Grocery Store Meat Vs Farm Fresh Meat
Grocery Store Meat Vs Farm Fresh Meat
A question many people have today is why is supermarket meat cheaper than meat you can purchase fresh from a farm. There are reasons to make the best choice for yourself and your family.
The meat you find in a grocery store is mass-produced. Its origins are more like a factory than a traditional farm. Operating with government subsidies, the purpose of these meat factories is to produce as much meat as possible.
This means poor quality control and poor meat quality. Factory-style farming means fewer nutrients in the meat. Mass-produced meat is also more likely to contain antibiotics and growth hormones. Factory-style farmingalso includes additives in animal feed. You do not want to pass these unhealthy substances on to your family by eating mass-produced meat.
While this type of farming itself is questionable, so is the overall quality of the meat. You do not know how long the meat is been in a processing and packaging facility, or the health and safety precautions that are taken at the facilities. In addition, you do not know if the meat has been transported to the store in a sanitary manner, how it has been handled at the store, or how long it has been available for sale. You are taking chances if you rely on the expiration dates.
You will not have these concerns when you buy farm fresh meat. You will have the healthiest, safest product. You are assured of excellent quality and excellent service. When you buy farm fresh meat, you are supporting local businesses and local farms. Also, you are creating sustainability for farms and farmers while protecting the environment.
The small extra cost is worth it. You are doing your part to sustain local businesses, and you are providing the very best for your family.
Farm Beef vs Store Beef
Real Food Fresh No AntiBiotics, No Hormones, No Presevatives, No Dyes, No Chemicals vs Mass Production
There is no doubt that beef is one of the most popular and widely consumed meats in the world. Whether you’re a steak lover or prefer burgers, beef is a staple in many diets. However, the quality of beef can vary greatly depending on where it’s sourced from. While store-bought beef may seem convenient and cost-effective, there are many benefits to choosing farm-fresh beef instead.
First and foremost, farm-fresh beef is often raised in a more humane and ethical manner than store-bought beef. Farmers who raise their own livestock typically have a smaller number of animals to care for, which allows them to provide individual attention and care to each animal. This can lead to healthier and happier cows, which ultimately results in better quality beef.
Additionally, farm-fresh beef is often raised using more sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices. Farmers who raise their own livestock typically have greater control over the feed and living conditions of their animals, which can lead to a more sustainable and eco-friendly operation.
Finally, farm-fresh beef is often more flavorful and nutritious than store-bought beef. This is because the animals are typically raised on a natural diet of grass and other vegetation, which can lead to a more complex and rich flavor profile. Additionally, farm-fresh beef is often lower in fat and higher in nutrients like Omega-3 fatty acids, which can be beneficial for overall health.
In conclusion, while store-bought beef may seem like the more convenient choice, there are many benefits to choosing farm-fresh beef instead. Not only is it often raised in a more ethical and sustainable manner, but it’s also more flavorful and nutritious. So next time you’re in the market for beef, consider choosing farm-fresh for a better overall experience. source
What’s Wrong with Beef from the Grocery Store?
The beef that you’re purchasing from the grocery store (you know, the kind on the styrofoam plates with the plastic wrap on top, or in the plastic tubes) is vastly different from the grass-fed meat you can purchase from a local farmer. The primary difference is in how the cow was raised. Your standard grocery store beef has been was raised on a feedlot.
When cattle is raised on a feedlot, they are provided a mostly grain-based diet. A grain-based diet causes health problems for cows because cows are ruminants: they are designed to digest grass, not corn and soy derivatives. Being on a grain-based diet greatly increases the risk of them carrying e. coli and other pathogens due the change of pH in their gut. Begin grain-fed also decreases the nutritional value of the meat.
Because of their poor diet and cramped living quarters, they’re prone to health problems, so they’re almost constantly on antibiotics. Many farmers routinely keep their cows on antibiotics which have caused problems with antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.
You may be surprised to find there are a number of very undesireable ingredients that make their way into animal feed (read this startling article from the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, “What Do We Feed to Food-Production Animals? A Review of Animal Feed Ingredients and Their Potential Impacts on Human Health“). Animal feed can include: meat from animals of other species or meat from the same species, roadkill, meat from diseased animals, bits of feathers, hair, skin, hooves, blood, manure and other animal waste, plastics, drugs, chemicals, and unhealthy amounts of grain.
Remember the old adage, “You are what you eat.” Well, so is the cow…and you’re eating that cow…which means all of that garbage the cow ate is now going into you. That’s pretty gross!
So why do farmers feed animals grains and other undesireables if it creates diseased cows and meat with low nutrients and high levels of toxins? It all comes down to the bottom line. Farmers feed the cattle this diet because it fattens them up more quickly. Also, grain-based feed is cheap because the government subsidizes farmers who grow corn and soy. So, now you know why grain fed meat is cheaper: the farmers can raise them quickly and feed them cheaply.
