Grass Fed Beef - Luc?

[shel]

I like good beef, but I've not been eating much of it because of the generally shoddy practices of the cattle industry, such as the use of hormones, antibiotics, poor quality feed, feedlot practices, and inhumane treatment of the cattle, amongst other things. And, for several reasons, I want to buy as "local" a product as possible.

Over the past few months I've found some companies that are more concientious regarding their care and concern for the cattle, and a number of smaller companies that are producing higher quality beef and which are local, meaning that the beef is raised and processed within a couple of hundred miles of Berkeley, some even closer.

Now, I have a question about grass fed beef. Some claims I've read say that the beef is leaner than grain fed beef, contain more CLA than than other types of beef, has more Omega-3 fatty acids, more vitamin E, C, and beta carotene, and that it can actually lower your "bad" cholesterol. Does anyone have any knowledge about the veracity of these claims?

BTW, I love the taste of pastured and fully grass fed beef. Regardless of the the truth behind the claims, you might want to give it a try and see how you like it.

shel

[Suzanne]

Sorry, I don't have time right now to find all my documentation, but I was just at a conference where there was a great deal of discussion by farmers about raising livestock as you describe. Basically, they gave citations to back up those claims. I'll try to find some of it soon.

But one point: locally raised livestock might not be locally processed. USDA-approved processors (who must be used for meat that will be sold) are few and far between, quite literally, so livestock may have to be shipped hundreds of miles each way between farm and processor and back. Kinda throws "locavores" for a loop. So one important issue is where and how the livestock are raised, not where they are processed -- although the care and cleanliness at the processor is equally important, imo.

[shel]

Originally Posted by Suzanne

But one point: locally raised livestock might not be locally processed. USDA-approved processors (who must be used for meat that will be sold) are few and far between, quite literally, so livestock may have to be shipped hundreds of miles each way between farm and processor and back.

Good point - It's my understanding that the beef I'm considering is locally processed. I'll look into that further. Any other information that you can provide would be appreciated. No hurry.

BTW, I seem to recall that at least a couple of Northern California (one or two less than 50 miles from Berkeley) producers/ranchers do their own processing as well, but it may only be for individuals, not full-on commercial processing. By that I mean one buys the steer for their own use, and it is slaughtered at the ranch and dressed for the individual or group that has purchased the beef.

Thanks!

shel

[heavyG]

Here in Canada, it is a different story (at least in Ontario). I buy my meat from an 'organic' butcher here in Toronto; all the beef is grass fed, hormone free, etc... and it is processed at a co-op jointly owned by a small number of like minded farmers, less than 50km's from where it lived and less than 100 km's from where it is sold.

Don't know the specifics about health claims / benifits, but it tastes great.

G.

[Montelago]

The Turner New Zealand company has a good deal of information on this subject. It is federal law in New Zealand that livestock cannot be fed hormones, antibiotics, growth stimulants or anything else. All of Turner's beef is grass fed, and it is the best tasting, most tender beef I have ever served in my restaurants. It comes with a natural, 28 day minimum wet age and melts in your mouth. Did you know that if farmers didn't feed cattle dietary additives to aid their digestion, cattle could not live on a diet of feed corn? Most domestically raised beef is garbage.

[shel]

Originally Posted by Montelago

It is federal law in New Zealand that livestock cannot be fed hormones, antibiotics, growth stimulants or anything else. [...] It comes with a natural, 28 day minimum wet age and melts in your mouth. Did you know that if farmers didn't feed cattle dietary additives to aid their digestion, cattle could not live on a diet of feed corn? Most domestically raised beef is garbage.

I wish it were a federalaw here ... <sigh> All the grass fed beef I've tried has been wonderful, and some of it has been aged before being sold. Yes, I recall reading that cattle need some dietary aids to help them digest the crap they're being fed - and here in the US, I wish it was only corn and some other grains they are getting.

I wonder haw many people would stop eating beef, or move to better quality beef, if they saw the crowded, filthy conditions in the feedlots, breathed in the stench, and really knew what their beef was being fed.

shel

[shel]

Originally Posted by Suzanne

But one point: locally raised livestock might not be locally processed. USDA-approved processors (who must be used for meat that will be sold) are few and far between, quite literally, so livestock may have to be shipped hundreds of miles each way between farm and processor and back.

Doing a little research, I found that two of the producers that I'm considering buying beef from use processors local to them.

"Since early 1995, Prather Ranch Meats in Butte Valley, Siskiyou County, has used it’s own USDA approved organic slaughterhouse. The abattoir was built using a Temple Grandin design, which is an important factor in helping them achieve a “Certified Humane” designation. Each cow is tagged (and traceable) from birth and fed only organic grass, grains and hay grown on the ranch. After slaughter, the bones and collagen go to pharmaceutical companies and the meat goes to the Prather Ranch Ferry Building store for retail sale. It’s a very tidy and unique system, that just can’t be replicated anymore. Opening their facility to other ranchers would seem like a viable option if not for the fact that the Prather herd has been closed since 1975. A closed herd allows for the collection of multi-generational data, thorough accountability and traceability of all of their cattle. Their closed herd status is also an important part of their organic certification and opening their slaughterhouse to other cattle would jeopardize that status."

