Grass fed organic beef vs. regular beef?

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Replies

  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    Grass fed beef has a balance on Omega 3 and Omega 6. Grain fed beef is more like 20/1 Omega 6 / Omega 3. This place has reasonable prices: .
    Good thing my body decides on the balance of what it keeps and (r)ejects. :smile:
  • bodyrollin
    bodyrollin Posts: 215 Member
    Grass finished is leaner, grain finished is fatter (since flavor comes from rendered fat, most people prefer the taste of grain finished...same as people prefer the flavor of Kobe over regular...more fat, more flavor...that said, grass finished is certainly healthier, and a bit more responsible.
  • SToast
    SToast Posts: 255 Member
    We raise our own most of the time. They are on pasture all spring/summer then grain/hay fed in the fall before they feed us;) I know what goes into my meat and how it was raised. Clear down to the spring water they drink out of the creek. You really can taste the difference. Even "Organic grass fed" from the store tastes blah to me now.

    What kind of an area are you in? Are you in or close to a rural area where you could get fresh hand raised beef? Grow your own is the way to go but obviously not everyone can do that. The next best thing IMO is to find someone who raises beef and sells it by the cow (whole or half). Sure it sounds like a lot but it sure is nice to have it in the freezer instead of running to the store. Also, the taste is a lot better and the fat content typically lower. You can ask them how they "finish" their beefs and what exactly they feed them. The reputable guys will tell you no problem. See if you can find a local beef grower close to you and you'll be glad you did :)
  • GiddyupTim
    GiddyupTim Posts: 2,819 Member
    If you have to eat beef, go with organic grass fed always. Hormones and antibiotics are no good. And cows aren't meant to be eating corn.

    ya...but where do you get it? i cant find it anywhere without ordering it online at outrageous prices and I aint gonna quit eating it

    In Northern California, we can get Niman Ranch beef. Yeah, it seems somewhat better to me than the standard Safeway beef.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    sometimes I wish I could be Jeramiah Johnson. like now.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,222 Member
    Grass fed beef has a balance on Omega 3 and Omega 6. Grain fed beef is more like 20/1 Omega 6 / Omega 3. This place has reasonable prices: http://vermontgrassfedbeef.weebly.com/.


    Why people go on about the omega balance of beef is a moot point at best, and grain fed isn't 20:1. it's around 5:1 to 2:1.

    For example, Beef, brisket, flat half, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 0" fat, choice, cooked, braised is just over 2:1 and 1/4 lb (100g's) of this beef has a total of 231mg's of omega 6 and 92mg's of omega 3

    The same amount of cheerios (100g's) has 1880 mg's of omega 6's and 89 mg's of omega 3's, that's your 20:1 with 8 times the amount of omega 6's.

    Animal products are always fairly low in omega 6's and generally a decent omega balance comparatively speaking and if we really want to ***** about omega 6's then we should quite consuming vegetable oils like soy, which is the number 1 oil in all processed foods with an omega balance of 7:1 and a total of 7000mg's in a tbsp. The amount of omega 6 in a big mack would shock most people and it isn't from the beef.

    I'll take grass fed beef, finished on grain any day and not worry about the omega 6's I'm getting.
  • AlabasterVerve
    AlabasterVerve Posts: 3,171 Member
    Grassfed. It's healthier and more humane. Feedlots and the like are absolutely revolting -- how it's even legal to torture animals that way just because they're grown for food I'll never understand -- so whenever possible we avoid the crap in the grocery store no matter what the labels say.

    In fact, we're probably going to have to relocate in a year and one of the major considerations when/if we do is going to be the availability of locally grown food.
  • ahallen83
    ahallen83 Posts: 25 Member
    I recently purchased a bunch of grass-fed and finished angus beef, lamb and berkshire pork from a local farmer and I am loving it. The meat all tastes really great to me. I grew up eating locally sourced meat, my aunt&uncle and mom&dad would go in on a half cow together every year or so (I'm from the Canadian prairies so there's lots of grassy land for cows to be raised on around here). Factory meat is a bit juicier because of the amounts of fat in it, but to me it tastes kinda bland and I don't like thinking about the conditions the meat was prepared in, not to mention how the animals were treated.

    I made the choice for health and the taste of the meat, but also because I find the factory farm system pretty gross. BUT I didn't stress out about it before I came into a position where I could afford to drop the money on it, and buying direct from a farmer cuts your costs significantly. I have a freezer full of grass-fed angus beef, lamb, and berkshire pork that I paid $5/lb for in a bulk pack - and it stays delicious for 6 months in the freezer.

