Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef

While the popular Wendy's ad tagline says 'Where's the beef', more and more health conscious people, as well as those concerned about treating animals meant to be slaughtered for food humanely, and raised in more environmentally friendly manner, are asking instead, 'Where's the real beef?'.

People are choosing to eat the healthier and more humanely produced grass-fed beef, instead of the unhealthy meat produced from grain-fed animals that are often subjected to inhumane treatment in the industrialized feedlots and slaughterhouses. In fact, by switching to grass-fed beef, these people are basically returning to the diet that was consumed right up to World War II.

Recent studies have found that beef, especially grass-fed beef, is a great source of protein. Also, the most abundant fat in it is stearic acid, which has been found to increase HDL, or the good cholesterol, and decrease LDL, the bad cholesterol. Grass fed beef also has other nutritive benefits.

The practice of enclosing cattle in factory farms that had the ability of fattening 50,000 animals a year was begun just after World War II in the US. Prior to that time, cattle pastured on grass fields.

The new system of factory farm produced beef came into being because of the huge surpluses soybeans and corn, which were subsidized by the government and produced with the help of modern fertilizers.

In the traditional method, grass-fed head of cattle took 3-4 years to fatten, whereas, in the grain-fed method they become ready for slaughter in just 2 years. This was an efficient method of producing beef industrially, which resulted in transforming it into a cheap source of meat from the luxury it used to be.

In addition, beef produced in feedlots has a uniform taste and texture which consumers have gotten used to, whereas grass-fed beef varies in taste as well as texture according to the pasture they are raised on and the breed of cattle.

Although this industrial method of producing beef is both cheap as well as convenient, it is being increasingly recognized that it also creates a lot of problems, such as: food that is high in unhealthy fat and poor in nutrition.

The unnecessary use of drugs like hormones and antibiotics; pollution of water, land, and air; and of course abuse and stress caused to animals. And this is the kind of beef that is mostly found in supermarkets.

The benefits of grass-fed beef over grain-fed beef are quite dramatic. In the first place, grass-fed beef is much lower in fat compared to grain-fed beef. And this is quite logical, because grass is a high-protein, low-starch, and high-fiber food compared to the low-fiber, high-carbohydrate soybeans that are fed to feedlot animals.

When cattle is grass-fed, apart from being lower in saturated fat, the meat from them also has higher amounts of omega-3 fatty acids which have been proven to be healthy for the heart as well as the immune system.

Plus, grass-fed beef also has higher amounts of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, which according to recent research is said to help in preventing diabetes, breast cancer, and so on. Furthermore, grass-fed beef is also higher in vitamins A and E, both of which are antioxidants and help in increasing resistance to disease.

One of the main harmful effects of producing grain-fed beef is the overuse of antibiotics, many of which are commonly used for humans as well. This has resulted in increasing numbers of bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics and therefore to the treatment, as well.

About 70 percent of the antibiotics are given to factory-farmed animals in order to promote growth and prevent diseases.

Most cattle that are grain-fed are affected by liver abscesses and stomach ulcers, and hence require regular doses of antibiotics. This is because cattle are ruminants, and therefore their digestive system has evolved to digest grass. So when they are switched to a grain-based diet, it increases the acidity in their guts.

Steers that are grass-fed, in comparison, hardly ever need antibiotics, because their digestive system is naturally accustomed to the grass they eat. Apart from the ulcers in the stomach, the acidity created by feeding grain also breeds a form of E.coli that is resistant to acid, which can spread from the carcasses contaminated with feces to the meat.

Another problem with factory-produced beef is the unnatural diet that is given to the animals, which are mainly soy and grain that are kept low-priced artificially due to government subsidies. However, in order to cut costs even further, other matter like chicken feathers, stale pastry, and municipal garbage are added to the feed.

Plus, the cattle were also fed meat trimmings from other animals, thus turning herbivores into carnivores. It is thought that this was what led to the breakout of 'mad cow disease' or BSE, which can spread to humans and cause a fatal brain disease.

Although feeding animal parts to cattle was banned in 1997, in the US, chicken feathers and beef tallow are still allowed.

From the above information, it is quite evident what the benefits of consuming grass-fed beef are over factory-produced beef.