BENEFITS OF GRASS-FED, PASTURED BEEF
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- Beef from forage-fed animals is lower in saturated fat
and cholesterol than meat from animals fed grain.
- Higher content of vitamin E, beta-carotene,vitamin C,
and two health-promoting fats called Omega 3 fatty
acid and conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA).
- No hormones, additives, antibiotics.
- Better for the environment.
- Beef from forage-fed animals can be tender and is
more tasty.
When a ruminant is taken off pasture and fattened on an artificial grain diet, it loses its stores of vitamins E,
beta-carotene, CLA, and omega-3s. It doesn't matter whether the grain is organic or not. Feeding large amounts
of any kind of grain to a grazing animal makes the meat less beneficial for human consumption. In order to
have the healthiest meat, the animals need to remain on their natural diet of fresh pasture.
Compared with grain fed meat, grass fed meat has as much as four times more vitamin E, five times more
cancer-fighting CLA, three times more heart-friendly omega-3s, and twice as much beta-carotene. It is also
lower in calories, total fat, and saturated fat.
Furthermore, your risk of being sickened by E. coli bacteria may be much greater when you eat grain fed meat.
Feeding grain of any kind to a ruminant increases the acidity of its digestive tract. This abnormally acid
environment causes the E. coli to multiply and also to become more acid-resistant. According to a study
published in the journal Science, these altered bacteria are much more likely to survive the cleansing acidity of
your digestive juices and make you ill.
Finally, grass fed meat is likely to be free of the most undesirable elements even when it is not organically
certified. I don't' know of any grass farmers who doctor their animals with synthetic hormones, put antibiotics
in the feed, or use herbicides or pesticides on their fields. When grass farms lack organic certification, it's
usually because nitrogen fertilizers are used on the fields or the animals are treated with medications to rid
them of parasites. (By Jo Robinson from The Stockman Grass Farmer)
