The Wall Street Journal Gives Grass Fed Beef a Nod!

Ten years ago the topic of the grand taste and optimal nutrition of grass fed and finished beef was met with something approaching blank stares, real confusion, and comments like the following would have not been at all uncommon:

“Cows have always eaten grass, what’s the big deal?” --- “You gotta feed him corn to get that grassy taste outta there.” --- “No way can you get a steer fat enough to be worth killin’ on nothing but grass.”

A lot of progress has been made over the last decade in regard to consumer awareness of the superior nutritional qualities of grass fed beef, and even the USDA was compelled to establish federal standards for labeling grass fed products a few years ago.

As well, many cattle breeders have made tremendous progress in their breeding programs; targeting the optimal genetics for seedstock cows and bulls that best excel in the production of grass fed beef. Critical to any discussion of grass fed and finished beef are both tenderness of the meat and adequate fat content - both achievable with selection of animals from breeding programs targeted to provide genetics for tenderness, marbling, and feed efficiency.

Many consumers mistakenly think grass fed beef just won’t have much fat. For some, that’s a selling point; for other consumers it is a negative, they like their fat! Generally, a young beef steer will simply be a more tender eating experience by virtue of its youth. You can find local farms producing young grass fed beef that is quite lean, with scant marbling, and the carcass is small, thus it’s easier to fit a side of beef in your garage deep freeze.

But to achieve that big, mouth-watering, fat sizzling rib-eye from a grass fed animal, you need to rear it slowly and wait until the animal reaches 24 to 28 months old. That’s quite a bit of age range, but a few factors are involved that create this variance: the season the animal is born, the frame size of the animal, and their feed efficiency genetic markers. All three major factors impacting the finish time required to have an optimal, nicely marbled, tender grass fed carcass dry-aging for 21 days in your local meat locker.

With selection for moderate frame size and feed efficiency, the dining experience of sitting down to a rib-eye dinner, or fllet mignon, or burgers on the grill, can be just as satisfying to the consumer, but much healthier for them to consume. Much of the taste of beef and the nutritional gifts of beef are found in the fat of the animal. There’s a reason we have old expressions like “. . . the fat of the land,” which dates back to Biblical times.  Good fat is kind of like good gravy, the lagniappe of the meal.

Fat is good for you, if it’s good fat.  There was a point in time this country was so anti-fat that many literally were starving themselves nutritionally in their effort to count fat grams and keep them under a daily threshold.  I know, I was one of them back in the late 80’s.  Nothing is good for you in excess, unless it is plain old sunshine.  By the same token, squashing all fat in your diet or your child’s (who particularly need fat when they are growing!) is an excess of limits, and not wise either.  But, I digress!

The big question when it comes to deciding just what fat you’d like to nibble on is what was fed to the animal that produced that fat.  The fat of typical feedlot beef is not terribly appetizing, and as much as possible is trimmed ruthlessly away, and well it should be.  The fat of a grass fed and finished animal is a delectable treat when it’s attached to a sizzling hot rib-eye straight off your grill! 

Why?  Because of it’s natural diet of grass.  And besides the superior nutrition and taste of grass fed beef, generally you are also eating meat that is free of any antibiotic residue or excess levels of estrogen used by feedlots to hasten fattening of castrated steers.  Most, if not all, grass fed beef producers scorn the use of either, and rear their animals under humane management practices.  So when you buy grass fed beef from your local farmer you are getting healthy beef from animals that were reared humanely at pasture. 

There are currently three different certifications to keep your eye out for when choosing where to buy your grass fed beef. One of those is the USDA certification as grass fed. But the consumer should be aware that this certification does not require the meat to be antibiotic or hormone free – instead, those are additional certifications you need to look for on USDA certified grass fed meat. Nor can you be certain that the animals were reared at pasture.

There are two additional organizations that provide certification: The American Grassfed Association, and Animal Welfare Approved. Both provide for rigorous adherence to their production protocols and humane animal management. The two organizations work together to give you, the consumer, the gold standard in purchasing grass fed beef.

Visit their web sites for additional information and for a look at the labeling you want to see on every package of grass fed beef you buy for your family. And visit their member links for local producers who have met their guidelines and can provide you with direct meat purchases – meat locker to your freezer.

The Wall Street Journal article is focused on highly successful Whole Foods Markets, always on the cutting edge of bringing natural and organic products to the consumer. But -- buy a deep freeze and check out your local farmers for the best price. There are likely many of them a nice country drive away and they generally love to show you their beautiful animals grazing at pasture.

Copyright © June 14, 2010 Jimmie Lynn West

Lazy A Ranch, Bellville, Texas - Close to Houston

"The Lazy A is a 165 acre working cattle ranch. One wet weather creek runs through the ranch and another borders the west, both banded by large trees. Wildlife habitat includes five ponds, beautiful pastures, stands of native trees, and brushy areas.

The cattle are grass fed and naturally grown without hormones, antibiotics, or grain, according to American Grassfed Association standards. A mixed supplement is offered including kelp, mineral sea salt, alfalfa pellets, and Hemocell 100. Geothermically produced Montmorillonite clay and diamatacious earth are also offered free choice. With the first freeze all natural molasses supplement tubs are put out and hay is added to the racks in the pastures if needed.

Intensive grazing and pasture rotation along with pasture improvement is the goal in progress. Pastures are treated with natural organic liquid fertilizer that stimulates soil biological activity and contains fish solubles, Icelandic kelp, bloodmeal, and sulfate of potash. Liquid lime supplies additional calcium. Areas around the ranch are supplied with insect fly predators that hatch and kill the fly larvae around the animals. The cattle are also sprayed with an organic insect deterrent including natural oils. The animals drink pure rain and well water from the water troughs and pond.

Fox Hill Farm, Ancramdale, New York - Close to New York City

"Fox Hill Farm is 315 scenic, rolling acres in Ancramdale, New York just 2 hours north of NY City, in the foothills of the Berkshires of MA, CT and near the Taconic Parkway. The farm is protected from development by a conservation easement and has been in the Lampman family since 1882. Since we do not grow corn or soybeans on the farm, the soil is not subject to erosion the way row crops are. This is important, because soil and water are our most important resources!

We raise grassfed / grassfinished beef in an environmentally sustainable manner with rotational grazing of heritage breeds of British White, Murray Grey, Red Devon and crosses. They are very tame and are raised organically, not yet certified. We choose these heritage breeds because of their ability to do well on grass and produce a healthy and tender, tasty product high in Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Read more About Us and the Health Benefits of grassfed beef."

Fox Hill Farm, Ancramdale, New York - Close to New York City

"Fox Hill Farm is 315 scenic, rolling acres in Ancramdale, New York just 2 hours north of NY City, in the foothills of the Berkshires of MA, CT and near the Taconic Parkway. The farm is protected from development by a conservation easement and has been in the Lampman family since 1882. Since we do not grow corn or soybeans on the farm, the soil is not subject to erosion the way row crops are. This is important, because soil and water are our most important resources!

We raise grassfed / grassfinished beef in an environmentally sustainable manner with rotational grazing of heritage breeds of British White, Murray Grey, Red Devon and crosses. They are very tame and are raised organically, not yet certified. We choose these heritage breeds because of their ability to do well on grass and produce a healthy and tender, tasty product high in Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Read more About Us and the Health Benefits of grassfed beef."

Grass Fed & Grass Fat Beef's Demise - Historical Changes in Agricultural

Cow Fodder for Thought - The Cultivation of Grass, Grain and Roots in 19th Century 'Developing America'

Manuring (Fertilizing) Practices in the United Kingdom 200 Years Ago