Every parent wants to feed their family safe, nutritious, healthful and organic foods. If you’ve seen recent news articles on grass-fed versus grain-fed meat, you’re probably left wondering how to choose what’s right to purchase for your house.
Grain-Fed Beef
Cows do not naturally eat grain or corn. The US has such a large surplus of corn due to corn subsidies. Industrialized feedlots have found ways to feed cows corn. In order for cows to survive on the unnatural diet of corn, they’re injected with heavy antibiotics and other chemicals to fight off disease and infection until they’ve reached a size that’s slaughter-ready. Corn provides more unit energy than grass, so corn-fed cows fatten faster and get slaughtered earlier than grass-fed cows (12-13 months vs. 18-24 months). Since corn-fed cows are slaughtered earlier than grass-fed cows, feedlots have less incentive to keep corn-fed cows healthy and alive for a longer period of time.
Grass-Fed Beef
Grass-fed cows typically are raised in more sustainable environments, since maintaining grassy fields requires rotating the cows through various grassy areas of the farm so that no particular field gets overgrazed. Corn, on the other hand, can be mass shipped from corn fields elsewhere, so for industrial efficiency, corn-fed cows are usually crammed into tight areas. Grass-fed beef is loaded with vitamins and minerals (including conjugated linoleic acid) not found in corn-fed beef. Therefore, it has the recommended omega-6 to an omega-3 ratio (3:1).
Why You Should Prefer Grass-Fed Beef Over Grain-Fed?
Grass-fed beef is more naturally raised, has been treated with fewer antibiotics, and typically come from healthier cows. Therefore, with fewer antibiotics and better living conditions, grass-fed beef is likely to be healthier for humans.