Why Our Grass Fed Beef?
Flavour
Naturally raised grass fed beef just simply tastes better. This is beef the way it was meant to taste. The beef is lean, and has the full flavour that beef was meant to have.
Environment
Modern cows were bred from a species of animal that mainly foraged for grasses as well as supplementing their diet by browsing on twigs and leaves from certain types of trees and shrubs. Most beef that you eat today is from cows that are fed from a very early age on grains including barley, wheat, corn and a variety of other inexpensive high protein feeds. Because the digestive system of cows is not designed to handle these high protein diets they produce higher quantities of methane (a very potent greenhouse gas) than they do on a natural diet. Add to that the fossil fuels used to transport the beef to the feed lot, to produce the grain, and to ship the beef to the super market and you have beef with a huge carbon footprint. Grass fed beef from a local supplier is a much better alternative which has the added benefit of supporting the local economy.
The Animals
Our animals are raised in a healthy low stress and relatively natural environment. They have free access to ample grass and water and are free to move about the property. The animals are never moved with the use of electronic cattle prods or other inhumane devises. We are continually trying to improve our facilities and practises so that our animals live a happy healthy life and are humanely slaughtered.
Health benefits
Cows were designed to eat grass and are able to properly digest it and maintain a healthy digestive system. Feedlot cattle are fed a very high protein diet with results in higher percentage of fat in the tissue. Grass fed beef is usually as much as 25% lower in total fat than grain fed beef which results in fewer calories per serving.
Studies show that naturally raised grass fed beef is higher in Omega 3 fatty acids and has a more beneficial ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids than does conventional grain fed beef. This is very important because these polyunsaturated fats cannot be synthesized by the human body and have to come from our diet. Grass fed beef is also lower in saturated fats which are linked to heart desease.
Grass fed beef is also higher in vitamins E, B1 and B2 as well as being higher in beneficial minerals such as calcium, magnesium and potassium.
Studies have also shown that grass fed beef is higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which helps in the prevention of cancer, high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease as well as osteoporosis and insulin resistance.
There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that grass fed beef can be beneficial to persons with the gluten allergy that leads to celiac disease.
Possibly the most important factor is that our grass fed beef is raised on clean uncrowded pastures where bacterial contact is reduced. Our cattle receive no antibiotics or growth hormones meaning there is no possibility of residual hormones or antibiotics in the meat.
Food Safety
Cattle from the mainstream cattle industry are raised in crowded pens in huge feed lots where they are exposed to e coli bacteria certain strains of which are very dangerous and even deadly to human beings. Our cattle are raised in a low density environment in open pastures which lessens their exposure to harmful bacteria. A combination of poor environment and an unnatural diet make it necessary for feed lot cattle to receive a steady diet of antibiotics to keep them alive and growing. This constant use of antibiotics contributes to the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains which can become introduced to the human population with potentially deadly results.
