Grass-fed beef is the best for you to eat not only for your health, but also for the well-being of the animals. Cows that are allowed to eat what Mother Nature intended (grass) are themselves healthier as well.
Check further down for a new local Georgia source of this wonderful grass-fed beef that is also grass-finished. It doesn't get any better than this.
Most of the meat eaten in the United States comes from CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) which are, in my opinion, grossly inhumane ways of treating animals. The problems they cause are many, not the least of which is the horrendous accumulation of waste material.
In pastured, grass-fed beef operations, the ground can readily handle the animal’s manure and it actually enriches it. But when you have mountains of manure, it goes into the local waterways and underground streams and overwhelms them.
These CAFOs always feed their animals grains and other atrocities too numerous to mention (see "Benefits of Raw Milk" for more details) and most of these grains are genetically modified so we have no idea what long-term effects this may have on the human body.
On the subject of cattle, grass-fed beef is absolutely the winner. This quote is from Dr. Mercola’s site:
“…scientific experiments determined that if the ratio of omega 6 fats to omega 3 fats exceeds 4:1, people have more health problems. This is especially meaningful since grain-fed beef can have ratios that exceed 20:1 whereby grass-fed beef is down around 3:1.
Similar ratios are also found in all grain-fed versus grass-fed livestock products.
Grass-fed products are rich in all the fats now proven to be health-enhancing, but low in the fats that have been linked with disease. “
More information can be found at this address on the site:
“Several studies point to the health benefits of grass-fed beef, as distinguished from cattle raised on corn-based feed. In addition to having higher levels of “good fats” such as omega-3’s and conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs), grass-fed beef has significantly less fat and far fewer calories.
Grass-fed beef also avoids some of the health concerns associated with cattle fed on grain. The outbreak of mad cow disease in Europe in the 1990s was caused by grain that was mixed with meat-and-bonemeal from contaminated cows.”
Be aware that many companies label their meat “grass-fed beef” and there is no oversight for that usage. All companies can call their meat grass-fed beef in that, after weaning, the calves do graze on grass until they reach a certain size.
Then two months before they are ready for slaughter, they feed them corn to fatten them up. “Grass-finished” in addition to "grass-fed", is the phrase that you are looking for.
The Best Grass-fed, Grass-finished Beef Around
For us in the South, the very best company for grass-fed and finished beef is Whiteoak Pastures in south Georgia. They not only graze their animals their whole lives, but they recently built their own slaughterhouse so that their cows would not be traumatized by being trucked far away.
They also use all parts of the cow in their ground beef so that you might be getting steak or filet mignon in with it. It is absolutely superb tasting and saves you the cost of buying expensive steaks.
It comes in a 16 ounce package and I get four servings out of each one so that I am eating approximately 3 oz. servings each time. Grass-fed beef doesn't shrink up much in cooking like corn-fed beef does because there is so little fat.
Publix is supposed to carry this grass-fed brand in their Greenwise section but they are frequently out. Therefore, I get it frozen at Natural Foods Warehouse for a lot less. Whole Foods carries their other types of beef (steaks, roasts, etc.) under the label “Will Harris”, which is the name of the owner.
You can always order exactly what grass-fed beef you want directly from them at the farm as well. Please feel free to check out their operations and view their new video documentary “Cud” done by the Southern Foodways Alliance in the summer of 2009. It’s on their great web site, which can be found here.
News Flash! I have just come across a fantastic farm in Ellijay GA close by where I live (well, 15 miles one way which is relatively close by the standards up here). It is called Mountain Valley Farm and they have grass-fed beef and pork products.
Here is the description of it from LocalHarvest.org which is an excellent resource for locally grown products of all types: "Located in the beautiful Clear Creek Valley in the North Georgia mountains, our farm has been owned and operated by our family continuously since 1840. Our Grass Fed Beef is dry aged, locally butchered to our specifications, and sold by the individual cuts in our Farm Store.
Our Free Range Pork is a Hamp/York and Berkshire Heritage Cross - high quality, tender, moist and well marbled with a rich deep flavor. Our pork is also locally butchered to our specs and sold by the individual cuts in our Farm Store.
All of our meats are USDA Inspected, and we are licensed and inspected by the Georgia Dept. of Agriculture. No hormones, no antibiotics, no pesticides, no commercial fertilizers. All animals are raised on pasture in a stress free environment and handled humanely throughout all life stages."