The other uses a facility located in the same county as the herds and the ranches, and is therefore quite close to the cattle. The beef is only sold in a limited area, and the dressed meat travels less than 200 miles from the slaughterhouse to Berkeley - and, believe it or not (at least from what I've read) it's open to the public. Amazing!

All our meat is processed by Redwood Meat Co. They are a small family owned and operated facility in our area. They are a USDA inspected plant and also certified organic by CCOF to insure that the meat you are buying passes the strictest guidelines to insure your safety. As they are a small facility, everything is done the old fashioned way . . . by “Hand”. We control every process, from start to finish, so you can count on getting the highest quality product possible.


shel

[greyeaglem]

One of the waitresses was asking me one day if there weren't different levels of "prime" beef, and I was explaining that no, the grades are standard throughout the country. She brought in an article off the internet rating beef that had been fed different things. I don't have it and don't know what site it came from, but the concensus was that grass fed beef was the best. I was always told it was leaner and therefore drier, but according to this artcle, that wasn't the case. The only beef they rated higher was fed on barley. I don't think beef in the U.S. is anywhere near as good as it used to be. Even cuts rated prime seem to be dry, tough and tasteless. For the past few years I've thought that bulk hamburger smells just like s**t when it's cooking off. I can hardly stand to be around it. Shel, I don't know how much beef you use or if you have a freezer, but around here farmers raise custom beef for people. You can decide the breed and what it's fed and then the farmer takes it to a local processor for you.

[siduri]

Originally Posted by Suzanne

But one point: locally raised livestock might not be locally processed. USDA-approved processors (who must be used for meat that will be sold)

This is quite ironic, i think, considering all the stories of e-coli infections derived from processing beef in the slaughterhouses, where fecal matter occasionally comes in contact with the meat and then is ground in the slaughterhouse. I don;t live in the states any more, so it's not a big worry for me, but it's ironic that these places would be USDA approved! How much money is behind the lobbies that control the laws that maybe at a certain point used to be to protect the consumer, and now are there to protect the industry.

[shel]

Originally Posted by greyeaglem

One of the waitresses was asking me one day if there weren't different levels of "prime" beef, and I was explaining that no, the grades are standard throughout the country. She brought in an article off the internet rating beef that had been fed different things. I don't have it and don't know what site it came from, but the concensus was that grass fed beef was the best. I was always told it was leaner and therefore drier, but according to this artcle, that wasn't the case. The only beef they rated higher was fed on barley. I don't think beef is the U.S. is anywhere near as good as it used to be. Even cuts rated prime seem to be dry, tough and tasteless. For the past few years I've thought that bulk hamburger smells just like s**t when it's cooking off. I can hardly stand to be around it. Shel, I don't know how much beef you use or if you have a freezer, but around here farmers raise custom beef for people. You can decide the breed and what it's fed and then the farmer takes it to a local processor for you.

I used to eat much more beef than I do now. I stopped eating beef completely for a while because, as you suggest, the meat I was getting was awful. Buying ground meat was a crapshoot, and the thought of getting contaminated meat was not thrilling.

Over the last couple of years more and more quality meat is finding its way to the markets around here - meat that comes from local herds and iwhichnis often processed locally as well (still exploring the local processing angle). Now that there are some known sources, it's possible that there will be more beef on the table.

When I first saw grass fed beef in the market, I did a taste comparison between it and grain fed beef, both of high quality and organic. Man, what a difference. I vowed not to go back to grain fed beef, and certainly to never again eat regular commercial meat, such as found in most supermarkets and meat cases. Actually, by that time I was completely off commercial meat.

Now that there are several good sources here for fully pasteured grass fed beef, I'll be buying beef again. I just need to find the best markets for the product - there are several around here, so it's a matter of determining freshness, price, value, and, of course, which markets carry the desired cuts. I also want to buy meat that is humanely raised and slaughtered.

shel

[shel]

Originally Posted by siduri

This is quite ironic, i think, considering all the stories of e-coli infections derived from processing beef in the slaughterhouses, where fecal matter occasionally comes in contact with the meat and then is ground in the slaughterhouse. I don;t live in the states any more, so it's not a big worry for me, but it's ironic that these places would be USDA approved! How much money is behind the lobbies that control the laws that maybe at a certain point used to be to protect the consumer, and now are there to protect the industry.

A very good reason not to buy commercial ground beef. Bear in mind, also, that a lot of commercial ground beef comes not from the US, but other countries, like Argentina, Chile, and other South American countries. Sometimes the meat is ground in these countries, frozen, and shipped to the US in that form, and other times it comes up here to be processed into ground beef and "hamburger." It's often possible to get meat from several countries in a single batch.

shel

[shel]

I found this site today ...

