If you are a meat eater, then you may have wrestled with this question (or at least wondered about the wording) before. What's the deal with grass-fed beef? It's a subject we've written about it briefly before, including a one-minute tip on how to cook it, but we think it's worth revisiting. Because buying grass-fed beef makes a big difference in the quality of the meat you're getting and the impact you're making on the environment.
We are neither cattle ranchers nor butchers, so our knowledge of this subject matter was gleaned from more authoritative sources: Namely, the writings of Michael Pollan, Bill Niman's exhaustive beginning to The Niman Ranch Cookbook, and a few quick points from Cree LeFavour's The New Steak, which Sara Kate reviewed this week.
Here's our very limited tutorial, to give you a start. We're sure many of you know all of this, maybe more, so feel free to bring up more issues in the comments.
What's 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. They supplement their food with animal by-products, which is dangerous and unhealthy, plus hormones to make them grow faster. We even remember an article talking about how cows were being fed Fruity Pebbles.
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 those sweet cows would prefer to eat anyway.
So, what does grass-fed mean?
For starters, the animals have a better life. They roam, they chew grass, they take naps in the pasture. That sort of thing. They eat the diet they were born to eat, which means they are healthier. Having cows roam grasslands is good for the environment; as Niman writes, "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.
Many grass-fed cows, including those from Niman Ranch, are grass-fed and grain-finished. What does that mean? Calves and young cows are allowed to graze as they would naturally, but because it takes much, much longer for solely grass-fed cows to reach a respectable weight, most are eventually moved to feedlots to fatten up towards the end of their lives. Companies who make a point to let their cattle graze, however, usually have very different feedlots than commercial producers. They feed the cows an all-natural, vegetarian diet.
How does that affect the taste of my steak?
Grass-fed beef tends to be leaner and less fatty than grain-fed beef. That's why ranchers usually switch the cows to grain; it gives the meat that all-important marbling. As LeFavour writes, "Cows are supposed to eat grass, with perhaps a little grain thrown in for dessert." A grass-fed steak, cooked properly, will be just as juicy, and it will have better flavor from the natural diet of the cow.
What do I look for in the grocery store?
If you are buying from a local butcher that you know, you can ask about your beef. If you are looking at labels in a grocery store, LeFavour says to look for things like "no added growth hormones" or "no antibiotics," since it's unlikely a cow was raised in a feedlot without them. More likely, that cow grazed in some fields and then had some grain for dessert.
Related: Morris Grassfed Beef, a ranch outside of San Francisco
(Images: Elizabeth Passarella*)
*A note on these photos: I took them on the side of the road in central California. While these cows may appear to be crowded against barbed wire, they were very spread out and happily grazing until a stranger pulled her car over and took out a camera.
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You don't mention that the calories fed to a cow in the form of corn are not all recovered in the form of beef calories. Much of what they eat goes into fur, horns, and other inedible parts. For the same number of calories, you have to clear a lot more land, plant a lot more grain, use a lot more water to feed people beef than to feed people grain. Row crops like grain have serious environmental consequences, so it's best to minimize the amount that is planted.
Grass fed beef, on the other hand, emits a lot more methane.
From an environmental perspective, the best option is not to eat beef. If you would just die without it, cut it down to one or two small servings per week.
It matters tremendously. From an earth-point-of-view, well there is the safety of the planet. And from an eater point-of-view there is the satisfaction of the meal.
And the more satisfying / delicious the meal, the less we eat. Which is good for everyone.
Cheers!
my heart hurts just looking at those pictures. I LOVE me some meat - but the guilt is killing me. Going veggie is becoming more and more appealing. I've cut out meat because I can't afford it and the cheap stuff - chicken - is disgusting to touch raw. Maybe once my frozen stash of meat is gone, I'm going to make the plunge. This month is torturing me!
Just a correction: those are Holsteins. They are MILK cows, not beef cows. And, not to put too fine a point on it, they are young, unbred females, or "heifers." Never fear, they will not become your dinner.
Those are some happy cows!
I used to be a huge Pollan-ite and champion of buying ONLY grass-fed beef. However, I have recently learned that not all grain fed beef is bad. In fact, sometimes it is so difficult to maintain quality grass for the cows that meat from grass-feeding farmers can turn out to be poor quality. Many farmers who use a small amount of grain-feeding in a smart way are able to produce a quality product while still keeping their cows happy and healthy and making a minimal environmental impact.
This link explains the difference very well: https://dicksonsfarmstand.com/store/products.php?product=Grass%252dFinished-vs-Grain%252dFinished
In fact, you can even take a "grass fed vs. grain fed challenge" at the online butcher where this link comes from and see the difference in taste for yourself. Like many environmental issues, it is important to examine every step of the cycle, and not just latch onto a blanket solution because it is trendy.
