offwidth
Level 10 Valued Member
Well said Geoff.
Nutrition Grass-Fed Beef?
- Thread starter Anna C
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Well said Geoff.
MattM
SFG1
It should seriously worry us that food even has to be labeled organic or grass fed. Most people aren't even really eating food anymore, just something that resembles it.
Dave Johnson
Level 4 Valued Member
Boggles my mind trying to understand this "grass fed" situation.
Only solution would be to raise my own cattle (fail, as the cattle would starve in my little yard).
Huge fan of Michael Pollan's words:
"Eat food, Not too much. Mostly plants.”
Required reading should be 2 books, The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food.
Required viewing should be the brilliant PBS sponsored Michael Pollan documentary In Defense of Food.
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Bonkin
Level 3 Valued Member
Yes, that is one of my favorite sayings of his. I discovered Pollan's work from a running forum I've been apart of the past 10 years and one of the members used that phrase for eating so much that it was morphed into a running saying: "Run a lot. Mostly Easy. Sometimes fast." I think this is wisdom that can apply to life in much more than just food.
Deleted member 5559
Guest
Much better for health and longevity, kind of worse for affording vacations. I personally know of people trying to shed some body fat and were not having success until they took the plunge for organic food and grass fed meat. I have not personally taken the plunge because I don't care enough yet (I have decided to start hunting to replace my meat eventually though) but I do have a theory that the body is more concerned about intake of micro nutrients and sensitivity to toxins more than the macro nutrients. I feel that the body reacts worse to toxins in non-organic meat than it benefits from the protein. However, I get more joy from my money on other things than organic food and grass-fed meat; like the song says, "I'd rather take years off my life, than take life off my years."
banzaiengr
Level 6 Valued Member
Well, in a way you are correct. Maybe the only way to know for sure is to grow it yourself or buy it from someone you know or trust. As other's have said, "to be labeled grass fed the beef could have been fed a portion of grain". I'm not positive on this but I believe it is 15%.
The best way to buy it is from a farmer you know. It may seem more expensive but actually it's not that much more. You well pay so much a pound based on the hanging weight of the beef. Then you will pay so much a pound for processing. So, let's say that you are paying 7 dollars a pound total. High for hamburger but cheap for steaks. Plus you know where it came from. Most likely no hormones and what not added to their feed.
Get your beef and pork that way and supplement with some organic venison and/or elk, free range chicken and you've got your protein taken care of.
ClaudeR
Level 6 Valued Member
If you can afford it, go for it. If not, no problem, still way better than anything that comes in a cardboard box!
labels are just that, labels... To get a label requires a lot of hassle and expenses, hence whatever has a label comes from an industrial operation, period.
if sustainability, health, community and diversity, and environment are things you care about (I do care about those!), the best thing you can do is find a local farmer and work with him, regardless of grain fed or grass fed, organic or not, whatever. Local beats all of that all the time!
same for eggs, produce, everything. Local and in season, over organic and industrial all the time!
labels are just that, labels... To get a label requires a lot of hassle and expenses, hence whatever has a label comes from an industrial operation, period.
if sustainability, health, community and diversity, and environment are things you care about (I do care about those!), the best thing you can do is find a local farmer and work with him, regardless of grain fed or grass fed, organic or not, whatever. Local beats all of that all the time!
same for eggs, produce, everything. Local and in season, over organic and industrial all the time!
pet'
Level 8 Valued Member
Hello,
I do not know in other country, but where I live (Normandy, France) the best, easiest and cheapest way to get "grass-fed" is to buy it directly in a farm. There are plenty over here.
Top quality chicken and turkey are more affordable though eh eh
Kind regards,
Pet'
I do not know in other country, but where I live (Normandy, France) the best, easiest and cheapest way to get "grass-fed" is to buy it directly in a farm. There are plenty over here.
