Grass Fed vs. Grain Fed. Just for you Uno!

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Now, I still do not personally go out and say that grass fed is the healthiest beef, just so I dont get in toruble from Uno hehe

BUT, I found this information a while back, and I darned beleive every word of it.

Now, they are comparing grass raised/finished beef to FEEDLOT beef, not your backyard farmer thats fattening up a steer for the freezer. That is entirely 2 different things. This arcticle is focusing on the general public, the ones who's only real choice is supermarket beef.

I encourage you to click on the link and have a read through of the site. Lots of very great information on there.

I'll excerpt some here..

Cattle were not designed to eat grains. And because of that, their diet of grains in factory farms largely contributes to the negative aspects of eating beef.

The fat content of beef is the primary reason it has lost ground as a respectable entrée on America's dinner table. Not only do most beef cuts have a high fat content, ranging from 35-75%, but the majority of it is saturated.

"Grain-fed beef can have an omega 6:3 ratio higher than 20:1"-- J. Anim. Sci. 2000. 78:2849-2855

This well exceeds the 4:1 ratio where health problems begin to show up because of the essential fat imbalance(eew). Grain-fed beef can also have over 50% of the total fat as the far less healthy saturated fat.

Grass-fed beef has an omega 6:3 ratio of 0.16 to 1.

This is the ratio science suggests is ideal for our diet. This is about the same ratio that fish has. Grass-fed beef usually has less than 10% of its fat as saturated. If you are a pregnant or breastfeeding mom, the extra omega 3 from the grass-fed beef will provide incredible nutritional benefits for your child.

Also, and this I would bet my life on.

Compared to grain-fed cattle, grass-fed beef is:
•Two to four times richer in heart healthy omega 3 fatty acids.
•Higher in "good" unsaturated fats and lower in "bad" saturated fats.
•Three to five times higher in CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) content.
•Loaded with over 400% more of vitamin A (as beta carotene) and E.
•Virtually devoid of risk of Mad Cow Disease.

OK Uno... ATTACK! (we need a giggling smiley)

Mad cow disease, hmmm, why would grain fed cause that at all, I mean I thought it got transmitted because cows were fed animal content (like left over bits and all mashed up and fed back in their feed).

Cathyjk wrote:Mad cow disease, hmmm, why would grain fed cause that at all, I mean I thought it got transmitted because cows were fed animal content (like left over bits and all mashed up and fed back in their feed).

Yes. Dead animals were processed and used as feed additives. The standard treatments were effective for any possible viral or bacterial contamination but I think they were not aware of prions at the time (which is what causes mad cow disease).

Fowler wrote:

Cathyjk wrote:Mad cow disease, hmmm, why would grain fed cause that at all, I mean I thought it got transmitted because cows were fed animal content (like left over bits and all mashed up and fed back in their feed).

Yes. Dead animals were processed and used as feed additives. The standard treatments were effective for any possible viral or bacterial contamination but I think they were not aware of prions at the time (which is what causes mad cow disease).

Ecactly. Cattle in feedlots were being fed dead ground up cows... which lead to BSE (Bovine Spectrum Disease aka Mad Cow)

Silly DoubleSS, I have no plans for attack. I do not disagree with anything you've said. I simply prefer grain finished beef to eat, that's all. A preference. I prefer butter to margarine. I prefer bubbly wine to say, sour milk.

As for the health concerns, I think this becomes even a bigger factor depending on how much of your diet is made up of red meat (beef, mainly). We eat very little beef. When we do it is often as ground beef and that is bought as lean or extra lean. But when I bring out the big bills and spend $160 on a prime rib, it better be off a fat, pampered cow!

As you rightly point out, many of us on this site know the differences between grass raised and grain finished or purely grain raised, or home raised as opposed to feedlot product. But if you are the average city slicker in the supermarket, these differences are lost on you. IT was my annoyance with a radio broadcast that portrayed one take on a subject and not giving a complete picture of the different ways and different 'whys' of raising/finishing beef. Good post, DSSR!

Mark me down for a vote towards grain finished!

grass raised wich chop sometimes and finished on chop/hay is my vote.

I like my beef to taste like MEAT and not like.. squishy pink stuff with no flavour. grass meat is so flavourful to me. I loves it

And Uno, just friendly teases!

