Paper Palate

The Washington Post reported yesterday that a study done by the Union of Concerned Scientists has found that the composition of meat and milk of pasture-fed cows to be quite different from cows that are kept in feedlots or barns and fed corn.

The study is the first to synthesize the information gleaned from most of the English-language research into the issue of grass-fed beef (25 individual studies were chosen for analysis)where amounts of total fats, saturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in both pasture-raised and conventionally raised beef and dairy cattle were compared side by side. The report also combines analyses on the nutritional, environmental, and public health benefits of grass-based farming techniques.

The study found that grass fed beef and milk contained higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids–beneficial fats that help lower the risk of heart disease, may protect the body from cancer and have been shown in a few studies to have positive benefits for suffers of bipolar disorder.

The total amount of fat in grass-fed beef is also lower than that in corn-fed beef, which also enhances its healthfulness. This also, however, changes the way the meat tastes and forces the cook to adopt different cooking techniques, in order to avoid drying it out.

I grew up on cattle that was raised on grass, with some supplemental feeding of corn. When my grandfather chose a steer to be butchered, he would leave it on grass, in its own yard, but also give it feed supplements in the form of dried corn, molasses, and cornstalks, in order to “fatten him up,” as Grandpa would say. As a result, I was used to meat that was notwhere nearly as fatty as the beef available in the grocery store from animals which were exclusively fed corn.

Grandpa always told me, “That stuff has too much fat–it doesn’t taste like beef anymore. You want a good tasting animal, then you have to have good pasture with plenty of grass and clover for him to eat, and then give him just a bit of grain near the end to put a little extra fat on him. But they need to be outside, in the field, walking around foraging, to get a good-tasting steer.”

When it comes to cooking grass-fed beef, here are a few tips:

Marinate the meat with a flavorful liquid, and with roasts, use wet-cooking methods (braising) vs. dry cooking methods (roasting or grilling). If you do use a dry cooking method such as roasting, baste the meat frequently with your marinade. For steaks, if you put them on the grill, understand that lean meat cooks faster than fatty meat, so adjust your usual grilling times accordingly. Also, most chefs and farmers who raise pastured beef suggest that you not cook a grass-fed steak past medium; I personally prefer it around rare to medium-rare.

To my taste, grass-fed beef is superior to corn or grain-fed beef. I like the stronger “beefier” flavor of pasture-raised animals, and I also like the fact that these animals themselves are healthier, requiring the use of fewer antibiotics than those which are fed grain. This makes a lot of sense; cattle are ruminants which evolved to graze on grasslands, not eat grain. Their bodies are made to digest grass for which they forage, not to stand in crowded feedlots, being fed grain and other substances.

There is one other benefit to grass-fed cattle that is stated neither in the Washington Post article nor the study: the likelihood of a cow who was raised completely on grass or raised on grass and “finished” on organic corn (the method my Grandpa used) having BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is highly unlikely. Since BSE most likely came about from giving cows feed rendered from other animals, a grass-fed cow is not a likely vector of infection.

Considering the recent finding of another cow with BSE in Alabama, I cannot help but think that grass-fed and organic beef will continue to rise in popularity in the United States.

To find out more about pasture-raised beef and to find farmers in your area, check out these links:

Eat Wild! has a lot of information on thier site on the ecological and health benefits of pasture raised animals, as well as a search function to help you find local producers of grass-fed meat.

Local Harvest is another clearinghouse for finding locally produced agricultural products, including meat, dairy, vegetables, honey, and wool. They also have listings of CSA’s, farmer’s markets and food co-ops across the US.