With lots of people trying to understand what grass-fed means & why we at Borntrager Dairy produce grass-fed meats & dairy versus grain-fed, I decided to tackle this question in a blog post.
So here goes!😍
What should Cows be Eating??🐄🧐
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 GMO corn & soybean ration + by-products (such as candy & chocolate).
Why Chocolate? 🍫To cut costs.
What does that mean??
Well, in a nutshell... cows are eating anything and everything they were NOT created for.
WHY??
Simple. 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 cud-chewing animals such as cattle and dairy cows. 😥
Here are a couple of differences between grass-fed & grain-fed.
You see, years ago we were feeding grain to our cows… we’ve noticed the vet bills go way down & our time spent with sick animals is very minimal!🙌
Grain-fed Cows
When they are on grain & other by-products they often get a number of physical disorders.
To prevent serious illnesses the feedlots will often 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.
Grass-fed Cows
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.
👨🌾Thesefarmers aka "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 for you the consumer. 🥛🥩
Remember your meat is just as healthy as the animal that produced it.
After all, we too, are just as healthy as the food WE eat!
The downside to grass-fed…
It takes quite a bit more time.😏
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.
And then you throw in the year 2020, & you have a hard time finding processing dates! 😜
Grass-fed Meats are Cost-effective. Yep, tis true!💃
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?🧐
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 because of unhealthy animals…
Initially, Grain-fed appears to be cheaper.
Often I hear how grass-fed meats fill your tummies so much sooner.
In fact, it takes less meat per meal, so when you are buying a roast please realize, it will feed more people than your supermarket counterpart.
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. 🌾🐄
" 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 meats & dairy products. 🥛🧀🥩
We believe our family's health depends on us making wise choices with the food we eat.
Thus, we raise our grass-fed meats & dairy for our own health as well as for yours!😍
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 who are interested in grass-fed meats!