Is Grass-Fed Beef Better For You?
Advocates claim that grass-fed beef offers lots of nutritional advantages. Find out what is—and isn’t—in grass-fed beef and whether it’s healthier for you.
When you see meat that’s labeled “grass-fed,” it means that after these animals are weaned, they eat only grass—and whatever other green stuff they might find growing where they graze—for the rest of their lives. During the winter, when nothing much is growing in the pasture, the animals can be confined in pens and fed dried grass (hay). But during the green season, they have to be allowed to roam around freely and graze.
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Is Grass-Fed Beef Better for You?
What’s the alternative? Well, virtually all cattle start out eating grass. But when they’re 6 to 12 months old, most of the cattle that are raised in the U.S. are eventually sent to feed-lots, where they eat corn and other grains for the balance of their lives. It turns out that feeding cows grain instead of grass fattens them up quickly. (The same seems to be true of people!) The end result—in the case of the cows, that is—is meat with a higher fat content, and animals that are ready for slaughter sooner.
Ironically, the term “corn-fed” used to be a good thing—signifying well-marbled, flavorful beef. How times have changed!
Is Grain Unhealthy for Cows?
Critics point out that grain is not a natural diet for cud-chewers like cows and that feeding corn to cows causes digestive problems and generally makes them sickly. (Even though humans are not cud chewers and have completely different digestive systems, there are those that argue that a grain-based diet makes us sickly as well.) Most grain-fed cattle get antibiotics mixed into the feed to help keep them healthier—which has definite downsides. (See my article, Antibiotics in Meat.)
If you’re fattening your cows on corn, you also can keep them in a feed lot where you simply fill up tubs with the grain. This allows farmers to keep lots and lots of cows in a relatively small amount of space. For grass-fed cows, you need, well, grass—and lots of it. Instead of standing around in crowded feedlots, grass-fed cows get to be out there where the antelopes roam for at least part of the year. Even though the cows have to work a little harder for their supper, a lot of people feel that the pasture lifestyle is a whole lot nicer and healthier for the cow.
Is Grass-Fed Beef Any Safer?
Labeling regulations and certification programs are helpful but if you want the details on how your food is being raised, there’s really no substitute for knowing your farmer.
One of the ways that we humans defend ourselves against food-borne pathogens like E. coli is by bathing our food in stomach acid, which kills most of the bacteria. Advocates of grass-fed beef claim that a grain-based diet acidifies the digestive tract of the cows, which encourages the growth of E. coli that are more tolerant of acidic environments and, therefore, more dangerous to humans.
However, this widely-believed theory has not borne up well under scrutiny. Analysis of beef products in the marketplace consistently finds the same rates of bacterial contamination in the grass-fed meat as in the grain-fed meat—including the most dangerous strains. I’m afraid that until they invent a cow that doesn’t poop, E. coli will always be a threat.
Is Grass-Fed Beef Organic?
Grass-fed is also not synonymous with organic: Organic cows may be fed grass or grain and grass-fed herds are not necessarily raised according to organic standards. Certified organic beef means that whatever they are feeding the cows has been produced without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or GMOs and that the animals aren’t given antibiotics, hormones or other drugs.
I should also point out that some of the farmers who operate according to organic principles choose not to go through the expensive and time-consuming organic certification process. Labeling regulations and certification programs are helpful but if you want the details on how your food is being raised, there’s really no substitute for knowing your farmer.
Is Grass-Fed Beef More Nutritious?
So far I’ve talked about farming, animal welfare, and food safety but not that much about nutrition. So let’s get to the burning question, how do corn- and grass-fed beef stack up nutritionally?
Grass-fed beef is a lot leaner than grain-fed beef and nowadays, that’s promoted as one of its chief advantages. In the interests of full disclosure, that also means that it may not be quite as tender or juicy. Leaner meat also dries out more quickly, so you have to take care not to overcook it. And the flavor of grass-fed meat is less predictable because the animals’ diets change as the local forage changes with season and location. In general, grass-fed beef is not going to be as sweet as grain-fed beef. Sometimes it can even get a little gamey tasting. Oh yeah, and because it takes more land and more time to bring the animals to slaughter, it’s going to be more expensive.
Grass fed advocates also make a big deal out of the fact that grass-fed is higher in certain nutrients such as omega-3 or beta-carotene. Although that’s absolutely true, you have to put the facts in perspective. Celery has 40 times as much sodium as cucumber, for example, but celery is still a very low-sodium food. Likewise, grass-fed meat may contain three times as much omega-3 or eight times as much beta-carotene as grain-fed beef, but it’s still not a significant source of these nutrients.
If you prefer leaner meat and happier cows, go with grass-fed. But if it’s omega-3s you’re after, eat fish. If you want more beta-carotene, eat carrots.
Is Grass Fed Beef Worth the Money?
It depends on what you’re after. Personally, I don’t think that a diet containing a moderate amount of fat or saturated fat is a problem and I get plenty of beta-carotene and omega-3 from other dietary sources. So for me, the nutritional differences between corn and grass-fed beef aren’t particularly compelling. On the other hand, I don’t believe that industrial feedlot practices are good for the environment or the cows. For that reason, more than any other, I do go out of my way to choose grass-fed organic beef. And because I only eat a few ounces of meat a month, it’s a luxury I can afford.
Now that you have all the facts, I’d be interested to hear how it stacks up for you. Post your comments or questions below or Nutrition Diva Facebook Page. And be sure to sign up for my free weekly newsletter, which has more tips, recipes, and answers to your listener questions.
Have a great week and remember to eat something good for me!
RESOURCES:
Grain Feeding and Acid-Resistant E. Coli (Science Magazine, 1998)
Contamination Rates and Microbial Resistance in Conventional and Grass-Fed Beef (Food Borne Pathogens and Disease, 2010)
Grass-fed beef not immune to deadly E. Coli (Slate Magazine, 2010)
Beef image courtesy of Shutterstock
About the Author
Monica Reinagel is a board-certified licensed nutritionist, author, and the creator of one of iTunes’ most highly ranked health and fitness podcasts. Her advice is regularly featured on the TODAY show, Dr. Oz, NPR, and in the nation’s leading newspapers, magazines, and websites. Do you have a nutrition question? Call the Nutrition Diva listener line at 443-961-6206. Your question could be featured on the show.
