Grass-fed Beef what’s it all about?

People are demanding higher standards for their food, specifically beef. If I had to summarize, I’d say they have 3 areas where they want improvements, Nutrient density, Environment/Animal welfare, Trust and transparency.

Most people going about their daily lives don’t really take time to consider the differences in how cattle are raised. Certainly, in Ireland the perception is that they’re all roaming around in a field to some degree or other. I’d say that’s mostly true, but the distinction makes all the difference.

Cattle are, after all, ruminant animals; they have Four stomachs and are designed to make their living on pasture which is an energy poor vegetation type which is otherwise inedible to anything else.

However, in man’s pursuance of profit Cattle are fed energy rich feeds like grain or soy to make them grow bigger faster. Removing these animals from their habitat has consequent impact on their meat as well as their environment both locally and globally.

The push back to this has been from individuals and families seeking out more natural and environmentally appropriate produce. Hence the emergence of Grass-fed Beef as a premium product that have educated consumers seeking it out.

So, what is it that these customers are looking for in Grass-fed Beef?

Nutrient Density

The research shows that there is a slightly lower fat content in Grass-fed compared to non Grass-fed However that fat is also contains much more omega3’s, specifically DHA’s. As well as phytonutrients such as Beta Carotene which is a precursor to vitamin A(Retinol)

DHA’s and Beta Carotene are vital to eye and heart health in fact the only meat with higher levels than Grass-fed beef is Marine life i.e., oily fish.

Grass-fed Beef even looks different from Grain-fed. The meat is more of a cherry colour, closer to venison than paler Grain fed meat. The Fat has a more yellow tinge to it. Its thought that phytonutrients from the grass are responsible for the colour differences. In general people seem to trust the arrangement of phytonutrients according to the pattern of nature is more reliable and worthy than that tinkered with by man.

So, if you’re serious about your diet your children’s diet you should be serious about your “preys” diet. To make sure it’s a s natural as possible.

Happy Animals/Environment

Some people take very seriously their responsibility for caring for those animals upon whom we depend for life. This, in a world of professional specialization, makes it wise to ensure that the paradigm that produces these animals adheres as close as is possible to their co-evolved habitat. Selecting Grass-fed Beef, by itself maybe not a cure-all, but is a very high leverage control point. One that ensures the most natural possible life for the Animal and therefore most likely give the greatest assurance that the animals live contented lives.

A little side bar(for my 13year old Daughter). I’m often asked how I can kill and eat cattle if I say I love them? Ok on the face of it I understand. However, the farmers relationship is with the herd and not the individual animal. The farmer is the one making the future for the Cows Kin. No farmer, no cow! (In fact, no customer no cow)

In addition to that, never have consumers been so conscious of the environment, both locally and globally.

Cattle grazing forage on pasture sequesters 8-10times the amount of carbon they emit through enteric digestions. Why because nature designed it that way. Among other mechanisms the pasture is full of methanotrophs (organisms that eat Methane)that depend on those cow burps. Its worth noting that Methanatrophs  don’t live on concrete where most cattle are finished.

To simplify it if you want more green grassy pastures in your environment you need to eat more animals that eat that grass on the pasture and the farmers will keep giving you what you want.

Market Forces and Trust.

Trust, is what you as a customer are being asked to do with every purchase. So how do you currently do Trust in a “scale environment” (supermarkets etc)? Labels and trademarks? That seems to be the way but is it the only way?  Is it even an adequate way for a consumer who wants to make important distinctions like;?

Nutrient density,

Environment/ Happy Animals

Trust

The best way is like the chef, know the producer. What does he stand for what are the distinctions he likes to make in his selections?

That’s what we offer at Fat of the land. We give you a link directly to the farm so you’ll know exactly what goes into producing your beef and just as importantly what are the environmental outputs, are the positive or negative.

I’ve described 5 factors I take into consideration in the production of my Grass-fed beef. I think they’re all pretty important and only one of them is included in the National Grass-fed Beef Standard” S

If you’d like to receive a copy of the 5 distinctions that make for the best Grass-fed beef sign up for our newsletter

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I came back to farming in 2015 after taking a redundancy.. My education and career to that point had been in the Forest industry. I knew the basics from growing up on a farm  but I knew I would have to focus on the primary mode of production on the farm, i.e. grass production. My studies of the literature highlighted the similarity with forestry in the sigmoid curve that describes the growth of both grass and trees.

However YouTube “intervened” against me going down the “grass measurement” route, in favour of regenerative agriculture. I came across graziers like Joel Salatin, Greg Judy and Alan Savory who are leading the way in producing amazing beef in an environmentally sound manner without measuring grass….

That was it, I decided if I’m going to farm full time the only way that I could get there was by standing out and producing a premium product! That was 2015, I was still selling into the commodity market but I started to change my system with the eye towards going 100% grass-fed.

So is Grass-fed really much different? Well there is a lot of research on this subject, predominantly from dairy farming as constituents of the milk are measurable daily.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022030216306671

The fat/protein content and quality are significantly improved while on pasture. These findings are reproduced with beef, however with dairy it is worth noting how little concentrate feeding it takes to do away with the nutritional benefits in favour of higher output.

With Beef farming, bringing animals to a level of condition suitable for slaughter on grass only is challenging! Can you imagine trying to get fat only on salad? That’s why most farmers (including myself in the past) use concentrates grain/soy to supplement the condition of the animals prior to slaughter. The current food standards says we cannot guarantee those supplements are GMO free.

As well as that I have set out to produce all my grass without synthetic fertilisers. Research has shown this to also increases the nutrient density of the food while it also is better for the environment.

Those are the main parameters where I can claim to going above and beyond producing a superior quality product.

The secondary effect of producing beef this way is that we are increasing biodiversity on our farm. Our grazing method, (management intensive grazing) leaves a lot of residue/waste behind which provides cover for ground nesting birds as well as feeding the soil life.

So why have I gone to all this trouble, do people really care? I believe they do and will even more-so!

They care because they are informed about the health benefits of food with naturally derived lipid and protein profiles. They care because of GMO’s in the alternative they are not informed or consulted on.

They care because they want their purchases to support their local community and environment. They care because they don’t blindly trust 3rd party “quality assurance” certifications.

So anyway thats a summary of my journey to 100% grass-Fed and why I think its becoming increasingly important. Looking forward to getting to know you and feeding your family.

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