What is Grass Fed Beef and why should I eat it?

What exactly is grass fed beef you ask? Why should I seek it out when its more expensive than regular beef?

Let’s take a step back and discuss how the modern farm, or factory fed farm animal is fed. It isn’t pretty or for the faint of heart.

After reading Michael Pollen’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma about one quarter of the way through, my heart cannot take anymore, and I have put it down. Let’s just talk about the lifecycle of a cow. When a cow is born, he or she is isolated with its mamma to nurse and eat grass continuously. I learned that after six months, this natural way for a cow to live is then ripped from under him or her. The baby calf is taken away from its mother and placed in a pen where it will eat corn based meals forever and barely move again. The calf is very aware of this and often moans and cries out for its mamma and sometimes, the calf literally dies of a broken heart. Sad, right?

This is why grass-fed beef – if you are a "must have meat in my diet" eater – becomes important and don’t forget we all vote with our dollars. Grass fed beef means the cow can roam (although not always) and eat grass as God and the Universe intended.

There are also health benefits as cows that feed on grass produce meat that is nutritionally superior (think more antioxidants) and if this beef is labeled "organic meat" all the better as it means the grass is also free of pesticides – which is ultimately goes into your body as well.  As a holistic health practitioner, this is pretty important not only for me but also a recommendation I make to my clients. If you are what you eat (and you are absolutely what you eat) it’s important to seek out the best quality of food, with the highest nutritional value and free of the aforementioned trauma. It has been founded that grass fed beef is so nutritionally better that it’s considered almost a completely different product! I think it’s been widely profiled and reported as to what factory farmed cows and chickens look like, often shoved together in inhumane pens, not living as nature intended.  The Cleveland Clinic states that these animals are often pumped with antibiotics to prevent disease from close quarters and to aid in the increase of fat on the body (Source: Grass-fed vs. Organic Meat: What’s the Difference?). To paint a visual for you: these cows are not potty trained. Sadly, they are living in their own mess making antibiotics a must!  These antibiotics are also passed on to you- the consumer of the meat.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, farm factory animal practices are also terrible for the environment! This gets a little complicated to explain but it basically removes the natural manure that goes into the soil which improves the biodiversity of said soil and increases carbon emissions that go into the air (quite literally from the gas the animal produces when eating unnaturally!)  This emission in turn helps contribute to a whole host of issues – namely climate change!  (Source: New Study Finds Grass-Fed Beef Reduces Carbon Footprint | College of Agricultural Sciences)

Avoid these products whenever possible! Is it a little more in cost per pound?  Absolutely. Is it worth it? You betcha! Consider this as well. Grass fed beef is now a growing industry – with an estimated monetary growth in the billions over the last four years and projections for this trajectory to continue. Eat like your life depends on it, because it does!

It's better for you, it’s better for the cow and it’s better for the environment! (Where to buy: Trader Joe’s and Target both sell grass fed beef so it’s definitely easier to find but Wegmans and Whole Foods sometimes have direct relationships with farms : 20 Popular Chain Grocery Stores For Meat, Ranked)

Source and recommended reading : Is Grass-Fed Beef Really Better for You & the Environment?