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Go Wild! Eat Grass-Fed Beef for Health, Taste, Animal Welfare and the Land

The Quick Facts: There is no national definition of what qualifies as grass-fed. Grass-fed beef (as the name would suggest) comes from cattle that are raised on pasture and eat green grass for their entire life. Further, grass-fed beef is not given growth hormones or antibiotics. The health benefits of eating grass-fed beef include better nutrition with higher levels of essential vitamins (E, C, and beta-carotene), conjugated linoleic acid, and omega-3 fatty acids. Eating grass-fed beef is also kinder and gentler to the animals and the land. The benefits to animal welfare include allowances for the animals to eat and exercise at will as well as a lower incidence of illness. The impact on the land of grass-fed beef is less than conventional beef. Grass-fed beef only requires pasture to be raised while conventional beef requires the growing of corn with the heavy use of fertilizers made from petroleum as well as the piling up of animal waste which can be a source of both water and air pollution. Grass-fed beef may be more expensive than conventional beef but if you plan ahead you can enjoy the health, taste, animal welfare and environmental benefits year round.

Spring . . . . It has finally sprung! For many, spring is a rite of passage where we clean house, yards, flower beds and the dreaded garage or shed. Despite all the lugging and dusting, one piece of indispensable yard equipment that both sexes are happy to see is the BBQ. Women love it because it means men may take on a share of the spring and summer cooking. Men love it because they like to play with fire. What this means for the family is that there will be meat on the menu for dinner (and maybe even lunch, and possibly breakfast too) thru August. With your fork and spatula in hand, take the opportunity this spring to make informed and conscious decisions about the way the meat you eat is raised. With the following information in hand, go wild!

Conventional versus "Grass-fed": What's the Basic Difference?
According to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, conventional or non-grass-fed cattle are raised on a diet primarily comprised of grain. The grain is fed to the cattle in a feed lot where they are also likely given a growth promotant that contains naturally occurring hormones like estrogen to help them build more muscle, which results in leaner beef on the grocer's shelf.

In comparison, grass-fed or pasture-raised cattle (as the name would suggest) are raised on pasture and eat green grass.

Currently, unlike the term "organic," there is no national definition for what qualifies as "grass-fed." The most strict definition of "grass-fed" means that the animals spend their entire life, from birth to harvest, on pasture. In May 2006, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed a new label and national definition for grass-fed products. The USDA proposal would require that animals be raised on mother's milk, followed by a diet of 99 percent grass, legumes, or forage. Although the proposed national definition ensures cattle would not be fed grain, the animals could be confined and fed hay instead of being raised outdoors on pasture. Further, the USDA proposal would allow the animals to be given antibiotics and treated with hormones to speed their growth. According to the American Grassfed Association, a non-profit organization with the goal of promoting the grass-fed industry, most producers of grass-fed meat have rejected the proposed rule.

The Health and Taste Difference?
According to a research review conducted by the University of California Cooperative Extension and California State University, grass-fed beef offers better nutrition than conventional beef. Beef and milk from grass-fed cattle have higher levels of essential vitamins (E, C, and beta-carotene) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Grass-fed beef contains more omega-3 fatty acids (thus containing less fat and fewer calories), which are important in reducing cholesterol, diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and other life threatening diseases.

Another potential health benefit of eating grass-fed beef is that it, unlike its conventional counterpart, is free of artificial hormones. According to the European Union's Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures Relating to Public Health, the use of three naturally occurring hormones (Oestradiol, Progesterone and Testosterone) and three synthetic hormones (Zeranol, Trenbolone and Melengestrol) in conventional cattle pose a potential risk to human health. The potential risk to human health is that large doses of these hormones have been found to increase cancer rates in laboratory animals and are on state and federal lists of chemicals known to cause cancer. In addition, it is unknown what impact excess hormones have on the human body. The European Union has banned the injection of hormones into cattle.

Grass-fed beef is also free of antibiotics. The conventional farming method of dosing cattle with antibiotics even when they are not sick leads to antibiotic resistance of the animals and larger doses of antibiotics to be effective. The potential risk to human health is that the use of low-level antibiotics in cattle creates ideal conditions for the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As a result, consumers can be exposed to antibiotic-resistant bacteria from improperly cooked meat. Since grass-fed beef is free of hormones, it is also virtually free of E. coli. E. coli bacteria can lead to infection in people who eat undercooked beef. In comparison, conventionally raised corn-fed cattle have more acidic intestines which creates favorable growing conditions for E coli.

