Cows coming in from the field to get milked.
So, if it's not organic, what's the advantage of grass-fed meat over grain-fed meat?
Healthier for you:
Totally grass-fed steers have about the same amount of fat as wild deer or elk (less fat means fewer calories), and when meat (even red meat) is lean, it actually lowers your bad cholesterol. When a ruminant (more than one stomach) animal is out on grass, its milk and meat are the richest known source of a type of good fat called "conjugated linoleic acid", or CLA. When ruminants are raised on fresh pasture alone, their milk and meat contain as much as five times more CLA than products from animals fed confinement diets. As well as being low in bad fats (including saturated fats and Omega-6s), pasture-fed meat has from 2 to 6 times more of another type of good fat called Omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s play a vital role in every cell and system in your body. Grass-fed meat is also much higher in Vitamin E, which has been linked with a lower risk of cancer and heart disease.
Healthier for the animals:
Grass-fed animals have fewer illnesses, fewer gastric disorders, less stress, less heat stress, and fewer injuries and deaths than their confined grain-fed counterparts. They are happier, healthier, and can be just as productive (in giving milk) as grain-fed animals. (We at Grassfields don't get as much milk from our animals as confinement animals, but we also have less expense. Our focus is not on milk production, but the health of the animals and their products.) Grass-fed animals are also rarely fed antibiotics (antibiotics are never fed to any dairy cows, grain-fed or grass-fed) or given growth or production hormones. (We do neither at Grassfields.) By not giving them hormones, our animals grow at a slower, normal rate which is more comfortable to, and healthier for, them. We also give the dairy cows a break of two months from milking them just before they have their calves. This helps them keep healthy and grow a healthy calf.
Better for the farmer:
 The break for the dairy cows results in a break for the farmer also where we can get much work done that was put off throughout the year during the busy calving and harvesting seasons and also take vacations. Overall, by pasturing the cows, there is less work for the farmer, since he does not have to bring feed (in the summer) to the animals and take out their waste. Farmers who raise grass-fed animals have a greater profit margin than feedlot farmers. This is credited to less need for big machinery, less feed costs, and fewer veterinary visits needed.
Better for the environment:
Grazing animals reduces greenhouse gas production, encourages plant bio-diversity, mimics the natural prairie, and contributes to the soil fertility. In addition, grazing the land (instead of tilling up the soil and planting crops every year) reduces erosion and does not contribute to run-off from huge crop fields which can infiltrate the ground and waters. For more information on these subjects, you can visit the web site Eat Wild.
Below are some more specific advantages grass-fed has over grain-fed.
Grass-fed Cattle
- Completely grass-fed steers have the same amount of fat as wild game or skinless chicken breast.
- Lean red meat as a class has been proven to lower bad cholesterol and boost good cholesterol.
- The Omega 3 fatty acids found in much higher concentrations and balances in grass-fed cattle are essential for normal growth and development and lower your risk of mental disorders, heart problems, and some cancers.		 Grain-fed Cattle
- Grain-fed cattle have 4-6 times more total fat as grass-fed cattle.
- Grain-fed cattle have twice as much saturated fat as grass-fed cattle.
- Omega 6 fatty acids, which are in plant seeds and grains, have been linked to obesity, diabetes, cancer, and immune disorders.
 
CLA (conjugated linolic acid, an Omega 3 fatty acid)
- CLA shows good effects to cancer, obesity, diabetes, and immune disorders, helping to prevent or even cure some of them.
- CLA helps convert fat to lean muscle.
- CLA is perfectly safe, even when taken in mega doses, whereas many vitamins and supplements can be dangerous if taken in mega doses.
 
Natural CLA
- Grass-fed cattle have 4-5 times more natural CLA than grain-fed cattle.
- CLA is concentrated in milk fat (cream).
- Grass-fed dairy contains up to 5 times as much CLA as grain-fed dairy.		 Synthetic CLA
- One must take 2 times or more of the amount of synthetic CLA to get the same amount as natural CLA and it's very expensive.
 
Beta-Carotene
- Grass contains Beta-Carotene. Therefore, the meat, eggs, and dairy from grass-fed animals are a great source of this vitamin.
- Naturally yellow-colored, beta-carotene gives the fat of grass-fed animals a rich yellow hue, which is very different from the pasty white, vitamin-deficient grain-fed fat. Next time you go to the store, take a look at the fat on the beef you buy. Is it a healthy yellow, or dull, vitamin-deficient white?
 

Cows in a feedlot.
Our happy cows!