Meat-eaters usually assume a grass-fed steak came from cattle contentedly grazing for most of their lives on lush pastures, not crowded into feedlots.
If the government has its way, the grass-fed label could be used to sell beef that didn’t roam the range and ate more than just grass.
The Agriculture Department has proposed a standard for grass-fed meat that doesn’t say animals need pasture and that broadly defines grass to include things like leftovers from harvested crops.
Critics say the proposal is so loose that it would let more conventional ranchers slap a grass-fed label on their beef, too.
“In the eye of the consumer, grass-fed is tied to open pasture-raised animals, not confinement or feedlot animals,” said Patricia Whisnant, a Missouri rancher who heads the American Grassfed Association. “In the consumer’s eye, you’re going to lose the integrity of what the term ‘grass-fed’ means.”
Since when does a term describing the diet of an animal have anything to do with where it was at while being fed this diet?
“In the consumer’s eye, you’re going to lose the integrity of what the term ‘grass-fed’ means.”
You certainly don’t want to destroy this elitist vision of cows roaming freely on the pasture munching on uncut grass before they are hauled off to be slaughtered for packaging.
You could also see it as a humanist label showing that the animals had a relatively stress-free life. In addition to providing better tasting meat, humane animal husbandry is healthier, too.
In addition to providing better tasting meat, humane animal husbandry is healthier, too.
Taste is all a matter of opinion, but can the healthier claim be proven, or is it just feel-good conjecture?
The issue is not just the feed, it is the environment.
Feedlot cattle need more antibiotics to stave off diseases. The range fed cattle need far less antibiotics, if at all. I have a problem with eating beef full of antibiotics, especially when it can be helped.
I am surprised to find out that there are people who think “grassfed” is a good thing in the first place. From a marketing perspective, I mean.
I’m sure there are some volvo-driving sandal-wearing al-queida-supporting president-hatin’ dope smokers out there who prefer what miniscule amount of beef they eat to be lower in fat and therefore essentially tasteless, but most people like a nice juicy (read:fatty) hunk-o-dead-cow.
In my world, “grassfed” means “select”, and “grain-fed” means “choice”, and anybody who doesn’t know the difference needs to stick to chicken and tofu.
#3 and #6… the “grass-fed” label isn’t just about the beef being lower in fat. It has a different nutritional profile due to the cows being fed their natural diet vs. something that has been imposed on their for industrial reasons.
Omega-3 EFA levels are higher, which are always desirable in keeping the Omega3:Omega6 balance intact (it is currently skewed way too far in the O6 direction for most people). It contains more Omega 6 CLA, which is believed to be healthy. It’s also higher in a number of vitamins, including C and E.
Those are all more important than fat content.. monitoring fat content is overrated, IMO, although grass-fed does have less fat, too.
Nothing new here. Look at the definition of ‘free-range chicken’ , which is one of the biggest marketing frauds placed on the consumer ever.
Well, how about a new name? Take it somewhere that the feedlots can’t follow. Like “Pasture Raised” beef?
Of course the feedlot corps. will lobby Congress to say that if a cow set one hoof in a pasture at any time during it’s life, that would be good enough for the “Pasture Raised” label.
I think the bigger question….in light of the “free range” and “organic” fiasco..is why the FDA (food and drug administration) is doing all it can to encourage toxic producers to do more, get more, and screw with the consumer’s mind with bullshit labeling. The FDA seems bent on killing us.
Yes, “free range” once meant that the chickens had exercise, light and air..now, with FDA blessings, it means access to natural light for some small part of every day (meaning the coop door is opened occasionally, and the wire cages they live in are a tiny bit larger). Organic is muddy, doesn’t mean much. Large producers can label some, or all, of their product ORGANIC, when the “organic” crop is right smack dab in the center of their “non organic” production, and the sprays, fertilizer, and all that might drift over. Not really organic, as it used to mean. Plus, organic, by FDA standards, can be grown from bioengineered seeds. And, anything labeled “natural” or “organic”…from soaps and cosmetics to snack foods…can be anything, as it’s not controlled, checked, or verified in any way.
Consumers have to do their homework. In chickens, look for PASTURED poultry, meaning they live in moving tractor coops moved to fresh pasture daily, and allowed to forage for bugs, take dirt baths, and run around acting like chickens. The product is a much better tasting bird. For organic vegetables…good luck, go to a farmers market, buy heirloom vegetables (which have a lower shelf life), or raise it yourself.
Grass Fed has meant that the cows aren’t on a grain diet (meaning more antibiotics). To some this means a lower grade of beef because of the lack of marbling (meaning less fat dispersed in the meat). Grain will fatten a cow, for a higher market weight, but it’s not really what they eat, and it irritates their stomach, weakens the cow’s immune system….and the solution has been to add antibiotics with the grain.But, grain fed brings up the images (and reality) of feedlot cattle…confined to a stinking smelling small lot of land (usually up to their knees in their own shit) packed so tight they can only turn around, but not lay down (or they’d be trampled by other cattle). A miserable existence, and once you see it….it screams UNHEALTHY! So, grass fed seemed healthier, although grass fed has always meant that the cows could just be eating hay at the feedlots.
The term consumers should look for are “pasture raised or ranged”. Better even, find a local beef producer and go look at how the cattle are raised and buy directly from the rancher.
But, lets face it..the FDA allows high fructose corn syrup, soy protein, and hydrogenated oil in EVERYTHING — even though no long term studies have shown any of this JUNK is healthy. And, since the start of adding this crapola to the food supply…suddenly diabetes, childhood athsma, adult heart and joint problems, plus GROSSLY OVERWEIGHT PEOPLE are everywhere. Hmmmm….wonder if there is some correlation between the massive amounts of fat, health problems and the change in the diet over the last 20 years. Oh wait, no one has studied this. The FDA never did. Now, doesn’t seem that the FDA really cares about protecting us, does it?
Gee, lets think…cows are fed corn to increase their girth= more at market. We’re now fed huge amounts of corn syrup…and now our girth is up. Doesn’t take rocket scientists, does it?
How’s this for a novel solution: instead of relying on the government to regulate every little term and label, why don’t we have an interested private party trademark the term “grass-fed” and then license it to meat producers who they feels meets their standards of what the term should mean?
Imagine that — a market-based solution instead of an asinine government one.
Do you know, that the meat handlers have the Gull to have made it possible to Replace LOST blood with Water? So that they Arnt loosing money form lost blood.
And they Push this idea, to the point that you are getting About..1/3 water in your processed meat.
To ALL you city folk…
What is the color of Blood?
It AINT red…
It Aint pink…
Stab your thumb and SEE.
Its a Dark burgandy to Black color. THATS fresh butchered MEAT.
As with ANy animal, You are what you eat…Range fed meat has a Much better flavor then Pened beef or Slaughtered Dairy cattle.
Range fed gets into different crops and grass then Penned up animals being fed grains, and wheat and silage. and the blood is better IN the meat.
NOw to an interesting subject…I know a rancher that will Cut and wrap his Range fed cattle for $2 a pound on the hoof. THAT ISNT bad, considering you are bpaying about $6 per pound for MOST of your meat at the store, and DONT know WHERe it came from.