What is Grass-Fed Beef?
Grass Fed Beef
You have probably heard or read about or even eaten grass-fed meat at some point in time, but what exactly does that mean? Grass-fed means that the bovine in question was allowed to graze in a pasture and raised on its natural diet of grass, instead of the typical factory-farm feed of grains, animal by-products, and hormones. The differences in results are vast.
Not only is grass-fed meat more humanely produced, more ecologically sustainable, and healthier–it also tastes better. Whatever your criteria for choosing what food products to buy, grass-fed meat bests the competition across the board.
Is it more expensive? Yes. But not if you include the environmental and health costs of producing and consuming grain-fed beef. How you factor those into your decision is up to you, but here are some things to consider when it comes to choosing what beef to buy.
Reasons to Buy Grass-Fed Beef
Benefits of Grass Fed Beef
Grass-Fed Beef is Healthier. On average, grass-fed beef contains substantially fewer calories and less fat than its grain-fed counterparts. If you eat the average amount of beef for an American, switching to grass-fed beef will reduce your annual diet by more than 16,000 calories. That means you can still enjoy delicious red meat with less risk of health concerns like obesity, diabetes, and heart attack.
Additionally, grass-fed beef contains more omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for regulating inflammation and fighting inflammatory diseases like arthritis, Crohn’s, and autoimmune diseases. It’s also not treated with artificial hormones or antibiotics, which remain in beef even after it’s processed and cooked.
Grass-Fed Beef is Better for the Environment. Factory farms that “finish” their cows on grain-based growth-spurt diets produce massive amounts of waste in dense concentrations–contributing to soil degradation, water pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Many of them also treat their cows with hormones and antibiotics, which likewise can leech into ground water and negatively impact local ecosystems.
Grass-Fed Beef is Better for the Cow. Raising cattle in Confined Animal Feeding Operations (or CAFOs) is often criticized as inhumane. For animal activists, grass-fed beef practices are a far more preferable alternative as they allow for a free-roaming, pastured life rather than being packed into feedlots.
Grass-Fed Beef Tastes Better. It does, however, require careful cooking. Unlike fattier, growth-spurt formula beef, it’s easy to overcook, meaning it’s often better braised or seared and left somewhat rare.
[Photocredit: Treehugger; OneResult]
No related posts.
