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Greener Pastures: When it comes to beef, is grass-fed better?

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Another type of “good” fat found in meat and dairy products from ruminant animals is conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Research on the benefits of CLA to humans is in the early stages, but a few animal studies have shown a relationship between CLA and an improved immune system, as well as a reduced risk of cancer and heart disease. CLA is present in all beef, but one 1999 study in the Journal of Dairy Science found that grass-fed beef had 500 percent more CLA than cows fed a conventional grain-based diet.

Take note that the nutrition advantages of grass-fed beef diminish when grain is introduced to the diet. Ridge likens it to being “a little bit pregnant.” He says, “It is 100 percent grass-fed or it is not. Any time spent in a feedlot negates the added benefits of grass-fed.” Look for the label “100% grass-fed and finished” or ask the farmer or rancher who raised the animal how the beef was finished.

As I write, there is yet another ground beef recall in the news. So it is reassuring to learn that grass-fed beef provides a “cleaner” alternative to its industrially produced counterpart. Levels of E. coli have been found to be significantly lower in grass-fed than in grain-finished beef. The grain-based feedlot diet creates an environment favorable to the growth of acid-resistant E. coli (the kind that makes you sick). In contrast, the E. coli found in cattle that have been fed grass or hay is acid-sensitive and therefore unlikely to survive the acidic environment of the human stomach. Ground meat is the most susceptible to bacterial contamination. That said, it’s still important to exercise all the same food-safety precautions with grass-fed beef as you would with conventional beef.

But however significant the health advantages of grass-fed beef may turn out to be (currently, research on this topic is still too sparse to say), they are not an excuse to load up on red meat, which is a major source of saturated fat in Americans’ diets. For Kate Clancy, Ph.D., a food system consultant and author of “Greener Pastures: How grass-fed beef and milk contribute to healthy eating,” a report of the nonprofit environmental group Union of Concerned Scientists, the main reasons for choosing grass-fed beef are “the environmental benefits and the lack of antibiotics.”

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