    If you're really interested I would suggest doing an internet search for "local meat 'name of hometown'", or "local organic meat 'name of hometown'" etc, to see if you can find a local source that raises the animals themselves, that's how I found my supplier (he even deilvers, and encourages people to come out to the farm to pick up their orders and see how the animals live/are treated). Or if you have any good local butchers or specialty gourmet shops that sell this kind of meat, try calling them and seeing if you can get the name of their supplier.
  • ladyfingers73
    ladyfingers73 Posts: 80 Member
    If you have to eat beef, go with organic grass fed always. Hormones and antibiotics are no good. And cows aren't meant to be eating corn.

    Thank you.
  • Joluru
    Joluru Posts: 89 Member
    I buy a quarter of a cow directly from a rancher once a year and that's our beef for the year. It's grass fed and finished, humanely raised, not fed hormones (of course, cows have natural hormones), not given antibiotics unless ill. It's not certified organic but I trust the rancher, who I've had a 6 year relationship with, and whose farm I've visited.

    I pay $3.75/lb for beef, butchered and packaged for us, and that goes from ground beef to Porterhouse steaks. It's leaner than corn finished and does have a little learning curve to cooking without overdrying it, in my experience, but we love it. Reminds me that it's almost time to put in our order. :)

    Our farmer says they had their beef tested and the Omega's weren't significantly different from corn finished; that's not really a big factor for me. I like that he cares about his cows and they live a natural cow life and are slaughtered humanely.
  • GoffGirl1029
    GoffGirl1029 Posts: 93 Member
    My grandfather raises a steer every year and has it butchered in October. I personally prefer the homegrown beef, I think it tastes so much better and I don't have to worry about what strange things might be in the meat. My husband had never had homegrown beef until he met me, but he now prefers it over store bought.
  • www.grasslandbeef.com

    I buy all my beef from this website and it's amazing. You won't regret it!!
  • An alternative if you have a deep freezer is to contact a local 4-H or FFA and find out how the beef/pork/chicken/lamb in your area is raised. you should be able to find what you are looking for at a really good price. If you can find a couple of friends to go in with you and buy a 1/4 of the animal you can get a really great price. We bought a 1/2 pig for about $2.50/lb plus another .68/lb for the butcher. We went to the farm and saw exactly how the animal was treated and where he was raised. I supported a local kid in the deal as well.
  • Lyssa62
    Lyssa62 Posts: 930 Member
    unless you are going to eat everything organic -- there really isn't much of a point. ALL vegetables / fruit are loaded with chemicals that are known to cause cancer.
    See those cool designs in the sky? Those are chemtrails and unless I'm mistaken the organic grass fed cows are out in pastures where the chemicals those trails come from are landing.

    In a perfect world we would all still be eating stuff that wasn't filled with chemicals or genetically modified (suck it monsanto)..but we don't. So it is what it is.
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    Personally, I go with grain. IF I could afford the grass-fed them I would consider it. But seeing how it is almost $10 a pound for ground grass-fed beef, vs $4.00 a pound for grain, I think I will stick with the grain-fed. While I want to get healthy, I don't want to end up on the streets broke because of it.
  • vizsla99
    vizsla99 Posts: 66 Member
    There is a pretty big difference between regular beef and grass fed beef. The person that mentioned the Omega differences is correct.

    Not all cattle will thrive as grass fed though. Devon cattle are the most successful type of cattle currently being used in grass fed beef operations. Most purebred Devon's have never been put on grain diets and they are truly different. I'm sure other types of beef can be raised as grass fed only, but I'm most knowledgable about Devon cattle. Another unique thing about Devon's is that most Devon farmers don't use any vaccinations or other drug treatments on them like traditional cattle farming.

    While I don't consider myself an "expert" on this topic, I did grow up on a working cattle ranch that followed traditional methods of raising beef and my current employer is running a large herd of Devon's here in the United States. I've been around both practices of raising beef. Also, be aware that grass fed is not necessarily organic. Also, the USDA can certify beef finished in feedlots as "Natural".

    Personally, I don't like the taste of grass fed as well as grain fed.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,990 Member
    If we're talking taste, then grain fed for me.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
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    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • vizsla99
    vizsla99 Posts: 66 Member
    If we're talking taste, then grain fed for me.

    BOOM!