GREEN & SUSTAINABLE
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GREEN & SUSTAINABLE
Greener Pastures: When it comes to beef, is grass-fed better?
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Author Patsy Jamieson and Ridge Shinn of Hardwick Beef and grass-fed beef.
By Patsy Jamieson, Contributing Editor, EatingWell March/April 2008
Healthy Beef Recipes
Cresting a steep, rutted dirt road that runs through the hills of Huntington, Vermont, I’m greeted by the sight of vigorously churning wind turbines and a dozen black cows lazily grazing on the rolling pasture. In an effort to eat locally and more sustainably, I’ve driven the 25 miles from my home in Burlington to Maple Wind Farm to pick up an order of grass-fed beef, assured by the farmers that the cows had spent their entire lives consuming only their mother’s milk and grass.
Young and energetic, farmers Bruce Hennessey and Beth Whiting manage this diversified livestock and vegetable operation. A former teacher and mountain guide, Bruce got into farming serendipitously. In 1999 he and Beth bought this beautiful patch of the Green Mountains and an old dairy farm that had lain fallow for several years. It was an impulse purchase that changed their lives.
After a discouraging attempt to clear the overgrown brush from the land, the couple started grazing 13 cows. That herd has grown to about 90 Angus-Devon-Hereford-cross cattle, which share the pastures with sheep, pigs, chickens and turkeys.
Ironically, as a young man Bruce had been a vegetarian for seven years. He had elected to give up meat because of his concerns about the unsustainable land and energy resources cattle farming required and the negative health effects of fatty meat. “But the more I read about grass-fed beef and learned about the benefits—both environmental and health—of cattle raised on carefully managed pastures, I realized that this is something I could eat,” he explains. “Now we produce meat for recovering vegetarians.”
The grazing land at Maple Wind Farm is divided into a number of large paddocks, each contained by an electric fence (partially powered by those wind turbines). During the grazing season, the cows are moved to fresh pastures every day, following an agricultural system called Management Intensive Grazing. The model for this practice are wild buffalo, which roam in close groupings and are pressured into moving on to fresh grazing land by predators. After a paddock has been used for grazing, it is allowed to recover for two to four weeks, thus restoring the grass and eliminating erosion through a cycle of fertilization (manure) and recovery. This rotational grazing protects the roots of the grass and boosts fertility of the soil.
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Try our delicious healthy beef recipes:
Neapolitan Meatballs
Cherry Burgers
Chile & Beer Braised Brisket
Grilled Steaks Balsamico
Skillet-Roasted Strip Steaks with Pebre Sauce & Avocado
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| USER COMMENTS — Add Your Comment |
Does not matter where they come from they all go through the slaughter house and are killed. There is no way to keep up with the millions of animals slaughtered for food to be humane.
Liane, Bishop, CA |
I agree with article that the feeding grass to cattle is the way Nature intended, so the beef is healthier for humans to consume. But it's also sad but true that small abattoirs have almost all closed, so even "humanely" raised cattle must be "processed" along with feedlot ones in huge slaughterhouses. They all risk being spattered with feces in the speedy "disassembly line," and I don't think all the Omega-3s in the world can counteract a dose of E.Coli! (And about the welfare of the cattle themselves, I'm saying nothing.)
Louise, Montreal, Qu |
I agree grass fed is better. For many years of my married life, growing our own meat was normal. I no longer live on a farm and am aware of the greener way, but I work with senior citizens and many of us can not afford greener. Why when there is not the cost of all the additives, does it cost so much more?
Leah Nation, Arco, ID |
How can I find a farm that sells GRASS-FED beef in this area? Thank you, SS
Sandy Samens, Fond du Lac, WI |
Environmental effects of grass-fed beef may actually be worse than feedlot beef. It may take more land. Many sources say that pastured stock actually put out more methane than feedlot stock. So the amount of greenhouse gas generated may be worse. The planet gives us so much delicious food - do we really need beef? If it must be part of your diet, could you find ways to reduce the quantity?
Doris, Corvallis, OR |
Meat is becoming more and more subjected to problems. We need to return to less meat and more fruits and vegs. that are in season. Try beans etc. Really good for you and cheaper for families.
Carol, Cartersville, GA |
I feel that the pre-packaged ground beef is the beef we need to stay away from. I buy fresh ground.
