What is the Difference Between Grass Finished VS Grass Fed Beef?

How can you be sure the beef you purchase is the healthiest option? Many consumers assume that purchasing beef from a local health food store or farmer guarantees healthy beef, but that’s not always the case. With so many terms and claims surrounding beef, including grass-fed, grain-fed, and grass-finished, how can you know what the best option is? We know it’s confusing. We’d like to share a few facts to help you make the very best decisions and avoid over spending on products that may not be superior.

Grass Fed Vs. Grass Finished

Let’s start with defining the difference between grass fed and grass finished. 

Ideally, you want to purchase beef from a farmer whose livestock are grass fed and grass finished. John’s Farm raises Angus beef solely on our certified organic family farm in Fairview, OK; calves graze freely in environmentally friendly pastures, bask in the sunshine, flourish on a diet of grass with 1% supplementation of organic barley which is grown on our farm. Our feeding practices are verified by the USDA (a process that includes a thorough review and inspection over an extended period of time. Another consideration when purchasing beef is the ‘origin’ of the product. You might be surprised at how many of the options originate outside of the United States, some traveling more than 5,000 miles before reaching your cart. Country of origin is a another topic – we will dive into that another day. 

Know The Origin Of Your Meat

John’s Farm promises the "grass-finished" title stamped on our packaging means the cattle grazed on open grass pastures their entire lives. Our feeding practices are also verified by the USDA (a process that includes a thorough review and inspection of feeding practices over an extended period of time). 

Another consideration when purchasing beef from the grocery store is country of origin. Many of the options for grass fed beef at the store travel more than 5,000 miles before reaching your cart. Country of origin is a whole other topic that we’ll dive into another day.

Is Grass Fed Beef Also Organic?

The short answer to this question is...no. Organic is another common label you might see on beef in the store or from a local farmer. It can be confusing, but grass fed beef does not automatically mean the beef is organic and vice versa. Organic is a USDA-regulated term that requires cattle to be born and raised on a certified organic farm, eat only certified organic food, be free of any non-organic medication and be processed in a certified organic facility. It is possible to have organic grain-fed beef when the diet consists of all organic grains which is vastly different from cattle grazing on open, grassy pastures their entire lives. In other words, there is a verified, inspected process for beef to be certified organic. If you’re looking for health benefits that come from beef who grazed on open pastures their entire lives, the organic label alone doesn’t help you make the right decision.

The Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef

Cattle that only eat a diet of grass have many health benefits to you. This type of beef usually has lower calories. This is because the cow's diet is natural and cleaner than grain-finished cows eating supplements. This type of beef helps support healthy blood sugar levels. It contains a fatty acid called conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, that helps prevent several diseases. By increasing your consumption of CLA, you can decrease your risk of heart disease. This might also help your body fight cancer.

Grass-fed beef is a nutrient-dense protein. It contains two times the amount of beta-carotene and lutein and beta-carotene than grain-fed beef. These nutrients can help eye functioning, skin health among others. This protein-rich beef is easy to work into any diet.

Electrolytes

Sodium, potassium and magnesium are the three main electrolytes. Many times when people go on high protein diets, these electrolytes are flushed out of their system. The good news is that grass-fed meat has large amounts of these three main electrolytes. If you consumed a strip steak from a cow that only grazed on grass, you get 732 milligrams of potassium, 49 milligrams of magnesium and 118 milligrams of sodium. These elements are an important part of a healthy diet and are even better when consumed with other healthy foods like in protein instead of other sources. 

Healthy Fats

Grass-fed beef gives your body a large dose of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It has more than six times the omega-3 fatty acids than regular beef. Omega-3 fatty acids are incredibly important to a healthy diet and can help fight against depression, improve eye health, and has even been known to improve brain health. Grain-fed meat actually contains a higher level of omega-6 fatty acids.

Less Bacteria

Some studies show that conventional beef has higher levels of superbugs than grass fed beef. Many samples of conventional beef have higher levels of E. Coli, which indicates fecal contamination. This type of bacteria is usually killed when cooking, but many people eat their steaks rare. Some samples included an antibiotic-resistant bacteria, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Any of these superbugs can lead to food poisoning when consuming meat that is less than well-done.

Nutrient-Dense Protein

Grass-fed beef is a nutrient-dense protein. It contains two times the amount of beta-carotene and lutein and beta-carotene than grain-fed beef. These nutrients can help eye functioning, skin health among others. This protein-rich beef is easy to work into any diet.

Let’s take a moment to summarize:

• Grass finished beef has proven health benefits

• Be wary of marketing labels.

• Labels of “grass fed” or “organic” do not guarantee a premium product

• If you’re purchasing “grass fed” beef from a local farmer, be sure to ask them if it was also grass finished or was it grain finished?

• If purchasing grass fed beef from the grocery store, it is very difficult to know what the farm’s practices are and you could be overspending on a product that isn’t better.

• Be sure to look closely at labels in the grocery store to know what the country of origin is. (so much can go wrong, for example when our food comes from more than 5,000 miles away!)

We are Oklahoma’s only grass-pastured, certified organic, grass-finished, animal welfare approved beef. The health and quality of our product impacts your family and ours and is at the center of every decision we make.

Still have questions? We’d love to hear from you, send us a message.

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