"So cows in feedlots can get sick, which is why they're given antibiotics."
This statement is only partially correct. Cows in feedlots do get sick, but that's not why they're given antibiotics.
Animals are fed antibiotics not to prevent or cure disease as is commonly assumed; they are fed antibiotics to put muscle on faster. Antibiotics, when fed in very large quantities, have a steroidal effect causing the animal to grow faster. Antibiotics are literally added by the shovel full to feed, and the animal is ingesting them in amounts many, many times what would be given for illness.
Scary factoid: 70% of the antibiotics used in the U.S. go into animal feed.
This is a massive public health threat waiting to happen -- antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA, is popping up on feedlots where it's spreading to the animals and farm workers. These infections were once contained only to hospitals; the fact that they're now becoming community-acquired is seriously frightening.
Animals on feedlots get sick for several reasons. First, they are in close quarters allowing disease to spread easily. Second, these confined situations are stressful which weakens immunity. Finally, feeding an unnatural diet (such as grain and Fruity Pebbles) adds physiological stress further weakening the immune system.
There are other benefits to grass-fed that weren't mentioned in this article that I would like to point out. First, pathogenic E. coli didn't exist until we started feeding corn to cows. Grass is very alkaline forming, whereas grains are acid forming. This pH shift weakens the animals immune system, and allowed for the pathogenic E. coli strain to emerge. Also, there is no fecal shedding of E. coli when a cow is fed grass. Given that, it's better for the cow to be finished on grass rather than grain.
Finally, the fat content of grass-fed cows is better than grain-fed. Grass-fed cows have conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which some studies report lowes body fat, and has anti-cancer and anti-heart disease effects. Grass-fed cows also have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids compared to grain-fed.
As you allude to, "grass fed" just means that the cow got to eat grass at some point in its life. If you want a cow that had a natural diet, you need to look for "grass finished".
HeatherLouWho: Good to know- thanks!
Good post! Just a couple of points to add:
1. most of the beef we eat is not actually cow but steer.
2. the best grain to feed a grass fed cattle beast (that's what ranchers call them - honest!) is corn. It adds sweetness to the meat and gives the fat a lovely yellowish hue that is considered desirable.
How do I know these things? My Dad used to own a cattle ranch.
I thought it was funny when I was chatting with another American couple in Mexico not too long ago. They are a farming couple from MO. They had decided to do something different for dinner while in Mexico so they went out for a steak. The woman couldn't quite enjoy the flavor of the beef. Her husband explained it was because she was eating Argentinian beef and it was grass fed--even growing up on a farm she had never experienced grass fed and finished beef. They explained to me how they buy a couple cows off the market every year, fatten them on grain (corn and soy) from their farm and have them slaughtered. And they really fatten them up.
Even thought Argentina's beef is grass fed I don't think they mind pumping them full of antibiotics. In fact, I'm pretty sure that all Argentinian beef imports to the US were prohibited awhile back due to US concern about rustled (non-antibiotic fed) cattle being mixed in with Argentinian herds. That was when mad cow was all over the news.
The state of our beef production is just another example of the price we pay for being incredibly good at industrialization. If we could all live off the cow in our backyard we'd be healthier, our environment would be healthier but that would be billions less in economic production. I've said it before, it's all about how many boxes can be filled from a single head.
And not to be too much of a downer, don't think that as long as you eat meat that you're not eating holsteins. I could tell you the names of several restaurants that are serving it to you. Just so nobody puts me on the spot for examples I googled "holstein processing" and hope that's enough. If you read the article notice "injection site infections." This is a real problem. Cows are like living pin cushions. I know for a fact that ranchers like to give injections in the neck because they've pretty much determined that meat to be expendable. What a shame, the neck is some of the best meat--it's what's traditionally used in pot-au-feu.
Now why did you have to ask such a serious question? Just kidding. The moment we stop questioning is the moment we become complacent and assume everything is a.o.k.
oh yeah, the article on holstein processing:
http://www.agriview.com/articles/2008/02/28/livestock_news/livestock01.txt
Not only are those dairy animals, but dairy animals don't make good meat for eating. :-P
Art - those animals in the pictures are females, they are definitely not food. Steer != female.
I love ilovebutter. :)
If you're interested in finding grass-fed and finished, pastured, what-have-you beef in your area, go to www.eatwild.com. If you live near southern Idaho, you can contact my aunt and uncle at www.wilseyranch.com.