The Wonders of Grass-Fed Beef
Must we all forgo juicy hamburgers and succulent steaks if we are to avoid these health pitfalls? Never fear my carnivorous friends, there is a very healthy alternative to grocery store meat, but it will take a little more work and money to get your hands on it. There are many benefits of finding a local farmer who raises grass-fed and grass-finished beef.
Grass-fed beef has been raised on what cows were designed to eat: grass! As such there are a plethora of health benefits in eating a grass-fed and grass-finished cow.
- Though the meat tends to be lower in total fat, there is a greater concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. Grain-fed beef is virtually deplete of all omega-3s. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for human health, but our body cannot synthesize them on our own. The standard American diet is quite deficient in omega-3’s. You eat Omega 3 fatty acids in algae, fish oil, grass-fed meat, and flax seed oil (though our bodies do not utilize the omega-3’s in flax seeds as well as in meat sources).
- Grass-fed beef is the richest known source of conjugated linolic acid (CLA), which has been found to have many health benefits. CLA has anti-cancer properties and increases cardiovascular health. Grass-fed beef has approximately 300-500% more CLA than a cow that is fed half grains.
- The meat your get from a grass-fed cow has much less chance of being infected with e. coli and other diseases.
- A grass-fed cow is much higher in b vitamins, vitamin k and e, as well as essential trace minerals. In fact, many experts report that the bio-available (what your body can actually use) vitamins and minerals that are in meat vastly outweighs that which is found in fruits and vegetables.
The Real Difference Between Grass-Fed And Grain-Fed Beef
Grass fed beef is not the same as grain fed, and you might be surprised at the difference.
Grocery stores can be confusing places, and the meat department is no different. From free-range chicken to wild-caught salmon and everything in between, it can be hard to know which way to go. When it comes to grass-fed beef versus grain-fed, knowing the difference is also about understanding the food chain. Knowing which of these products are worth the investment will help you make the right decision for your dinner table.
Beef Industry Approaches
The traditional practice of the cattle industry to fatten livestock on a grain-based diet originated in the 1950s. Currently, About 80% of cattle in the United States are raised this way. As cattle become older, they become less efficient in converting feed to muscle or meat. Grain has more energy than a forage diet of grass or hay, and allows cattle to maintain higher growth rates. Feeding grain to cattle also concentrates their lives into a smaller area which frees up land for other uses.1
Grass-fed beef, which is the product of cows who spend their whole lives grazing on grass, can cost more money per pound. The cost lies behind the fact that it takes longer for grass-fed cattle to reach their processing weight on an all-grass diet. Raising beef this way, though more sustainable, is more expensive for the farmer.
An Alternative Worth Exploring
A grass-fed animal requires more time on feed to reach a target weight. As a result, the meat has less marbling. Grass-fed cattle are typically leaner with lower fat and calories. American grass-fed beef consumers are health conscious, enjoy variety, and seek a high-quality product. They associate grass-fed beef with being more natural and being of a higher quality. They also consider it to be better for the animal and their personal health.2 When raised in a feedlot, an animal experiences more stress. Animals that are stressed release hormones into the meat which results in it being less tender.
If you are interested in how an animal is raised before it is harvested, and consider the humane aspects of ranching to be important, choosing pasture-raised beef might be your best option. Not only that, but the sustainable farming methods surrounding grass-fed cattle, and a concern for natural resources, allow farmers to heal the land so future generations can use it.2
Grass Fed Nutritional Benefits
Grass-fed beef is higher in vitamins and antioxidants with double the amount of omega-3 fatty acids as grain-fed beef. What a cow eats can significantly affect the nutrient composition of its beef. This is particularly evident when it comes to fatty acid composition. Grass-fed beef usually contains less total fat than grain-fed beef, which means that gram for gram, grass-fed beef contains fewer calories. The composition of fatty acids within the meat is also different.
- Grass-fed beef contains much less monounsaturated fat than grain-fed beef.
- As far as omega-3 fatty acids are concerned, grass-fed is the clear winner. It contains up to five times more than grain-fed.
- Grass-fed beef contains about twice as much conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) as grain-fed beef. CLA has been shown to improve functions in the body and is also considered to possess anti-carcinogenic, anti-obese, anti-diabetic, and anti-hypertensive properties. This means CLA can be effective in preventing lifestyle diseases or metabolic syndromes.3
In short, there are some significant differences in the composition and amount of fat and nutritional benefits in grass and grain-fed beef.
Tasting The Difference
Most of the cattle industry starts their cows on grass and then transitions them to corn or grain to bulk them up quickly. It’s essentially fast food for cows. And because it’s not their natural diet, many farmers rely on antibiotics to keep their herds healthy. Other additives go along with a grain-fed diet, including hormones that aid in accelerating the growth of the animal. If you are used to buying this more mainstream, widely available beef version, you are already used to the taste.
