Grass fed beef, in the last ten years this has become one of those trendy food items. While typically associated as a boujee Whole Food 's only type of product for the wealthy and elite, grass fed beef has made it 's way into most conventional grocery stores across America. Whoever, many may be wondering whats the deal with this grass fed beef stuff? Is it worth the extra money? Is it even any healthier? Today I 'll give oyu a brief overview of why I believe you should be eating grass fed beef if your going to eat beef.
A Brief History of Agricultural in the 21st Century and how it applies to grass fed Beef
To understand why grass fed beef is so important, and why you should be eating it, one must first understand very generally history
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The beef industry continued to flourish hitting record numbers in the 1970 's, it was also around this time that taste corn fed beef had become the public 's preference and basically things haven 't changed much since then. Corn feed beef dominates grocery stores in the United States, if you pick up a piece of beef (and any other form of meat for that matter, including fish) you can bet your bottom dollar that the animal you are about to consume consumed corn.
Whats the problem with Corn?
At this point you must be wondering, whats the issue with corn? Frist let me point out when I say corn, I am not speaking of sweet corn that you eat a bowl of for dinner. We are talking about field corn, which is primarily grown to fed animals, that we then eat. The problem is with feeding animals field corn. Here 's the problem with feeding animals (particularly cows) field corn: animals are not supposed to eat corn!!!! As a result we have meat products that are wreaking havoc on our health. First, understand cows are meant to eat grass and other foraged materials. Cows are not supposed to eat corn, when they do a plethora of things happen. The first is that it makes them sick. Cows fed corn become bloated, are more susceptible to liver abscesses, and e.coli. Also, because Corn is high in phosphorous and low in calcium which is a recipe for kidney stones. You must also understand to combat all the damage the corn does to cow, farmers then pump their animals full of drugs to
While the majority of Australians live with food security, the long term forecast shows our current food resources will be insufficient to feed the increased population, especially with alarming climate change forecasts, nor is the demand sustainable for the environment, particularly in the beef industry. The real cost of beef is not understood by most consumers, which could be because this country has not experienced shortages sufficient to demand radical diet changes. Beef has been a staple part of the Australian diet and landscape for many
In the united states especially healthy food is considered to be more baroque and therefore seemingly out of reach of the majority of the population. Foods that are mass produced and heavily processed for a longer shelf life are more commonly accessible for the majority of people, thus creating health issues. Even if the meat and vegetables were home grown it would take a lot of work and can be costly thus the downside to home grown meals. Modernly, most americans have such a disorganized schedule that they would never be able to make time for raising the animal or growing the vegetable anyway. A great way to provide food for the family that, yet many people believe to be inhumane, is very efficient for a healthy meal and is very good for the health of the wildlife population is hunting and fishing. Deer meat is very lean, especially when compared to beef, and it is naturally grown by itself so therefore there are no added steroids or supplements for growth, all the deer have is survival of the fittest. “In fact, as you can see by the graph below, grass-fed beef can have the same amount of fat as skinless chicken breast, wild deer, or elk. Research shows that lean beef actually lowers your "bad" LDL cholesterol levels.” (J. Animal Sci )
It has been taken over by large companies and marketed at high price. Our food is grown based on demand, not on health. In the film, Food, Inc., the chickens and cows are raised to be slaughtered as quick as possible. They are beefed up with feed that is full of antibiotics that become harmful for digestion. The chicken that are raised are in small areas where they have never been exposed to sunlight. There are plenty that die each day because of the conditions they are being kept in. The chicken’s organs cannot keep up with their growth, therefore, they cannot take two steps. Cows are basically in the same situation as the chickens. They are being fed corn instead of grass and are confined to small areas. Listening to the documentary about how the chances of cows being cleaned before slaughtered is traumatizing. That is the food that we eat and how we are supposed to have our intake of energy. If this is how the industry is treating the population we have today, I do not see much difference for the population
Do you really know what is in your meat? What about what happens to the meat after it is slaughtered? Fortunately, the conditions have gotten much better throughout the years. But many years ago, in the early 1900s meat consumers bought spoiled and rat infested hams that were produced by the meat industries. Nowadays, the meat industry has improved to a certain extent. Today, about 80% of all U.S. feedlots are injected with hormones (Lerner). Americans should know what they are eating. This is important in the meat industry because they are the producers of all the meat that we eat. The meat industry has improved and is much better than the 1900s, but still not at as ideal as everyone thinks it really is.