Top quality chicken and turkey are more affordable though eh eh
Kind regards,
Pet'
LukeV
Level 7 Valued Member
I understand there are considerable differences between grass and grain fed production systems internationally and my information is only about what occurs in Australia. Only about 3% of cattle here are in the grain system but those provide 33% of beef product because it is a more efficient process preferred by major retailers due to its lower fat content and high degree of standardisation. While these cattle spend only about 80 days in a feedlot it means the meat should look, taste and cook the same. Grass fed beef is highly susceptible to environmental conditions. It may look, taste and cook differently depending on where it's from. Grain fed beef has a different fat profile with more Omega 6 and less Omega 3, but that adds up only to about to 130mcg per steak, unlikely to make any difference to human health. I prefer grass fed beef for ethical reasons. I don't believe it's necessarily healthier
I choose to disagree here. There are likely, IMHO, many things we can't yet measure that make grass-fed beef better for us. The simple motto, for someone my age, is to try to eat food like your grandparents ate. Some of you younger folks will have to go back further than that - my father's father was born in 1895. I don't know enough about agricultural history to know if even that is far enough back, but you get the idea.
I make a simple choice - I shop at Whole Foods. I can't raise my own food or live on a farm, so I have to trust someone, so I shop there for almost everything we eat, and even there, I'm still reading the signs and the packaging and buying organic, and local, whenever I can. Do the best you can with what you've got wherever you are.
-S-
JeffC
Level 7 Valued Member
I cannot afford fresh local. Industrial food is expensive enough. I eat a lot of whole foods, and I spend $600-700 a month. Most times I go to Costco I spend $350-500. Between two kids, and high end food for two dogs the yuppie prices at the farmers market, and organic food from the supermarket is just too much. I support the industrial food industry.
Dave0317
Level 3 Valued Member
Plenty of people seem to live healthily into very old ages even after eating grain fed animals, chickens kept in captivity, gmo plants, etc. Seems like there are probably too many variables in life to say grass fed steaks make a measurable difference. But if you have it available and can afford it, it can't hurt.
It's a little expensive for me, but I do locally source organic, free range, caught in the wild, grass and acorn fed meat from the local forest lands. This year I have bought a deep freezer and hunted until it was full. The hunting itself is an amazing activity that involves all the benefits of rucking, strength, endurance, etc.
I can't explain to you the mental fulfillment of being engaged in the most primal of activities and the satisfaction of humanely taking an animal. It's also a little like cheating the mass meat production industry in many ways. Give it a try.
It's a little expensive for me, but I do locally source organic, free range, caught in the wild, grass and acorn fed meat from the local forest lands. This year I have bought a deep freezer and hunted until it was full. The hunting itself is an amazing activity that involves all the benefits of rucking, strength, endurance, etc.
I can't explain to you the mental fulfillment of being engaged in the most primal of activities and the satisfaction of humanely taking an animal. It's also a little like cheating the mass meat production industry in many ways. Give it a try.
mprevost
Level 7 Valued Member
My compromise is simply to reduce my beef consumption. Over the last year I have reduced my protein consumption quite a bit with no ill effect. I still buy beef about once per week. The rest of the time my protein comes from eggs, fish, chicken (organic, also expensive!) and vegetables. I do lots of beans and rice. My protein consumption is about 80-120 grams per day, which I can easily get with only a little meat. That is down from 150-180 grams per day previously.
Nikki
Level 3 Valued Member
Yep, those of us at HQ that don't actually hunt our own protein *coughEricFrohardtcough* have been happy with Butcher Box. It's really very convenient (and trustworthy).
I was eating beef at least three times a week during the 9 months I was on a ketogenic diet. When I came off the diet I cut out virtually all the red meat, by mistake. Meaning, since I don't really have a craving for it, when I replaced my second protein meal with a more grain/carb focus I just didn't add beef to it.
When my Sinister test swing training took a dive a month or so ago I took a hard look at my log and realized I had cut the red meat out- and with it almost all my creatine ( and iron as Pavel pointed out to me).
I quickly added back grass fed burger to my diet ( as well as 5gms of creatine daily) and really noticed big differences in my endurance and strength.
Here in San Jose it cost $7 a lb, that seems very reasonable to me. I eat 8-10 oz a day now.
When my Sinister test swing training took a dive a month or so ago I took a hard look at my log and realized I had cut the red meat out- and with it almost all my creatine ( and iron as Pavel pointed out to me).
I quickly added back grass fed burger to my diet ( as well as 5gms of creatine daily) and really noticed big differences in my endurance and strength.
Here in San Jose it cost $7 a lb, that seems very reasonable to me. I eat 8-10 oz a day now.
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