Monday, June 15, 2009
Why Grass-Fed Meat Is Better
A diet high in red meat is just not good for us. But some people need to eat meat. If you're one of them, make sure you select grass-fed meat (not grain-fed or even worse!).According to recent studies, grass fed cattle produce meat higher in beta carotene, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids than meat produced from cattle raised by conventional ranching techniques. Conventional ranching techniques means cows raised in lots and fed mostly corn and processed feed.
According to Michael Pollan's well known book The Omnivore's Dilemma, cows evolved to eat grass and roam around in pastures. When cows eat grass they are leaner animals and produce leaner meat, which translates into healthier protein for us. Corn creates fat marbled meat, but the corn also upsets the cows four stomachs. Which in turn, leaves cattle more prone to infections, hence the increase in antibiotics given to cows. Historically speaking, corn was not the major feed for cows until after WW II, which is relatively recent in the grand scheme of things.
Unfortunately, the label/term grass fed is not currently regulated by the USDA. Ranchers and farmers raising grass fed animals are lobbying hard to have the term regulated. So your best bet is finding a ranch close by that raises grass fed cattle. If you are interested in finding grass fed beef produced close to you - check out Local Harvest.
Thanks FitSugar!
Labels: beef, corn, eating healthy, Fat, grains, grass-fed, healthier, meat, Michael Pollan, organic farms, red meat
*Indeed, one gentleman spent 10 minutes on the phone trying to convince me that Dakota Organics beef was grass-fed when I knew it was grain-finished. He read from the brochure that the cattle were raised on "pristine" green grasses. Which was no doubt true for the first 10 or so months. When I read back to him from the FAQ section on the Dakota site that the cattle were finished on grains and grasses, he was mighty confused.
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