As far as grass-fed beef is concerned, some report that the meat is slightly more gamey than the ordinary offering. This isn’t necessarily bad, and when we use the word “gamey”, we are not tripping into venison territory. If you give it a chance, you will experience what a cleaner version of beef tastes like. And when you consider all of the health benefits that go along with this choice, you may find it more appealing. source
What’s Wrong with Beef from the Grocery Store?
The beef that you’re purchasing from the grocery store (you know, the kind on the styrofoam plates with the plastic wrap on top, or in the plastic tubes) is vastly different from the grass-fed meat you can purchase from a local farmer. The primary difference is in how the cow was raised. Your standard grocery store beef has been was raised on a feedlot.
When cattle is raised on a feedlot, they are provided a mostly grain-based diet. A grain-based diet causes health problems for cows because cows are ruminants: they are designed to digest grass, not corn and soy derivatives. Being on a grain-based diet greatly increases the risk of them carrying e. coli and other pathogens due the change of pH in their gut. Begin grain-fed also decreases the nutritional value of the meat.
Because of their poor diet and cramped living quarters, they’re prone to health problems, so they’re almost constantly on antibiotics. Many farmers routinely keep their cows on antibiotics which have caused problems with antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria.
You may be surprised to find there are a number of very undesireable ingredients that make their way into animal feed (read this startling article from the Environmental Health Perspectives journal, “What Do We Feed to Food-Production Animals? A Review of Animal Feed Ingredients and Their Potential Impacts on Human Health“). Animal feed can include: meat from animals of other species or meat from the same species, roadkill, meat from diseased animals, bits of feathers, hair, skin, hooves, blood, manure and other animal waste, plastics, drugs, chemicals, and unhealthy amounts of grain.
Remember the old adage, “You are what you eat.” Well, so is the cow…and you’re eating that cow…which means all of that garbage the cow ate is now going into you. That’s pretty gross!
So why do farmers feed animals grains and other undesireables if it creates diseased cows and meat with low nutrients and high levels of toxins? It all comes down to the bottom line. Farmers feed the cattle this diet because it fattens them up more quickly. Also, grain-based feed is cheap because the government subsidizes farmers who grow corn and soy. So, now you know why grain fed meat is cheaper: the farmers can raise them quickly and feed them cheaply.
The Wonders of Grass-Fed Beef
Must we all forgo juicy hamburgers and succulent steaks if we are to avoid these health pitfalls? Never fear my carnivorous friends, there is a very healthy alternative to grocery store meat, but it will take a little more work and money to get your hands on it. There are many benefits of finding a local farmer who raises grass-fed and grass-finished beef.
Grass-fed beef has been raised on what cows were designed to eat: grass! As such there are a plethora of health benefits in eating a grass-fed and grass-finished cow.
- Though the meat tends to be lower in total fat, there is a greater concentration of omega-3 fatty acids. Grain-fed beef is virtually deplete of all omega-3s. Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for human health, but our body cannot synthesize them on our own. The standard American diet is quite deficient in omega-3’s. You eat Omega 3 fatty acids in algae, fish oil, grass-fed meat, and flax seed oil (though our bodies do not utilize the omega-3’s in flax seeds as well as in meat sources).
- Grass-fed beef is the richest known source of conjugated linolic acid (CLA), which has been found to have many health benefits. CLA has anti-cancer properties and increases cardiovascular health. Grass-fed beef has approximately 300-500% more CLA than a cow that is fed half grains.
- The meat your get from a grass-fed cow has much less chance of being infected with e. coli and other diseases.
- A grass-fed cow is much higher in b vitamins, vitamin k and e, as well as essential trace minerals. In fact, many experts report that the bio-available (what your body can actually use) vitamins and minerals that are in meat vastly outweighs that which is found in fruits and vegetables.
Things to Keep in Mind
You need to remember that organic does not mean grass-fed and -finished. Most organic beef is still, at a minimum, finished on a feedlot with organic feed.
When talking to farmers you need to verify that they are both grass-fed and grass-finished. A farmer can label their meat “grass-fed” even if they fatten the cow up with grain the last couple of months. You want to find a grass-finished cow for an optimal level of nutrients! When farmers finish their cows off with grain to quickly fatten them up the last few months of their life, there is a drastic reduction in vitamins and minerals.
Finally, I’ve heard some report that they had a bad experience with grass-fed beef. It just didn’t taste good. I’m sure there are less than optimal tasting grass-fed cows, just as there are grain-fed cows. But being the foody that I am, I can happily report my family and I have been exceedingly pleased with the taste of our grass-fed cow. We’ve been so happy with it we’re anxiously awaiting a pastured pig from the same farmer! source
