Why Grass-fed Beef?
To answer this question...
Let's think back to when your Great, Great, Great Grandparents came over the open prairie in covered wagons...
Or even further back to when the Indians lived in the beautiful grasslands...
What animal lived in herds?
What did those animals eat?
Who ate those animals?
Were those people healthy?
Hmmm...
Yes, I'm talking about the beautiful buffalo! They ate the prairie grasses, their native diet.
The Indians ate these animals along with other "wild" animals and plants. And as far as we know they were healthy...
No heart disease... No Irritable Bowel Syndrome... No Cancer... & the list goes on & on!
Do we need to go back to living in teepees?? 😯
No. ;)
But I know we can learn a few things from their eating habits!
What does this have to do with us??
Well first, let's talk about the cow.
What were cows created to eat?
Gmo Corn? Soybeans? Grain? Candy?
Chocolate? (Yes, you are reading correctly!)
Stale pastries? Chicken feathers? Leftover potatoes?
Hormones (for faster growth/heavier production)? Supplements? Antibiotics?
Grass??
YES!!
Cows were created to eat grasses in lush pastures, just like the buffalo! During the cold months, they eat dried grass (hay).
Sadly, most cows hardly see a green pasture in their life much less eat its beneficial grasses.
These days, conventional farms are feeding their cows a GMO corn & soybean ration + by-products (listed above) to cut costs.
What does that mean??
Well, in a nutshell... cows are eating anything and everything they were NOT created for.
WHY??
So that conventional farms can stay in business!!
What does that do to the cow??
Studies show dairy cows only survive 1-2 lactations (3-4years) before farmers have to cull them.
A high-grain diet can cause physical problems for ruminants; cud-chewing animals such as cattle and dairy cows.
Ruminants were designed to eat plants, shrubs, fibrous grasses- not starchy low-fiber grains.
When they are on grain they often get a number of physical disorders.
To prevent serious illnesses the feedlots often will give them continuous low dose antibiotics in their ration.
When antibiotics are overused, bacteria becomes resistant to the medication; thus not working.
Hmmm... No wonder humans are becoming immune to antibiotics... if our food sources (milk & beef) come from cows on antibiotics all the time!!
On the other hand, grass-fed cows are allowed to forage on pasture; their native diet.
They live low-stress lives and happily chew their cud.
These "grass farmers" don't feed hormones or growth additives to their cows.
Cows will self-medicate if they have a sufficient variety of grasses to forage on!!
Just grass.
Thus resulting in a healthier cow.
And a healthy cow means healthy meat &/or milk!!
Remember your meat is just as healthy as the animal that produced it!!
More Nutritious! Grass-fed meat is proven to be healthier; more vitamins & more health-promoting fats; such as omega 3 and the CLA.
Did you know healthy fats promote great brain cells??
Yes! Healthy animals (grass-fed) have excellent healthy fats! The vitamins in grass-fed fats are known to guard against heart disease.
The CLA fatty acid is known to protect against cancer & promote muscle growth instead of fat growth.
But the CLA is only present when the animal eats green grasses!
No wonder the Indians were healthy!
Grass-fed beef has soft, pliable, yellow fat that is easy to cut and the suet makes amazing pastry lard.
Grain-fed on the other hand is white & very tough to cut.
The heart, liver, and other organs on grass-fed are normal sized and can be eaten for a highly nutritious meal.
Grain-fed organs are enlarged and often condemned because of the stress from being on grain
. And personally, I wouldn't want to eat any grain-fed organs!
Remember, we too, are just as healthy as the food WE eat!
Raising grass-fed beef is an art and a science... the "grass-farmers" need to have healthy soils to raise optimal grasses in order to have tender and excellent products!
A lot of time and attention is taken in order to raise a healthy & sustainable product.
It takes quite a bit longer to raise a completely grass-fed beef versus a grain-fed or grain-finished beef.
Cost effective.
Grass-fed appears to cost more initially... But the real question is:
What is the real cost of cheap food??
How many healthcare costs could be eliminated if we would eat healthy, nutrient-dense food?
Grain-fed only appears to be cheaper.
Please note: All supermarket beef products are raised in confinement feedlots, do not let the labeling blindsight you.
Grain-fed is often subsidized by the government so that producers can keep operating.
Most often the workers are underpaid. Working conditions are less than ideal.
The manure often causes environmental issues & eventually contaminates water sources.
And of course, the ever-rising health care costs...
Remember, we are only as healthy as the food we eat!!
And if we eat nutrient-dense food our bodies too, will self-medicate!!
Just like the cows who are allowed to eat their native grasses. And as the buffalo before them did...
So now you are probably thinking,
" What do I do now that I know this?? "
Most Important! Get to know YOUR farmer!
Support your local small farms.
Find out how and where your food is raised.
Ask lots of questions!
Where do I find grass-fed products??
Here at Borntrager Dairy we are committed to raising grass-fed products.
We believe our family's health depends on us making wise choices with the food we eat.
Thus, we raise our grass-fed products for our own health as well as for our customers.
Next time you eat a steak or a juicy hamburger...
Will you know how it was raised??😋
Happy Eating!
-Arlene
P.S. Please share with any friends interested in grass-fed beef!!