by Catherine Haug, August 7, 2011 (first published June 6 as an event notice)
This last June, an exciting event happened in Missoula: Food and Agriculture Under the Big Sky; People, Partnerships and Policies. (See Food and Agriculture Under the Big Sky for the original event info). One of the topics at this conference was promotion of grass-finished beef from Montana ranches.
Grass-Finished Beef
What caught my attention was discussion of efforts to improve local access to locally produced foods, including a ranch east of Missoula that is starting to finish their beef on grass rather than grain, for a more healthful product, and they plan to market it locally.
Here in the Flathead, most locally produced beef is sent to a feed lot to be finished on grain before slaughter. But what the animal eats in the weeks before slaughter is what most affects the quality and nutrition of the meat; pasture (grass) is far better than grain. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have locally-produced grass-finished beef here, too?
Most beef and pork available in grocery stores is not grass fed, and definitely not grass finished. This is because commercial livestock operations are CAFO (Confined Animal Feeding Operations), and they feed their animals grain feed, rather than their natural pasture diet. Most of this feed contains GMO grains. This feed is not good for the animal’s health and is not good for the humans who eat the meat.
Grass-fed, and especially grass-finished animal products are (2):
- HIgher in protein.
- Lower in total fat.
- Have a better Omega-6 to Omega-3 fat ratio. Both are essential fats, but the modern American diet has way too much Omega-6 and far too little Omega-3 content. Omega-3’s help protect against cancer, and are the most heart-friendly of all fats. Grains provide abundant omega-6 fats and very little omega-3s. Grass, on the other hand has 60% of its fats as Omega-3.
- Provide more CLA, an important fat for weight management. CLA is also an important defense against cancer.
- Provide more vitamin E, an important antioxidant.
- Richer in vitamins A and D (especially eggs from pasture-raised poultry and milk products from grass-fed cows)
- Less likely to be contaminated with staph.
- Less likely to be contaminated with arsenic, a toxic heavy metal added to poultry feed to speed growth.
See also my May 2009 post on this topic: Pasture Fed Meats, Eggs, Dairy (4), which discusses some other reasons why pasture-fed is better:
- Better for the environment;
- It’s ethical and humane;
- Better and lower fat content; more fat soluble vitamins.
Listen to Podcast of Jill Belsky interview
On June 6,. 2011, Edward O’Brien interviewed Jill Belsky, conference co-chair and professor at UM College of Forestry and Conservation. The primary discussion was about promoting grass-fed beef from Montana ranches.
If you missed this piece and would like to listen to it, it is available as an 11 minute podcast on the MTPR website at: Podcast: Jun 06, 2011 – Edward O’Brien, Jill Belsky. [Or if that link doesn’t work, see below for instructions to navigate to the item].
How to navigate to this podcast:
- First try: : Podcast: Jun 06, 2011 – Edward O’Brien, Jill Belsky which should take you directly to the podcast.
- If that doesn’t work try this: Go to MTPR Podcast Listing.
- Then select Montana Evening Edition Features, and look for the one described as: “Jun 06, 2011 – Edward O’Brien, Jill Belsky.”
- You may have to go to the News Archive to find it (there’s an archive link on the same page as the listing).
- On the archive page, select “Download Feature” for the specific listing. Or you can select “Download Newscast for the entire 30 minute Montana Evening Edition for that date.
For more information
About grass-fed/pasture-raised animals:
- EatWild.com: Pastured Products Directory – Montana on grass-fed beef sources in Montana
- EatWild.com: Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Products for a good discussion on why this is important for your health and that of your family.
- Grass-fed vs. Grass-finished about the difference between grass-fed and grass-finished meat.
- The EssentiaList: Pasture Fed Meats, Eggs, Dairy (May 2009)
About CAFOs