Grass Fed vs Grain Fed
This info is taken in part from Eat Sleep Fast:
Read it! Ask questions! Do your own research!
".... So just what is the difference between grass-fed vs. grain-fed? Well the answer is a lot! Its better for the animals, the environment and your own health.
* The Animals Health: Cows are a ruminant. What this basically means is they are designed to digest plant based foods only. They have three stomachs, the first is called a "rumen." Cows basically semi-chew their food, swallow it and allow the bacteria in their rumen to break the cellulose down further. Then they regurgitate (yummy) this semi-digested food and swallow it again. This allows the cow to actually use the grass, and they eat the bacteria as well! Cool huh? Ok, maybe only to me. By feeding these animals grains, they develop a conditions known as "acidosis" or "acid ingestion." The bacteria in their guts create a variety of acids. When they are on pasture they create plenty of saliva to neutralize it. But since a grain based diet is low on roughage, they do not ruminate their food as long, leading to this net acid load. If this continues long enough, which in feedlot it does, the cows develop "rumenitis." This is an inflammatory state of the rumen wall. They develop ulcers because of it and cannot digest food nearly as well.
* The Environment-Agriculture is easily the most destructive act we have done to our planet in the last 10,000...or of all time for that matter. Soil is the basis of life on earth, and the planting of annual mono-crops (wheat, soy, corn etc) year after year destroy top soil. Without top soil there will be nothing. This is why the answer to world hunger doesn't involve feeding the starving grains. Planting annual mono-crops is not a sustainable practice, when all the top soil is gone, what will you grow? We need agricultural practices that build top soil, not destroy it. Raising animals on a perennial poly-culture does just that. Ruminants eat the grass, expend the waste as urine and fecal matter, and that right their builds topsoil. What do you actually think is more destructive to the planet, eating a steak from a cow raised on a pasture, or replacing it with some pseudo soy burger shipped here from Mexico? Let's see, I killed one animal to eat my meal (the cow) and you killed countless by plowing your field for soy, destroyed top soil while my cow built it, burned plenty more fossil fuel getting it on your plate, and damned rivers to irrigate it. Basically you destroyed entire ecosystems to eat a shitty tasting piece of fake meat. Thumbs up to you. Substitute the soy burger for; bagels, cereal or low-fat bran muffins. My steak still wins any day of the week.
* Nutritionally- Basically, grass-fed kicks ass in the nutrition department. It's total fat content is lower, making it higher in protein. It has a far better ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, is higher in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), Vitamin E & C and Beta-carotene ..."
* The Animals Health: Cows are a ruminant. What this basically means is they are designed to digest plant based foods only. They have three stomachs, the first is called a "rumen." Cows basically semi-chew their food, swallow it and allow the bacteria in their rumen to break the cellulose down further. Then they regurgitate (yummy) this semi-digested food and swallow it again. This allows the cow to actually use the grass, and they eat the bacteria as well! Cool huh? Ok, maybe only to me. By feeding these animals grains, they develop a conditions known as "acidosis" or "acid ingestion." The bacteria in their guts create a variety of acids. When they are on pasture they create plenty of saliva to neutralize it. But since a grain based diet is low on roughage, they do not ruminate their food as long, leading to this net acid load. If this continues long enough, which in feedlot it does, the cows develop "rumenitis." This is an inflammatory state of the rumen wall. They develop ulcers because of it and cannot digest food nearly as well.
* The Environment-Agriculture is easily the most destructive act we have done to our planet in the last 10,000...or of all time for that matter. Soil is the basis of life on earth, and the planting of annual mono-crops (wheat, soy, corn etc) year after year destroy top soil. Without top soil there will be nothing. This is why the answer to world hunger doesn't involve feeding the starving grains. Planting annual mono-crops is not a sustainable practice, when all the top soil is gone, what will you grow? We need agricultural practices that build top soil, not destroy it. Raising animals on a perennial poly-culture does just that. Ruminants eat the grass, expend the waste as urine and fecal matter, and that right their builds topsoil. What do you actually think is more destructive to the planet, eating a steak from a cow raised on a pasture, or replacing it with some pseudo soy burger shipped here from Mexico? Let's see, I killed one animal to eat my meal (the cow) and you killed countless by plowing your field for soy, destroyed top soil while my cow built it, burned plenty more fossil fuel getting it on your plate, and damned rivers to irrigate it. Basically you destroyed entire ecosystems to eat a shitty tasting piece of fake meat. Thumbs up to you. Substitute the soy burger for; bagels, cereal or low-fat bran muffins. My steak still wins any day of the week.
* Nutritionally- Basically, grass-fed kicks ass in the nutrition department. It's total fat content is lower, making it higher in protein. It has a far better ratio of omega-6 to omega-3, is higher in CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), Vitamin E & C and Beta-carotene ..."
One of the local farms, this one located in the Cypress Hills, has Grain Fed Beef for sale:
Poker Cattle Co.
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