"Grass fed" concerns

[Lyn1]

I'm wondering what the label "grass fed" actually means. I'd like to think it means the cows are ony fed grass, but I don't think it does. The farmers I've spoken to (who say they have grass fed meat) will tell me, "Oh, yeah. We do offer them grains too." Or today, when I went to the farmer's market, the lady told me their cows are pastured almost all of their lives, but then they are fed grains just before they are slaughtered in order to fatten them up.

Then, there's the "grass fed" meat at Whole Foods. Is it really? They say that the fat in grass fed is more yellow than in the regular kind. I looked at a grass fed steak and a non-grass fed organic steak side by side and the color of the fat looked exactly the same. I wonder if they are grain fed, but then are fed just a little grass so that they can be called "grass fed".

Can anybody shed some light on this?

[Melissa Urban]

Check out our Good Meat Guide here: http://whole9life.com/itstartswithfood (scroll down towards the bottom). This should help, but if you have additional questions, let us know.

[michelle888]

I'm not sure where you are, but here in the Seattle area, Whole Foods labeling on meat is very clear. They have 5 levels with 1 being pretty much conventional, but without antibiotics up to 5, which is grass finished, organic. This is on all beef and pork products in both the pre-pack and full service meat departments. All else fails, as the employees in the meat department. They tend to be very knowledgeable.

[Lyn1]

Thanks for the info. I live in south Louisiana. We're still in the dark ages here. I have never seen "grass finished" anywhere here. Not even at Whole Foods. (....and I've not seen that numbering system either, but I'll check it out next time I go.) I'm kinda mad because I suspect the "grass fed" meat I've been spending so much money on is not actually.

[Emily]

That's a bummer, Lyn1. I have had farmers tell me that their meat is grass-fed, but when I push them (so the cow never ate grains?) they will ultimately tell me they "grain finished" or "corn finished" their meat. At this point, I buy meat in bulk (we buy half a cow at a time for my family, that lasts us about a year) and I make sure to ask multiple times, in multiple different wordings, about the animal only eating grass, never grains.

[Renee Lee]

For me, while diet is definitely important, I take quality of life to be equally important, and can even override some diet things.

If my meat comes from a small local farm, is treated with ethical practices and is fed grass for 95% of its life, then the grains it's fed in the winter (when the grass is under a foot of snow up here in new England) isn't a huge deal breaker for me.

I'm not 100% sure of the nutritional differences between the two, but it has to be minimal, and I'd rather support a local farmer than not.

[Lyn1]

True. I'm sure the meat from the farmer's market is better since they do actually allow the cows to graze in the pasture for most of their lives. It just bugs me that they can call it grass fed and still feed it grains. I did check out Whole Foods today and they do have that numbering system but I had never noticed it because most of the meat there was "unrated" and didn't have a number. Most of the numbers that they did have were "1", and a little bit of "4". No "5"s. Boo. Guess I'll stick to the farmer's market since it's local rather than trying to order it online somewhere.

[RaeVynn]

This is why I order a lot of my meat from US Wellness, actually.

I can get "grass fed" locally, that is, in the small town I live in, but I do not completely trust the source. So, I use very little of it. I can get grass-fed at our food co-op, which is further away, but I did look up the farms online, and they do say grass finished.

If all else fails, look into ordering online. Stick to cheaper cuts if necessary, like ground beef.

[Lyn1]

Thanks! I'll have to check that out. (I was wanting to try their bacon anyway.)