one bite, she refused to eat anymore. My husband and I were floored at how adamant she was with not eating it. She was (still is) an extremely hearty eater. I went and got some leftovers of the small farm’s beef and she scarfed it right up!
I thought “Ok, maybe that was a weird fluke.” So I went to a wholesale type store and got a few pounds of their 100% organic, grass-fed beef. Her reaction was the exact same thing. And it wasn’t like she was watching me make dinner to know it was different packaging. In all honestly, we think her body was just smart enough to instinctively know there was a better option for her sensitive digestive system.
All that to say, if possible, I believe purchasing beef from a local farmer is the best way to go. They’ll often let you visit the farm to check things out, you’ll know where the beef came from, and friendships often ensue.
So, now that you know a little more about grass-fed beef, what other questions/thoughts came up? Have you ever bought from local farmers before? What’s your experience been?
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