DoubleSSRanch - you say BSE = Bovine Spectrum Disease? No, it's Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

ipf wrote:DoubleSSRanch - you say BSE = Bovine Spectrum Disease? No, it's Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

lol sorry thats what I meant Longs days+no sleep=me makie no sensie

DoubleSSRanch wrote:I like my beef to taste like MEAT and not like.. squishy pink stuff with no flavour. grass meat is so flavourful to me. I loves it

And Uno, just friendly teases!

i hope you are NOT suggesting that finishing off beef on grain makes the meat "mushy"????
If you are,... Thant's just crazyness!!!!

Don't you think, in addition to being finished on grain (like what 6 weeks?) that it's hanging the meat that makes a huge difference?

I don't think the grocery store carry meat that has been aged for 21 days... it's a huge advantage when you have your own beef and can take it to a butcher who knows the whole process.

Thoughts?

C

I think it's trucking and chutes and fear and adrenaline that can make a difference. If meat is saturated with adrenalin and lactic acid it's got to make it taste different.

Yeah, I would think that is the same as game meat that gets run a lot before actually being done in... horrible

Cathyjk wrote:Don't you think, in addition to being finished on grain (like what 6 weeks?) that it's hanging the meat that makes a huge difference?

I don't think the grocery store carry meat that has been aged for 21 days... it's a huge advantage when you have your own beef and can take it to a butcher who knows the whole process.

Thoughts?

C

Yes, most supermarkey beef is hung not even 3 days from what I understand. Ours is hung for 21 days. Makes such a big difference!

And DWD, no, that is now what I meant. What I meant, is in MY opinion, grass raised has alot more flavour. Store meat to me tastes like.. nothing really.

Cathyjk wrote:Yeah, I would think that is the same as game meat that gets run a lot before actually being done in... horrible

Yes, agreed. Our animals dont even have a chance to know what is going on before they get a humane peice of lead. The slaughter house we use is very well organized. The animal is off loaded from the trailer, goes down a very short, maybe 20 foot alleyway into the chute, and bang and its done. No held up in crowded corrals for hours or days, no yelling and cattle proding. All very quiet and slow.

I think the things that factor into the quality and taste of the final beef product are many and varied.

-Age of beef at slaughter.
-Breed of beef. (and I will go down on record as saying dairy breeds are edible, but are not what I think of when I think of beef)
-Quality of hay or grass. Quality, quantity and time of finishing grain or chop (if given).
-Method of slaughter, and this cannot be over-emphasized! Ours were shot while they had their head in a bucket of oats. THey never even saw the gun!
-Skill of butcher and correct or incorrect way of handling, hanging and cutting meat.

In my opinion, getting a good piece of meat on the plate is a skill. It is no small undertaking. A 'good' piece of meat takes so much more than tossing food then shipping the animal. That feeds the masses. But many of us know this is not a quick process nor are there short cuts to a good product.

we get ours done at home we have a guy come to our house and kill/skin it right here , its busy minding its own business then wham, doesnt even know what hit it...best way to do it.
then we just take the carcass to the shop to hang and cut it...

uno wrote:I think the things that factor into the quality and taste of the final beef product are many and varied.

-Age of beef at slaughter.
-Breed of beef. (and I will go down on record as saying dairy breeds are edible, but are not what I think of when I think of beef)
-Quality of hay or grass. Quality, quantity and time of finishing grain or chop (if given).
-Method of slaughter, and this cannot be over-emphasized! Ours were shot while they had their head in a bucket of oats. THey never even saw the gun!
-Skill of butcher and correct or incorrect way of handling, hanging and cutting meat.

In my opinion, getting a good piece of meat on the plate is a skill. It is no small undertaking. A 'good' piece of meat takes so much more than tossing food then shipping the animal. That feeds the masses. But many of us know this is not a quick process nor are there short cuts to a good product.

I agree with you 100%

triplejfarms wrote:we get ours done at home we have a guy come to our house and kill/skin it right here , its busy minding its own business then wham, doesnt even know what hit it...best way to do it.
then we just take the carcass to the shop to hang and cut it...

No muss no fuss, can't think of less stressful way to deal with getting good cow on the plate.

Last time we fed them 1 gallon each of oats every day all summer and fall. They graze on wild grasses, lounge in bushes, getting whatever they need or want from the land. We do give them a salt block but nothing else, no minerals or other supplements. When the time came we hired a pro to kill and dress. Took him less than a half hour, and meat was hanging in our cooler. We hang for about 10 days then cut. The result: the tenderest, most flavorful, sweetest tasting meat I've ever eaten. No gamey flavor either. It is a lot of work to get good steak, but you will not forget the experience when you finally do.