As for taste? Most would agree that the leaner grass-fed beef is tastier than its conventional, fatty counterpart.

The Animal Welfare Difference?
Grass-fed beef is raised outside on pasture, presumably enjoying a better quality of life than those conventionally raised in confinement. Living on pasture allows for eating at will, exercise, fresh air and natural light, and likely less illness and disease. In comparison, according to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, cattle being raised at a feedlot are separated into herds of 100 animals and live for four to six months in pens, where the cattle is not permitted to eat or exercise at will.

The Different Impact on the Land?
Grass-fed beef is gentler on the land than conventional beef. While grass-fed beef requires the land be left covered with grass, corn-fed beef requires the land be planted with corn, a heavily subsidized and grossly overproduced crop that requires more pesticides than any other food crop as well as nearly continuous fertilizers. The large quantities of fertilizers used on the corn crop demand large quantities of oil since some of the chemicals in fertilizers are made from oil. According to David Pimentel, a Cornell ecologist who specializes in agriculture and energy, because of this dependence on petroleum, a typical steer will in effect consume 284 gallons of oil in his lifetime. Finally, grass-fed beef is less polluting than conventional beef since the animals' waste drops onto the land and the nutrients become part of the next cycle of crops. Conventional beef raised on feedlots are more polluting since the animals' waste builds-up and becomes both a source of water and air pollution whereas a grass-fed animals' waste is spread out and naturally degrades back into the soil.

Go Wild!!
Although grass-fed beef is more expensive than conventionally raised beef and less available (usually not on your supermarket shelves and only seasonally available in spring and early summer) its benefits far outweigh its costs. This spring, while cleaning out your garage or shed, also consider cleaning out your system and take advantage of the many benefits of grass-fed beef for your families health as well as the welfare of the animals and the land. With a little planning and research, you can buy grass-fed beef in bulk and freeze it (or find farms that do the same), and you can throw grass-fed beef on the BBQ year round! (See http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html for a listing of farms that sell grass-fed beef in your state.)

Information used in this article was found at the following sources, which you can visit if you want to find out more about this topic:

http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/antibiotics_and_food/european-union-ban.html (Union of Concerned Scientists, the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world, report entitled "European Union Bans Antibiotic for Growth Promotion")

http://www.beeffrompasturetoplate.org/ (Stage in Beef Production from the website of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, working to increase profit opportunities for cattle and beef producers by enhancing the business climate and building consumer demand).

http://www.ams.usda.gov/lsg/stand/ls0509.pdf (Federal Register Notice of the United States Standard for Livestock and Meat Marketing Claim, Grass (Forage) Fed Claim, May 12, 2006)

http://www.americangrassfed.org/ (Established in 2003, the American Grassfed Association membership is comprised of producers of all types of grass-fed livestock, professionals in education, health, food service and other related industries, and consumers. The goal of the Association is to promote the grass-fed industry through government relations, research, concept marketing and public education)

http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/courses/geog100/Hormone-BeefDebate.htm (Los Angeles Times article entitled, "U.S., Europe Lock Horns in Beef Hormone Debate")

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/hormones/ (Fact sheet about artificial hormones by Sustainable Table who celebrate the sustainable food movement, educate consumers on food-related issues and work to build community through food)

http://www.eatingfresh.com/ (Fresh is a publishing and information services company and consulting firm that connects home cooks, professional chefs, restaurateurs, food enthusiasts, and consumers to taste, health, and community benefits of locally grown and raised foods)

http://www.eatwild.com/ (Eatwild's goals are to link consumers with reliable suppliers of all-natural, delicious, grass-fed products and to provide comprehensive, accurate information about the benefits of raising animals on pasture)

http://www.sierraclub.org/e-files/grassfed.asp (E-file from the Sierra Club, a national non-profit environmental organization dedicated to exploring, enjoying, and protecting the wild places of the earth, entitled "Going Grass-fed")

http://www.csuchico.edu/agr/grsfdbef. (University of California Cooperative Extension and California State University, Chico research review finding greater nutritional value in grass-fed beef)


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