In the US today cattle are part of everyday culture. With more than 93 million cattle in the dairy and beef industry, and tens of thousands in the rodeo business, cattle are definitely a huge part. Lately, there has been many concerns with the bovine friends along with multiple misconceptions. Rodeos may look tough on animals, and todays society is not educated well enough on the beef and dairy industry. People don’t realize that these animals are happy, healthy, and very well cared for.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is a trade association and policy group that represents all segments of the cattle industry: producers, feeders, and breeders. The association has over 28,000 individual members and represents over 230,000 people in the industry. The current president of NCBA, Scott George, is a cow/calf producer from Wyoming with a long history in the dairy industry and policy groups as a member of the Farm Bureau. In addition to its role in U.S. policy, the NCBA conducts research, marketing, and promotional work for cattle ranchers. The NCBA’s vision is “an industry united around a common goal of being the world’s most trusted and preferred source of beef and beef products.” The economic interests of the cattle
In the article, “Another Year of the Chicken: U.S. Beef Supply Will Fall Again in 2015” (2014) the author, Vanessa Wong, analyzes how the the price of beef and been increasing resulting in more of a demand in chicken. Wong goes on to state that the increase in beef resulted from an extreme drought in 2012 “caused feed prices to spike and, in response, farmers thinned their herds” (Wong, 2012). More of a demand in chicken has also been noticed in restaurants. The price of chicken increased five percent as opposed to the nine percent increase in beef at Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. However, by the year 2016 Tyson Foods has projected that the cattle supplies will be down to has little as one percent. In truth, the price of beef will decrease.
Traditionally, before man started to produce and make a living off of cow’s, all beef was grass fed beef, but due to the man’s
The demand for beef was caused by the expeditious growth of fast food restaurants in a short amount of time. Over the past several decades of the industrialization of food, most Americans have resorted to eating mainly processed foods, including beef and products that are derived from cows’ milk. These products were made to become appealing through countless advertisements, many of which exaggerated their health benefits and tried to bring a shot of sex appeal to their
In conclusion, the amount of stress on cattle can reduce production in all aspects and ultimately leave the farmer empty handed and the consumer can be left with rotten, tasteless food. Stress must be reduced to a minimum to bring forth the best most profitable product. Perhaps all farmers should shoot for having cattle be that stereotype of easily soaking up the sunshine and lying on a side hill chewing cud. What is the cost of stress? Can the reduction of stress bring a better life to all aspects of the beef industry? Will the reduction of stress create a better product for consumers? What is the real cost of
Nowadays more and more people are unaware of where their food comes from. Mankind now lives in an age where technology is the main focus and the rural way of life is becoming a thing of the past. The ability to produce food is so efficient and effective that some people do not even realize how their food gets to their plate. But that was not the case in the 19th century. In 1837, a man named John Deere changed farming forever.
Many people believe and many websites claim grass-fed beef is better for you than grain-fed beef. There are many studies that give this assumption merit, but we can’t just go off of what somebody else says to know which one we prefer, however we can determine which one is healthier for you. Let us begin with the meaning of these terms. Grass- fed bovine are animals that are fed purely on grass, foliage, and hay throughout the course of its life. Grain- fed bovines start out eating grass during the first 6 months, or weaning period, but they are ‘finished out’ in a feedlot with hormones and on a grain based feed, made with corn, soy, minerals, and a mix of different ingredients and nutrients.
Sorry DiCarlo, I’m going to have to side with DK on this one. In my opinion, when eating both corn fed and grass fed beef with seasoning, butter, etc. you can’t tell the difference because the other flavors are masking it. However, in natural form with no seasoning, butter, etc., you can taste the difference between grass fed and corn fed. Whether one tastes better than the other is a matter of personal preference. Corn fed cows have a higher fat content and their meat is “juicier”. That is why when cooking grass fed burgers; many cooks opt to add butter (help give it that fat flavor). Corn is fattier than grass. While the grass fed is leaner than the grain fed, the majority of the flavor comes from the fat itself. Why? Because the flavors
The co-evolutionary relationship between cows and grass helps us to understand modern meat in a way that the cow can prevent trees and shrubs from gaining a foothold in their habitat, spreading grass seeds and fertilising it with his manure, while the grasses provide ruminants a supply of lunch since the fact that the cows can convert grass into high-quality protein by using the rumen.
While purchasing meat may seem as simple as a quick trip to the grocery store. But the truth of the matter is, unless you are purchasing grass fed beef, it has most likely been subject to growth hormones, antibiotics, and haven’t been grass fed. Finding grass fed beef shouldn’t be as hard as you would think but it will take some work. You should also consider that it may look different, as in it won’t be pumped full of red die to make it appear more “appealing”, like in the grocery store.