It doesn't get any better than that and since you cut out the middle man by buying directly from the source, the prices are excellent. I've tried the meat myself and it's the best bargain anywhere around here.
Bring a cooler and stock up! Call Suzy Wright at 706-889-0999 for directions or for more information. It's definitely worth the drive.
The Difference Between White Meat and Dark Meat
Concerning poultry, here is some information from Dr. Mercola on the differences of white and dark meat.
“Confused about what makes white meat “white” and dark meat “dark?" You’re not alone. Misleading data about the good and bad sides of white and dark meat abound. Finally, here is the real truth about the meat you eat.
Dark Meat
Simply speaking, dark meats are dark because the muscles are used more (think drumsticks vs. breast meat). They have more myoglobin proteins, which help ship oxygen to your muscle cells.
When dark meat is cooked, the myoglobins turn into metmyoglobins, which are very high in iron.
White Meat
White meat contains glycogen, which is a polysaccharide of glucose, an animal starch. Animal starch is stored in your liver, then broken down into glucose when it’s needed by the white muscle.
Nutritional Differences
Dark meat contains more zinc, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, vitamins B6 and B12, amino acids, and iron than white meat. Dark meats also contain more saturated fats, along with omega-3 and omega-6 fats.”
These differences do have a bearing on which is best for the various nutritional types. Protein types should eat dark meat and carbo types should eat white meat. What should a mixed type eat? You guessed it – some of both.
A Last Warning About America’s Meat Supply
We need to be super vigilant about one other aspect of the meat industry and that is gas packaging and brine injection systems. This article can be found in the pages of my very favorite magazine, “Mother Earth News”.
This magazine gives wonderful articles bi-monthly on how to live off of the land, be sustainable and honor this planet we live on. Their address is www.MotherEarthNews.com and this is titled “Shocking news about meat”. It is discomforting indeed.
“Two of the biggest trends reshaping America’s meat supply are gas packaging and brine injection systems. Manufacturers save millions of dollars in lost meat turnover with these technologies, which make meat appear fresh longer and pump “flavor” into factory-farmed meat, in the form of salt water and broth.
Companies also save on labor costs, since these “case-ready” meats can go straight from the cold truck to the retail shelf. Consumers are left paying for meat pumped up with saltwater solutions that may be spoiled by its expiration date. Unfortunately, many people are unaware of these new practices.”
“Like injection systems, what the industry calls “modified atmospheric packaging” (MAP), has been around for a while, but has only recently come into widespread use. The process involves removing regular air from meat packages and replacing it with specific blends of gases, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen and nitrogen. The objective is to control and “enhance” the natural color changes that freshly cut meats undergo as they’re exposed to regular air.
This is especially true for beef, which under normal conditions changes from dark purplish red, to bright red, to brownish over a period of several days. Market research has taught retailers that customers will almost invariably choose bright red beef over purplish red beef, even though the latter actually is fresher. Today, by manipulating the “air” in the package, manufacturers can preserve the bright red color for weeks or even months, saving money on lost turnover in the meat case.”
“Pumped meats may appear less expensive than regular meats, but their value is diluted — literally. Instead of buying pure meat, you’re buying meat diluted with “a solution.” Worse, these adulterated meats can contain startling amounts of sodium — something most Americans already consume too much of.”
“Finally, critics point out that saltwater pumping and gas packaging make it more likely that consumers will buy and eat spoiled meat, and almost certain that they’ll be eating old meat without realizing it. Traditionally packaged ground beef has a shelf life of about five days, while modified atmospheric packaging can give ground beef a shelf life of 14 or even 28 days, says Tony Corbo of the Washington D.C.-based Food and Water Watch. In fact, Consumer Reports found in 2006 that three out of 10 gas-packed ground beef samples had spoiled by their use- or freeze-by date. But all of it still looked nice and red.”
“If you know what to look for, gas-packed meats are easy to recognize, although you have no way of knowing which gases are inside. The packages are stouter than the old familiar plastic-wrapped Styrofoam assembly, with a sealed clear plastic top that’s often slightly puffed up by the gases trapped inside.”
In summary, always buy organic meat, which uses vacuum packaging instead of gas packaging. If you have to buy case-ready meat conventionally packaged, always get one that has the plastic right down onto the meat. That way you know that there is no gas involved.
Now that you know what type of meat to buy, learn how to cook it properly on the page "Cooking Meat - Low and Slow."
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