Eat Wild

shel

[Luc_H]

IF my name is in the title, I should answer, right?
Thanks for the vote of confidence Shel. (obviously my reply will be long as usual)

Originally Posted by shel

....Now, I have a question about grass fed beef. Some claims I've read say that the beef is leaner than grain fed beef, contain more CLA than than other types of beef, has more Omega-3 fatty acids, more vitamin E, C, and beta carotene, and that it can actually lower your "bad" cholesterol. Does anyone have any knowledge about the veracity of these claims?....
shel

Pretty much everything you heard/said here is true (except beef is never an important source of vitamin C unless you eat it raw).

You should read the Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan which treats this subject very well. (other books are also written on the subject like one from Susan Allport: the Queen of fats)

Why are grass fed cows healthier because they are meant to eat grass! They are herbivores! They have 4 stomachs to be able to digest grass not corn. Cows are not rodents that should eat corn and grains. They get sick when eating that stuff to the point that digestive enzymes need to be added to their feed so that they can actually digest it! The get sickly from not eating according to their evolution so they require antibiotics to fight infections.

We humans have evolved to eat herbivores (that eat grass not grains).
Only in the past 30yrs or so have cows been fed corn. What has changed? is our diet is now very high in omega6 fatty acids vs omega 3. When cows were only grass fed (before 1970-80) the ratio omega 6 to 3 was close to 1:1 today it is 40:1 or so worst. (see Slanker from Texas:Fatty Acid Analysis)
We are missing omega 3 fatty acids in our diets. (eating wild game is also balanced in omega 6 and 3 closer to 1:1).

Grass fed cattle take longer to fatten up. feeding them corn, is like putting them on a fast food diet so they fatten up as big as adults in their teen years (sounds familiar to teen obesity today). Corn fed cattle are stressed in feedlots, teenage obese with weak immune systems that rely on antibiotics to survive.

Also, theories are being proposed that E. Coli O157.H7 has evolved in the stomachs/GI tract of corn fed cattle. The main clue is all E Coli are acid sensitive but O157.H7 can resist acids maybe because it has evolved in the GI tract of corn fed cattle that is acidic compared to a grass fed cattle or other wild ruminants. Probably being bathed in antibiotics helped in the resistance and evolution of this bug.

Shel if you can afford grass fed cattle buy only that (bison is another good alternative). Unfortunately, I cannot afford it (for now at least). I may know a lot of things but I may not know how to make money (grin).

Luc H.

[MikeLM]

Just met a likable young man giving out samples of his family's grass-fed beef at the local Whole Foods. The farm is in southeast Missouri, near my family's ancestral farm- run for decades by my uncle, who was very, very big in the Aberdeen Angus show circuit in the 1940's, 50's, 60's and 70s. Turns out he knew my uncle.

I lamented that Esicar's Smoke House in Cape Girardeau closed last fall after 72 years, leaving me without a country ham for Christmas. (I've ordered one from a Kentuckey family packer.) He looked a little suprised, and said, yeah, he knew about it- and his family was trying to buy it and start it up again!

I've got his name and number and said I'd call in August and order if they put the deal together.

Their brochure says

"Our cattle are born, raised, and finished on open grass pastures in the rolling hills of southern Missouri... and receive a foirage diet free of herbicides, pesticides, and artificial pesticides as they are continually rotated to fresh new pastures...

"...our cattle are harvested in our own processing facility under our direct supervision... dry aged for 14 days to concentrate the beefy flavor and tenderize the beef. It is then broken down by skilled butchers who take pride in their art of cutting beef."

The sample beef was excellent. I'm going to call and see what they've got.

AmericanGrassFedBeef
(866)-255-5002
(573)-996-3719 fax
Steaks - Beef - Grass Fed - Dry Aged

Just too a look at this website-a really nice one. The prices are fairly steep, but not really much above Whole Food's dry-aged prices. I'm gonna give 'em a try.

Mike

[shel]

Originally Posted by MikeLM

Just met a likable young man giving out samples of his family's grass-fed beef at the local Whole Foods.

"...our cattle are harvested in our own processing facility under our direct supervision... dry aged for 14 days to concentrate the beefy flavor and tenderize the beef. It is then broken down by skilled butchers who take pride in their art of cutting beef."

The sample beef was excellent. I'm going to call and see what they've got.

AmericanGrassFedBeef
(866)-255-5002
(573)-996-3719 fax
Steaks - Beef - Grass Fed - Dry Aged

Just too a look at this website-a really nice one. The prices are fairly steep, but not really much above Whole Food's dry-aged prices. I'm gonna give 'em a try.

Good for you, Mike! There really is a difference, and by purchasing their meat you're helping to support small family farms and business.

For those interested in finding out more about grass fed beef and tastier chickens and eggs, check this link: Eat Wild

These are the criteria for being listed: Criteria - Eat Wild

shel