John, Smithfield, VA |
An interesting article. My best friend's parents raise 30 head of black angus, they are not totally grass fed, but they are the most well treated cows I've ever met, and they taste good too. I know that if you are looking for things like grass fed beef, your local state fair will have many local beef farmers displaying their best animals and most usually have pamphlets or a number you can reach them at to place orders. I think it is nice that you can meet the people raising the food you eat in person. As a side note, for those that are against eating meat, we are omnivores, not herbivores, predators not prey. Our bodies need to eat the types of proteins that come from meat, not just soy and bean proteins or else they don't get used right. Turkey is an excellent choice, and I prefer free range turkey.
Renee, Maplewood, MN |
We as americans eat way too much quickie food. Thats why 95% of americans in mich alone are over weight. Me Included. Because food that is good for you is so expensive thats its hard to keep enough around when you are disabled. They should make junk food unaffordable and food thats good for u cheap. And I agree that the cows show go back to being feed good old ordinary grass like the old days. Too many chemicals are in our food. More and more diseases are turning up. TY have a nice day.
Jeanne Musser, Lansing, MI |
Watch the video at meat.org
Allison, Ronkonkoma, NY |
I sell grass-fed beef in Wisconsin and appreciate hearing comments from those on this website.
I'd like to respond to a few things. 1) About slaughter houses, our beef is processed in a local meat shop that does not have the issues of a larger plant and most grassfed beef direct marketers that I know of go to smaller processors to have their beef processed. So, e-coli is less of a concern if you source your meat from a local farmer. 2) Research is always being done to understand benefits and negatives to everything we do in this world. My one comment is to think about who is paying for the research. Typically it is being done by a biased opinion that already exists. And when you look at the whole scheme of things and the many variables involved in our world...we really can't take one variable and assume results are completely accurate when working with the environment. The environment is not a machine we can pull apart. 3) Last, but not least, I welcome anyone looking for grass-fed beef in the Midwest to contact me. I not only sell my own, but also have access to a database of grass based farmers in the state of WI. And I'd be glad to connect you with someone close to you to make sure you can buy it local. Feel free to email me mhflash@centurytel.net
Good luck and happy eating!
Heather Flashinski, Cadott, WI |
Grass-fed meats are proven to be nutritionally superior for humans. Coupled with minimal impact on the environment and complete avoidance of commerical slaughterhouses, grass-fed is even becoming trendy. Commercial slaughterhouses use machines that occasionally cut open the GI tract. This accounts for the bacteria in beef and chickens and all the recalls. In PA, we have many small, family run abettoirs where the animals are processed by hand. This accounts for the complete lack of bacteria on most of these animals and this has been demonstrated in many tests. As an aside, I have watched a 40-year old Amish woman clean about 500 chickens and she has never nicked a single GI tract. Concerning the ecological impact, it does take more land and time to raise beef this way. That is why commercial beef is not raised this way. Man has separated two natural processes, fertilization and grazing that nature combines. Man has taken animals off the pasture and put the animals in feedlots eating corn. The forage crops now need fertilizers to thrive and the runoff harms estuaries. And the feedlots become cesspools of excrement that poison groundwaters with odors that sicken many. Grassfed tastes better, contains nutrients simply not available anywhere else and has less environmental impact than growing vegetables using commercial fertilizers.
Vic Russo, Bellefonte, PA |
Renee, you have the facts exaclty opposite. Our bodies are not meant to eat animal flesh and our body does not process the animal flesh properly. It is proven that meat eaters have at least 10 pds of undigested rotting meat in their intestines at all times. It is also not true that poeple need dairy or meat for a healthy diet. It has been proven in study after study that meat and dairy cause 1.5 millions deaths a YEAR in the United States alone. Meat and dairy are directly connected to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, high blood pressure and closestrol,almost every cancer you can name, and obesity. There are too many studies to prove this information. Even the USDA changed the food pyramid in 2005. Dairy and Meat are still listed at the bottom of the chart but in very small amounts and reccommended to be replaced by the 4 major food groups. Dairy and meat products are a luxury and feel good food. They are not essential or healthy in any way. Anyone who argues to the opposite either does not have their facts straight or simply does not want to give up dairy or meat, or they make a living from the industry and would go broke if poeple actually ate healthy. The dairy and meat industry has been brain washing and teaching poeple for 100 years that dairy and meat is good for you. It is a multi billion dollar industry. They even got a law passed to make it illegal to advertize in any way against the dairy or meat industry. So if you get solid proof that say for example milk will cause blindness in 9 out of 10 poeple who consume milk, you could not advertize that fact to the public. It is a law that nothing (even if the truth) can be advertized against the dairy or meat industry. Now who is lying to the public? Who is afraid the truth will come out? If you have nothing to hide you don't care how much you are looked over. Only the quilty have something to hide. So what is the dairy and meat industry hiding from us?
julieann, Mason, MI |
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