Grass‌ ‌Fed,‌ ‌Pastured‌ ‌Meat‌ ‌vs‌ ‌Conventional‌ ‌Grain‌ ‌Fed‌ ‌Meat:‌ ‌which‌ ‌is‌ ‌the‌ ‌better‌ ‌choice?‌

Have you ever seen the 2004 American documentary Super Size Me?

​In the film Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald's food for 30 days. As a result, the then 32 year old gained 24 lb (a 13% body mass increase) and his total cholesterol went up to 230 mg/dL (6.0 mmol/L). In addition, he experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and fat accumulation in his liver. This documentary is a prime example of how quickly our health can go south when we eat a diet that our genetics are not set up for. 

The same quick decline in health happens in animals when they are fed a diet that is unnatural. That’s right, the term “you are what you eat” applies to more than humans. 

Grazing animals are genetically set up to do exactly that...graze. On grass. 

Unfortunately in the United States, most conventionally raised cattle are moved to large feedlots shortly after birth where they are fed an unnatural diet of corn and soy while they are kept confined in stalls to fatten up. This creates a very unhealthy animal...one in which I personally advise my clients against consuming.  

The grass-fed vs grain-fed debate has been going on for a while so I thought I would take the opportunity to lay out the differences between the two so that you can get better educated and understand why grass-fed, pastured meat is far superior to meat from grain-fed animals.

What do all of the labels really mean?
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Before diving into the comparisons, I wanted to quickly run through a few definitions.  This will help you understand what you are looking at when you’re at the supermarket.

Grass-fed

The USDA definition of grass-fed is “grass and forage shall be the feed source consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant animal, with the exception of milk consumed prior to weaning.”  The definition goes on to say “animals cannot be fed grain or grain byproducts and must have continuous access to pasture during the growing season” Essentially, if you see the USDA grass-fed label, you can feel comfortable knowing that the animal was fed grass it’s entire life.  

Pasture Raised or Free Range

While you may see these words on meat, poultry, and egg labels, they actually have no legal definition in the United States, leaving interpretation up to the farmer.  Typically “free-range” means that the animal has had access to the outdoors, whereas “pasture raised” is reserved for those animals who are outdoors year-round, with the exception of some sort of housing for nighttime or inclimate weather.  

Organic

The “organic” label is definitely one that has grown in popularity over the last decade or so.  The label can be seen on meats, poultry, and eggs, as well as produce and packaged products.  For the purpose of this post, we will focus on what organic means for meats, poultry and eggs:

“For organic meat, regulations require that animals are raised in living conditions accommodating their natural behaviors (like the ability to graze on pasture), fed 100% organic feed and forage, and not administered antibiotics or hormones. As with all organic foods, none of it is grown or handled using genetically modified organisms, which the organic standards expressly prohibit.”

As you can see, the USDA has set some pretty high standards for being able to use their organic label, however, “organic feed” does not ensure a diet that is compatible with the animal.  And that can be the difference between a healthy piece of meat and a not-so-healthy one.

Grain-fed

You can probably understand at this point what the “grain-fed” definition is.  These are animals who are fed a diet of “barley, canola, corn, flaxseed, mixed grain, oats, rye, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed, triticale, and wheat, and any other food grains, feed grains, and oilseeds” that have been established by United States Grain Standards Act.  Some additional foods that can be included in the diet “are rice, millet, amaranth, buckwheat, and distiller’s grain”.

To some this may sound harmless as some of these grains are “okay” for human consumption but the digestive system of a ruminant isn't exactly set up to process food the same way ours is.  If one of these animals eats too much grain, their digestive system builds up lactic acid which can slow down motility and lead to diarrhea, dehydration, or worse!

One more label that is making big waves to help support both land and animal welfare!

There is one label that isn’t as well known: Land to Market.

The Land to Market verification label is based upon Ecological Outcome Verification (EOV).  While the other labels focus on the tools and techniques used (or not used) in farming methods, Land to Market looks at the outcome as a result of the tools and techniques being used.  This then allows them to adapt as necessary.

Directly from the Savory Institute website: 

“EOV measures and trends key indicators of ecosystem function, which in the aggregate indicate positive or negative trends in the overall health of a landscape. In addition to providing an outcome-based verification of the health of the land base, EOV also provides critical intelligence to the farmer as a steward and manager of the land. By recognizing both land regeneration targets and trends, EOV endorsement and associated incentives are bestowed as long as land health moves in a net positive direction”

Let’s compare
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Now that you have a nice overview of what each label really means, let’s get to the important stuff: how is grass-fed meat superior to grain-fed meat.  What a cow eats on a day to day basis has a large effect on the types and levels of nutrients found in their meat.  Here is how that breaks down:

Calories and Fat
Overall, grass-fed beef contains lower total calories and lower total fat.  Farmers feeding their animals a diet consisting of grains do so because they know that their animal will get fatter, faster (which means more money, quicker!)!  More fat = more calories.  