No one has mentioned the gamey taste of grass-fed beef. Yep, it's a little bit gamey. And it smells a lot stronger. But, um, it tastes a heck of a lot better than corn-fed, imo.
my grandfather (and subsequently his children) owned a cattle ranch for a good 40 years (and I mean a *real* cattle ranch, not those barren feed lots along the 5 in california). our cattle were very happy (roaming the pasutres, drinking from creeks, napping under trees) and I can attest to the fact that they tasted much better.
but ranching this way really is difficult. you're subject to the weather. one dry season and your costs skyrocket from buying hay and alfalfa to supplement their diet, (even though we grew some of our own, during a drought it wasn't enough). anymore a good ranch manager and cowboys are nearly impossible to find, (and someone has to herd the cattle from pasture to pasture). the price of cattle dropped severely due to factory farming making it difficult for "small" ranches. lucky for my grandfather, it wasn't how he made a living but a passion on the side or he probably would have had to shut down, (as many neighboring ranches did). as a way of life, it's on life support and the industrial cattle operations are waiting to pull the plug.
the fact of the matter is, everyone just needs to eat less meat (a portion is the size of your palm, not the size of a steak). if people ate less, (and bought better quality), the entire industry would be healthier.
art -- you're wrong about Argentine beef and antibiotics -- hormones are banned in Argentina (and in most of the world except the US), and antibiotic use is far, far, lower.
Argentine beef has been banned, off and on, in the US due to trade disputes (that have nothing to do with the quality of the beef), fears of bovine foot-and-mouth disease, and mad cow (and really, let's not get into a discussion on US policy vis-a-vis mad cow in US herds, which it pretends doesn't exist).
However, things are changing, due to the pressure of profits to be made from corn and soy. Here is the story of how it is affecting the Argentine grass-fed beef industry:
http://www.topcropmanager.com/content/view/4020/67/
The biggest issue about grain-fed cattle, hogs and poultry hasn't been identified as an issue yet in North America from what I can see.
Here in Europe, French scientists have revealed that animals that are fed a diet high in corn and soy not only fatten up quickly as a result, but fatten up those who consume them in turn because corn and soy are both very high in omega-6 fats. Western diets, due to excessive consumption of corn and soy, either directly in processed foods (just read the label of any cookie, cracker or cereal box, and try to find one without "hydrolized vegetable protein", or corn or soy) or indirectly by consuming meat high in omega-6 due to the animals' diet.
Natural animal diets are much higher in omega-3 fats -- as others have pointed out, grass-fed cattle is higher in omega-3s. As well, before the popularity of cotton, in the age when linen was more prevalent, animals were fed flax, a by-product of linen production.
As a result, these scientists say that the modern western diet is dangerously out of balance -- too high in omega 6 and too low in omega 3 (merely increasing omega-3 intake won't fix the problem). High omega-6 levels are not only implicated in the obesity epidemic, but also in higher rates of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
So besides it being bad to feed cattle corn because it is an unnatural diet, and will result in increased antibiotic use, it is bad because it is ultimately bad for our own health. And then of course there are the environmental issues of growing corn and soy.
Of course, this all comes down to the power of agri-business -- growing so much corn and soy is a relatively recent phenomenon, related more to government agricultural policies and subsidies than changing consumer tastes -- as well as the unwillingness of North American consumers to pay the true cost of food production -- fair wages for producers, and the costs associated with ethical and no-corner-cutting production.
Excellent comments everyone, esp. ilovebutter! I researched this topic extensively for a college paper--and granted, that was several years ago--but if I remember correctly, commerically raised animals are fed antibiotics for two reasons: fattening up the animals more quickly (as ilovebutter said), and to prevent (not cure) the diseases that run rampant when animals are housed in cramped, often unsanitary conditions.
Also, when I wrote my paper, there was a small body of evidence suggesting that traces of such antibiotics remain in the meat and might be contributing our own growing resistance to antibiotics. Regardless of whether this last bit is true or not, the unnecessary and over-zealous (ab)use of antibiotics in both humans and animals is leading to resistant super-bacteria that have the potential to become very dangerous.
Ultimately, I think that both grain- and grass-fed beef have their drawbacks and that the only solution is to simply eat less of it.
There a great book called What the World Eats, which shows families from around the world sitting behind a week's worth of their groceries. In addition to regional recipes and essays by the likes of Michael Pollan interspersed throughout, the book breaks down the grain/meat/dairy/etc consumption/cost of each household alongside country statistics such as percentage of obese men/women, death and literacy rates, etc. Highly recommended and with beautiful photography.
@cara_mia:
not that I'm proud to provide this quote but,
"The tenderest beef comes from steers (castrated males) and heifers (females that have not calved)..."
@mschatelaine:
antibiotics are antibiotics. they are using them. Of course so much of US import strategy has to do with government bureaucracy which can be overprotective. One of the big concerns of the USDA is traceability. When I was dealing with an Argentine rancher whose US business was put on hold, he told me that the US was suspicious of Argentine ranchers smuggling cattle onto their farms from across borders to avoid inoculations required by USDA policy.
