Grass-fed meat is an old-fashioned idea that's making a comeback. It is a slow return, however, because the price of grass-fed meat can be more than twice that of grain-fed. The difference in cost, and many say in quality, between the two comes down to what the animals eat, and where they eat it

Before there were large commercial feedlots-fenced in areas where livestock are fed corn and other grains to fatten them up quickly for slaughter-cows, sheep, and other animals bred for meat would graze freely in pastures on their natural diet of grasses. Back then, it took four or five years for an animal to grow big enough for slaughter. In today's industrialized feedlot operations, where time is money, it takes less than a year and a half. It also takes a diet that includes supplements, growth hormones, and antibiotics to prevent an unnatural diet from making the animals sick or even killing them.

Feedlots are also breeding grounds for a particularly dangerous strain of E. coli bacteria, which thrive in the intestinal environment of grain-fed cattle. E. coli has poisoned many people and has even killed children and adults who ate contaminated, undercooked beef. To be fair, serious outbreaks of E. coli poisoning have also been traced to contaminated well water, fresh spinach, unpasteurized apple juice, lettuce and even raw refrigerated cookie dough. The original source is always an animal, however, be it livestock or a human, and the cause, whether accidental or intentional, is usually faulty hygiene or improper handling of foods.

When researchers at California State University's College of Agriculture compared samples of meat from grass-fed and grain-fed cattle, they found that changing the diet changes the nature of the animal's body fat. The meat from grass-fed cattle was lower in saturated fat, higher in polyunsaturated fat and had a better balance of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids than the meat from grain-fed cattle. Cows that were given a combination of grass and grain, with two-thirds of their diet coming from grass and one-third from grain, had fat profiles similar to those on an all-grass diet. This "finishing off" with grain has become a common practice among many commercial livestock producers; cows start off eating grass and are fattened up with grain for a period of time just before slaughter. In that case, there appears to be little nutritional benefit to eating grass-fed meat.

Fans of grass-fed beef claim that, in addition to economical, ethical, environmental, and nutritional considerations, grass-fed beef simply tastes better and, for that reason alone, is worth the difference in price. Some people prefer what has become the familiar flavor of grain-fed meat, however, while others think that even though there are some differences, one type of meat is no better than the other. Since there is no accounting for personal taste, the decision to eat grass-fed or grain-fed meat is up to you.

 

Food Revolution

http://www.foodrevolution.org/grassfedbeef.htm

 

EatWild

http://www.eatwild.com/basics.html

 

U.S. Department of Agriculture: Beef...From Farm to Table

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Beef_from_Farm_to_Table/index.asp

 

Time Magazine (June, 2006): The Grass-Fed Revolution

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200759-1,00.html