Grassfed Beef Infographic
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What's the beef?
Researchers and doctors have told us how unhealthy beef is for us, but not all beef is created equal. Many fail to differentiate between the two common types of red meat available: grassfed beef vs conventional grainfed beef.
It's about the feed As a ruminant, a cow's digestive system is made to digest grasses. Grains like corn that are high in starch and other high energy cheap feeds can rapidly fatten cattle, but can also damage their digestive system. The time and intensity of this feeding must be limited to avoid killing the cows or causing severe illness... Which leads to antibiotic use for cows Antibiotics become necessary because an unnatural diet makes cows prone to disease. Low doses of antibiotics combined with hormones are also used as a short cut to promote excessive growth. While some grainfed cattle may not be given antibiotics, most are. Growing COWch potatoes Inactivity fattens cows and humans alike. Confining large herds to small spaces creates the perfect environment for diseases to spread. Just add more antibiotics! Growing cows like fast food A fatter cow in half the time means cheap meat for your plate. Just ignore the quality of it and everyone's happy. Grassfed beef is part of a healthy diet When cows roam the pasture and graze, their intake of healthy omega 3 fats in grass increases their body composition of omega 3 fats. Other healthy fats increase like CLA (which has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer), while total fat reduces. Grassfed cow meat has higher concentrations of vitamins like E and beta carotene, as well as minerals. Choose healthier meat for your family. Ask your butcher for it or check here for local sources of grassfed beef. |
More about common cattle feeds (warning: this is gross)
Cheap high sugar foods are the most popular items to feed cows. This includes grains like corn (high in starchy sugars) and soybeans, but also factory scrap and by-products from the food industry (as noted in the graphic above). Processed vegetable oils are also commonly used.
Feeding cow processing by-products to other cows has been largely restricted due to Mad Cow Disease. Cows were frequently fed scrap from the slaughterhouse. However, the risk of passing Mad Cow between cows has become too risky, so it has largely been discontinued. Chickens can be fed these cow by-products and guess who can eat the chicken by-products...
What's chicken litter? This is the bedding material used for chickens. It may include wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, shredded sugar cane, straw, and other low-cost materials. Sand is also occasionally used as bedding. After use, the litter consists primarily of poultry manure, but also contains the original litter material, feathers, and spilled feed. The FDA allows this material to be used as a cheap feed for cattle.1
Wouldn't you rather eat grassfed beef?
Feeding cow processing by-products to other cows has been largely restricted due to Mad Cow Disease. Cows were frequently fed scrap from the slaughterhouse. However, the risk of passing Mad Cow between cows has become too risky, so it has largely been discontinued. Chickens can be fed these cow by-products and guess who can eat the chicken by-products...
What's chicken litter? This is the bedding material used for chickens. It may include wood shavings, sawdust, peanut hulls, shredded sugar cane, straw, and other low-cost materials. Sand is also occasionally used as bedding. After use, the litter consists primarily of poultry manure, but also contains the original litter material, feathers, and spilled feed. The FDA allows this material to be used as a cheap feed for cattle.1
Wouldn't you rather eat grassfed beef?
