Word: grassed
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...makes sense. Grass is a low-starch, high-protein fibrous food, in contrast to carbohydrate-rich, low-fiber corn and soybeans. When animals are 100% grass-fed, their meat is not only lower in saturated fats but also slightly higher in omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fats found in salmon and flaxseed, which studies indicate may help prevent heart disease and bolster the immune system. Ground beef and milk from grass-finished cattle also have more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which recent data suggest may help prevent breast cancer, diabetes and other ailments. Moreover, grass-finished meat is higher...
Radical as that scenario may seem, it was only after World War II that the U.S. began confining cattle in factory farms that can fatten 50,000 head a year on high-calorie grain. Until then, cattle grazed on grass their full lives--as they still mostly do in Europe, South America, New Zealand and other beef-producing nations. The new U.S. system grew thanks to vast surpluses of government-subsidized corn and soybeans, produced with modern petroleum-based fertilizers. Traditionally, steers had taken three to four years to fatten on pasture. Today they grow to slaughter size in less...
...feedlot beef has the taste and uniformity that U.S. consumers have come to expect. Grass-fed meat, by contrast, varies according to the breed of cattle and the pasture on which it was raised. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), which represents ranchers and feedlots, welcomes grass-finished beef as another market choice but contends that it is no healthier than grain fed. NCBA nutritionist Mary Young acknowledges that grass-fed beef has "slightly" more omega-3 fats than grain fed but says the amount is negligible compared with those in salmon, which has 35 times more. And while...
...feeding steers grain and supplements can create safety issues--for cattle and humans. Biologically, cattle are ruminants, exquisitely evolved to graze grass, and researchers have found that a grain diet raises the acidity in steers' guts. This breeds an acid-resistant form of E. coli that can spread from feces-contaminated carcasses to meat. Although USDA inspections are supposed to detect E. coli, the system is not perfect. In 1993, 600 people in Seattle got sick and three children died after eating E. coli-- tainted hamburger. Since then, outbreaks have triggered more recalls and led to a federal recommendation that...
...feed. The NCBA counters that antibiotics are judiciously applied. But the line between necessary treatment and routine use is blurred by the fact that a grain-based diet often leads to stomach ulcers and liver abscesses in cattle--a problem that has fueled the wrath of animal-rights groups. Grass-fed steers rarely require antibiotics...