Take a second to think about this statement “nothing has developed from eating just grains.”  Now stop and ask yourself if you can think of any animal that has survived or even thrived on just eating grains? The answer to that question is absolutely not. Then why should our beef be strictly grain fed? Most cows are only grain fed and are shot full of hormones, antibiotics and even steroids to keep them bulky enough to sell at market. Now stop and ask yourself this question, is it really what I want to feed my family?

If you look back fifty or sixty years ago, almost all beef was grass fed. Remember the whole cowboy routine where the cattle would be driven across the plains? That was how it was always done. The only problem with this method was it took a long for the beef to put on enough weight to slaughter, think four to five years.

Today, cattle are around 14 to 16 months at the time of slaughter. Now just how is a cow supposed to go from 80 pounds at birth to 1,200 pounds at slaughter in just over a year? It takes enormous quantities of grains, protein supplements, antibiotics and growth hormones to put on that much weight that fast.

Cows are called ruminant because they have four stomachs and chew cud on a grain diet. The most dangerous thing about a ruminant cow is bloating. We commonly know about this issue with pets, but we never consider it with cows. The starch from the grain prevent gas from being expelled the normal way, so the cow’s stomach fills up with air and turns on itself, blocking the flow of blood to vital organs and pressing against the cow’s lungs. If this is not corrected immediately, the cow could suffocate.

Grain-fed animals are more susceptible to a form of cow heartburn, called acidosis. Usually this causes the ruminant to get very sick and need antibiotics. Many of the cattle farms today keep a continual stream of antibiotics flowing for their cattle so they do not have to continuously pay a veterinarian to come out and take a look at the same issue over and over. Why not solve the problem all together and use the antibiotics all the time?

This overuse of antibiotics is not only dangerous to the cows; it also has a lasting effect on us. Feedlot beef, as we know it today, would be impossible to maintain if it weren’t for the routine use of antibiotics. Unfortunately this leads to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, creating new super-bugs that are growing stronger against the antibiotics that we are using, forcing scientists to produce stronger drugs and cattle farmers to raise prices to cover these costs.

Grain-fed cattle also have a higher susceptibility to E. coli bacteria due to the acidity that forms in their intestinal tracts. Cattle digestive systems are naturally Ph neutral and the E. coli bacteria thrive in acidic habitats. This increases our risk of getting E. coli when we eat undercooked meat.

Unlike grain-fed cattle, grass-fed beef is not full of all the antibiotics and hormones and take the time to bulk up instead of trying to force it. Because of this, the grass-fed beef is not only lower in overall fat and saturated fat, but it also has the added advantage of providing more omega-3 fats. These omega-3s are found in grass, which is another source high in these good fats. Once cattle are fed grain, they start losing the omega-3s from their tissues and generally only have a remaining five percent left by the time they go to market.

Because of these high amounts of good fats, grass fed beef has a bigger flavor profile that beef is supposed to have. Also because of the omega-3s, grass fed cattle are almost four times higher in Vitamin E and are much higher in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which is associated with lowering the risk of cancer.

Just one last tip, don’t expect the grass-fed beef to taste the same as the beef you have been consuming. It is quite a different taste but one many people enjoy more than grain feed meats.  The next time you get a chance, try grass-fed beef and see what nature intended natural beef to taste like. Your body will thank you and the cattle farmers who are trying to do right by nature will thank you. Give your pallet a chance to explore what real beef should taste like it might what’s for dinner every night.