While meat from grass-fed animals may be leaner, it does have a higher amount of important micronutrients.

Omega-3’s

Omega 3 fatty acids are important for every single cell in your body.  We need omega-3’s for our eyes, brains, muscle activity, immune function, digestion, and fertility.  Getting appropriate quantities of omega-3 fatty acids is a crucial part of living a healthy lifestyle.  Moreso, we want those omega-3’s to be in an appropriate ratio with another type of fatty acid, omega-6.

The concentration of omega-3s in grass-fed beef can be 10-15x higher than that found in conventional counterparts.   Further, the ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s is lower (which is more desirable!) in grass-fed animals than in grain-fed ones.

CLA

CLA stands for “conjugated linoleic acid”, another essential fatty acid that is naturally occuring in food.  It is actually an omega-6 fatty acid.  And while you may have heard that omega-6’s are the “bad kind”, we actually need to eat some omega-6s in order to have balance.  CLA has a variety of benefits in the human body including helping us burn fat, fight inflammation, support our immune system, and keep blood sugar balanced.

Grass-fed beef contains approximately 3-5x more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as grain-fed beef.

Vitamins, minerals, other nutrients

The benefits of grass-fed meat go beyond calories and fat.  Grass-fed beef contains higher amounts of beta-carotene and other precursors needed to obtain Vitamin A. 

Grass-fed beef contains higher amounts of antioxidants, such as Vitamin E, glutathione, and superoxide dismutase.

The Environmental Argument
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Going to the store to purchase some grass-fed meat may result in sticker shock.  It’s possible that you may decide the above nutritional differences don’t matter enough due to your budget, and that’s understandable.

But let’s go beyond nutrition and talk about environmental issues.  This topic can easily be a blog post of it’s own (or 5!) so I will keep this as simple as possible.

From the book Sacred Cow, “without ruminants chomping, grass just grows, oxidizes, and eventually dies.  When ruminants have to move, they only eat the top portion of the plants, which maintains the root mass and prevents overgrazing.  Perennial grasses, common in grasslands, have deeper root systems and are often part of a latent seed bank.  Ruminant manure onculates the soil with beneficial nutrients and microbes, increasing the biodiversity underground and leading to a much more resilient soil profile.  The urine and manure from animals increase moisture to the soil and the microbial diversity of bacteria and fungi that form “the gut” for the soil in a symbiotic system.  Grasslands need ruminants to be healthy.”

It has become very apparent that the conventional, feedlot approach to raising animals is what is hurting our environment.  The more we can support farmers who raise their animals on pasture, the quicker we can help our environment.

How to Find Grass-fed, Pastured Meat
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One of the best ways to find quality grass fed beef is through a local rancher. Look for an operation that raises their cattle in an open field where that can roam freely and are allowed to eat both fresh and dry grasses. Ideally, these ranchers would avoid using any types of pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics or hormones. 

If you live in an area where access to grass-fed beef is limited, there are a variety of online distributors who make getting healthier meat to your door, easier:

Richards Grassfed Beef (which happens to also be a local ranch to me!)
Butcher Box
Thrive Market
US Wellness Meats

Even doing a quick google search for grass-fed beef delivery in your area may help you find farmers who raise healthier meat. 

Be prepared to pay a little extra for good quality grass-fed beef. In a conventional feedlot where cows are fattened up quickly with soy, corn and hormones, a cow can be big enough for slaughter up to a year faster than a grass-fed cow. That means that ranchers who are raising grass-fed cattle will have higher operating costs purely on the time it takes to raise one cow. 

The good news is you will be rewarded with a much more flavorful end product that is richer in nutrients! Plus, grass-fed beef has been shown to reduce the carbon footprint and help the environment! 

Some final thoughts...
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Change is hard. Humans don’t really like change. I get it. 

Switching from conventional beef bought at chain grocery stores is cheaper and can be more convenient than grass-fed beef. But as you’ve learned, grass-fed beef is more nutrient dense and better for your health than grain-fed beef. Not only are you prioritizing your own health by choosing grass-fed beef, but you’re also using your dollars to vote for the proper treatment of cattle who are meant to live in wide open spaces eating a diet full of grass as well as supporting the environment.

Luckily, the demand for grass-fed beef is on the rise which means finding it for purchase will get easier and easier. 

By choosing to purchase and consume grass-fed beef you are prioritizing your own health by selecting a food that has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, improve blood sugar levels, and even improve the environment!