We're on the same page though. And your link proves that there are many problems with our agri-business policies and it looks like, more increasingly, Argentina's regarding beef production. Btw, a 14 oz. bone-in Argentinian ribeye in Mexico was less than 20 US dollars or (not sure of the exchange rate) maybe 12 euros? http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/3330242022/in/set-72157614751886477/
I think everyone is right about eating less of it. When I look at many of the delicious cuisines of the world they are often in countries where people do not have a lot of money to spend on food, or anything for that matter. Vietnam, China, African countries, Caribbean and Latin countries--delicious food where you may often find beef. However, these cultures have found masterful ways of stretching a little beat of meat to create a dish for the whole family.
Americas approach to eating and many other things is not about stretching resources, it's about having the best and throwing away the rest. Much to our defense, we've been trained by industry to be like that. Cutting down on beef is not so simple as just figuring out ways of stretching it though. We've been very clever at finding ways to inject beef into our most favorite food of all--junk food. Cut down on junk food, cut down on beef consumption--easier said than done.
oh dear. "bit of meat" not "beat of meat".
@ilovebutter and Sunshinedaydream
Nick Kristof just wrote a great editorial yesterday in the NYTimes about this very issue of antibiotics resistance and MRSA with a follow up column coming on Sunday. Scary stuff!
Great comments, everyone!
@bennyrogers -- Thanks for linking to the article. I've saved it and sent it to some friends. I'm glad someone's bringing this to public attention.
If you guys are interested in more information on antibiotic resistance and industrial farming you should definitely check out SaveAntibiotics.org and KeepAntibioticsWorking.org.
The best way of cutting down on meat consumption?
Produce it ethically, carefully and properly. Ensure farmers are paid a respectable wage through the efforts of their labour.
(in short, get rid of factory farming -- cheap meat is not worth eating).
I know I go on about the price of meat and fish here all the time -- regular chickens around $30, Poulet de Bresse between $40-60, a small pork loin $28, and as for beef, we eat so little, I don't have it memorized, but a steak is around $20 - $30 a piece I think (honestly I try not to think about it). Fish is extraordinarily expensive here -- my husband hasn't recovered from the sticker shock of a whole halibut that I bought almost 2 years ago -- it was 40 Euros, or $60 (I've only managed to sneak in fish twice since -- but they have beautiful sardines for grilling, and I am determined to make a case for them this week). But believe it or not, there is an advantage to the cost: every expat we have spoken to has cut waaaaaaay down on their meat and fish consumption since moving here (although everyone eats too much cheese fondue for their own good).
@art - Your article talked about Holstein steers being raised for meat. They made no mention of using Holstein heifers for meat, heifers are raised for milking. So the pictures on THIS page are of animals that are very unlikely to end up on someone's plate.
We bought 1/8 of a grass-fed steer last year and have been eating the beef from the freezer ever since. We were warned that it wouldn't taste as good, but we find the opposite to be true. They made some of the best hamburgers I've ever had, and the steaks are divine. Sure, we do need to add fat to some dishes, but the way we cook, that's never been a problem.
I'm no rancher, but I think a happier cow is a tastier cow, and I'm sold on grass fed from here on out.
I am amused at the arguments back and forth, and since no one has yet mentioned this, I will add to the bickering. Cows raised for milking live their sad, short lives for 3-4 years in the standing-room only stall. They cannot produce industry-paced milk for much longer than this, even with the "assistance" of hormones. Then they are taken to the slaughterhouses to be ground into hamburger! Getting a cow who has not walked or left her stall for her entire milk-producing life onto a shipping truck is not pretty. Chains and fork-lifts are used for the really lame ones. So YES, your dairy cows do eventually become meat cows. I was sad to learn this, too. If you want stomach-turning proof google a video, or find it at the go veg website.
mischief7 - Even industrial farms are usually "free-stall" style barns like these. They allow cows to roam, they're not tied in a stall their entire life. Man, that would be a hell of a lot of work going from stall to stall to milk them! Quite counterproductive to the industrial farming goals.
Yes, dairy cows usually do become meat cows. But they are unlikely to qualify as meat you see in the butcher's case at your supermarket. More likely, they are in your dog food can or maybe that Hormel Corned Beef hash. Or Taco Bell.
And rather than watching videos, I actually grew up on a dairy farm. Family friends still operate 1000 cow farms. I doubt your 3-4 year average age is accurate. I'd bet it came from a vegan or PETA propaganda. That's not to say that what the California Dairy board says is correct, either. But considering that the animals are close to 2 years old before they start producing, that doesn't make financial sense. I think the number is more like 5-6 years. In any way, it's still a lot longer than a beef animal, which is usually slaughtered before they are 2 - 20 months old.
That last statement should read that the animals are less than 2 years old; the average is 20 months.