What about Grass Fed?

Most of us have been taught that all meat is the same – that a log of beef at the discount shopping club is the same as ground beef that has no hormones or antibiotics. This is simply not true! Let me take you on a little journey through the world of beef production today. The truth may shock you.
Let’s start with the fact that cows naturally eat grass. They have been doing so for thousands of years. However, most cows today are fed a corn-based diet. Even if cows eat grass at the beginning, these days they are almost always finished (at least the last 60-120 days) on grains, plus other remnants that are allowed in their feed such as cardboard, newspaper, and sawdust. The purpose of this feed is to fatten them up, which renders
more weight come selling time. When cows start eating a diet of grains instead of grass, they get sick, which means they have to be injected with antibiotics and chemicals. What that means for you, the consumer, is that you are eating sick meat.
As I mentioned in the last article on eggs, you cannot expect health from that equation. Grains like corn (or whatever other garbage is thrown into the feed) are not meant for a cow’s digestive system. Much like humans, if we eat foods that we aren’t meant to eat, we are going to get sick. The problem is many of these diseases and infections get passed on to the consumer; yet the consumer doesn’t realize what they are eating.
In Paul Chek’s book, How To Eat Move and Be Healthy, it states that in 1998, the USDA inspections and safety system reclassified an array of animal diseases as being “….defects that rarely or never present a direct public health risk,” and said “unaffected carcass portions” could be passed on to consumers by cutting out lesions. They also stated that the following animal diseases do NOT pose health risk to humans: cancer, pneumonia of poultry, glandular swellings or lymphomas, sores, infectious arthritis, intestinal worms or tumors. Are you kidding me? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any part of that!
Knowing that when a cow eats grass, they are healthier, it only makes sense that grass-fed beef is a healthier option. Nutritionally speaking, a grass-fed cow is going to have a much better ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids and a much leaner marbling of fat. It also has a higher CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) content, which has been shown to be a powerful antioxidant and to help the body utilize fat as fuel, further aiding in weight loss. All of that simply means that when we eat healthy 100% grass-fed beef, we get more Omega 3s and protein, both of which are great for our bodies.
At The Movement Dallas, we get all of our 100% grass-fed beef from Burgundy Farms. Burgundy’s cattle are free to roam around and eat as much grass as the land has to offer. There are other options locally including local markets and natural food stores. The beef that hits tables in America today comes from feed lots of tens of thousands of cows packed in and full of disease. With stats showing that the average American eats over twice their body weight in meat per year, you can see how all these factors can either be positive or negative. Next time you are shopping for beef, consider whether your beef is conventional or grass-fed. Knowing the truth makes your decisions a lot easier doesn’t it?