Grass fed beef is better for you, it’s much leaner than its conventional counterpart. It’s also higher in key nutrients, including antioxidants, vitamins, and a beneficial fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that’s been tied to improved immunity and anti-inflammation benefits. Grassfed beef has more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, more conjugated linoleic acid, a type of fat that’s thought to reduce heart disease and cancer risks. CLAs are healthy fats associated with reduced cancer risk, reduced cardiovascular disease risk, and better cholesterol levels. Grass-fed beef has also been found to have a healthier ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.
What is so bad about regular old beef?
The increased global demand for beef (it’s ballooned in recent years) means that cattle need to be grown, fattened, and butchered fast. They get fatter faster when they are contained in feedlots. The problem is that cows aren’t made to eat only grain; they are made to eat grass. So cows in feedlots can get sick, which is why they’re given antibiotics. Big industrial farms also feed cows more than just grain. I have heard about how cows were being fed Fruity Pebbles, Freihoffers bread and old Halloween candy, wrappers and all! This is referred to in the corporate Ag. world as “food residues”! Outdated food that can be gotten on the cheap. They also supplement their food with animal by-products, which is dangerous and unhealthy, plus hormones to make them grow faster.
There is an environmental impact as well, since feedlots produce more waste than the ground can handle, polluting our water and air. Also, the impact of growing corn just to feed cows so that they can feed us is a little bit backwards when there’s grass, a sustainable resource that cows would prefer to eat. Grass fed animals have a better life. They roam, they chew grass, they take naps in the pasture. They eat the diet they were born to eat, which means they are healthier. Having cows roam grasslands is good for the environment. Grazing animals keep invasive annual weeds under control by chomping on the seed heads. They keep perennial native grasses coming back by exposing the growth points to sunlight. Controlled grazing fertilizes the land and protects a natural resource. By not growing and shipping grain to feedlots, we’re also saving energy.
Grass-fed beef tends to be leaner and less fatty than grain-fed beef however a grass-fed steak, cooked properly, will be just as juicy, and it will have better flavor from the natural diet of the cow. A healthy animal on a natural diet makes a healthy source of beef for the consumer.