The Case for Grass-Fed Beef
By Bruce Lee Deuley - 1/2/04

With all of the hoopla about “Mad Cow Disease” now in the news because of an infected dairy cow found in Washington state recently, it might be a good time to look at the advantages of consuming grass-fed beef instead of the more universially distributed grain and corn fed cattle found in most super markets.

There is an on-going debate in the scientific community as to how and why tis disease is becoming prevalent at this time. Some say that it was stared when cattle were fed bone-meal containing the disease. On the other side of the fence there is good evidence that it reared its ugly head after organophosphates were used in Great Britain on a massive scale to fight an infestation of warbles , a fly maggot, in the cattle population. Whatever the cause, Grass-fed cattle have had no way of being infected.

Cattle are ruminants and like their cousins Bison are grazers that have four compartments (stomachs) as a part of their digestive system. Why does it take four stomachs? The grasses, forbs (weeds), and browse (woody plants), that cows eat are very tough and hard to break down. The animals ability to use many different plant foods makes it a survivor when food (forage) is scarce.

However, cattle were never meant to live on grains and corn. They are browsers. When they are sent to the feed lot many of the problems begin. The artificial diet they are put on alters the acidity of their system and creates many problems for the cow. When these problems arise they are put on antibiotics to keep them healthy. In addition they are injected with hormones to increase their body weight before slaughter. This along with the unsanitary conditions and dense population while kept in the feed lots create, in my mind, a less that desirable animal for me to want to consume.

The meat from grass-fed cattle is also much healthier while being Lower in Fat and Calories. There are marked nutritional differences between the meat of pasture-raised and feedlot-raised animals. To begin with, meat from grass-fed beef, lamb, and bison is lower in total fat. For example, a sirloin steak from a grass-fed steer has about one half to one third as much fat as a similar cut from a grain-fed steer. In fact, grass-fed meat has about the same fat content as skinless chicken breast, wild deer or elk. When meat is this lean, it actually lowers your LDL cholesterol levels.

Because grass-fed meat is so lean, it is also lower in calories. (Fat has 9 calories per gram, compared with only 4 calories for protein and carbohydrates. The greater the fat content, the greater the number of calories.) A 6-ounce steak from a grass-finished steer has almost 100 fewer calories than a 6-ounce steak from a grain-fed steer.

There are many other health benefits gained when grass-fed beef is eaten instead of grain fed cattle. For a more comprehensive look at the subject, those of you with a computer can go to the web sight http://www.eatwild.com/nutrition.html.

Grass-fed beef is getting easier to find in the market place . Most of the major grocery chains now carry at least a few selections. It is also getting more reasonably priced as it increases in popularity. One caveat, because, like wild game, there is much less fat, don’t overcook it. Try it, I think you’ll like it!