Choosing Beef

In this series of posts, I'll examine meat production in the U.S. - both how meat coming from conventional sources is produced and how our local farmers choose to raise their animals. First up... Beef!

^{LaPlatte River Angus Farm, Shelburne, VT. Photo by Ben Sarle.}

There are two basic methods of raising beef in the US – conventional feedlot production (raising animals in confined areas as cheaply and quickly as possible), and grass-fed production, relying on producing high-quality beef by providing cows with nutritious pasture grasses to graze.

I'll start by describing the conditions in feedlots to serve as a comparision for the grass-fed methods employed by our local farmers.

 

Feedlot Beef

Living Conditions

The majority of the conventional beef in the United States comes from large feedlots, areas where thousands of cattle live outdoors in dirt pens, confining animals (and their manure) in tight living quarters.

Feedlot animals produce tremendous amounts of manure. While manure fertilizes the crops on small-scale farms, many environmental groups note that feedlot manure is a major source of water and air pollution.

Feed

The operation of a feedlot is designed around getting the cow up to slaughter weight as quickly and cheaply as possible. The animals are fed a special diet to maximize weight gain – corn and other grains make up the bulk of their diet. 

All feedlot beef are fed conventional grains, the vast majority of which are now genetically modified (80% of the corn grown in the United States is now GMO). If you’re looking to avoid genetically modified foods, choose 100% grass-fed or organic beef.

Antibiotics

Feedlot cattle are fed antibiotics on a daily basis to help them gain weight as quickly as possible. The Union of Concerned Scientists now estimates that 70% of all the antibiotics used in the United States are fed to cattle, chickens, and hogs. 

These antibiotics are the same ones we humans rely on when we get sick, leading to concerns that antibiotics are losing effectiveness due to their overuse. In addition, scientific studies are finding antibiotic-resistant bacteria contaminating meat in grocery stores.

Hormones

Artificial hormones are another method feedlots use to get their cattle up to slaughter weight more quickly. Each cow is implanted with a slow-release hormone pellet that releases an estrogenic compound into the cow’s body, ensuring the animal gains weight more quickly. These added hormones build up in the environment and measurable residues are found on the meat from these animals. 

Michael Pollan wrote a fascinating account of feedlot conditions if you're interested in further information.

 

100% Grass-fed Beef

Eric Noël of Maplewood Organics, our 100% grass-fed, organic beef farmer.

Living Conditions

Grass-fed cows live on grassy pasture during the summer, allowing the animals ample space to roam. Each farm sets up a grazing system tailored to their land and the season – some farms move the cows to fresh grass every day while others move their cows every few days or weekly. During the winter months, cows are moved to open-sided barns or covered barnyards where they are fed hay and can be sheltered from storms.

Good grazing practices have environmental benefits – well managed pastures ensure the cow manure fertilizes the land, rather than running off into our lakes and streams. In addition, well managed pastures could help fight global warming – well managed pastures can actually store carbon in the soil and build topsoil.

^{Jericho Settlers' Farm. Their beef is sold under the Hardwick Beef Company label.}

Feed

As the term implies, 100% grass-fed cows eat pasture plants and grasses during the summer and hay during the winter months. 

Grass-fed beef has nutritional benefits. Grass-fed beef is leaner than grain-fed beef, and has higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

Antibiotics

None of our local beef producers use antibiotics on a daily basis to maintain animal health. Some of our local producers do use antibiotics occasionally in cases of illness. Grass-fed beef is unlikely to be contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria so it’s a good choice if you’re concerned about food safety.

Hormones 

None of our local beef producers use artificial hormones.

Taste

You may have heard some people say that grass-fed beef is tougher than feedlot beef. Jericho Settlers Farm in Jericho, VT wrote this great piece about how to cook with grass-fed beef.

 

Grass-fed/Grain Finished

^{Farmer Jim Kleptz at LaPlatte River Angus Farm. Photo by Ben Sarle.}

Two of our local farms - LaPlatte River Angus Farm and Boyden Farm - “finish” their cows on grain. The cows spend the first part of their lives as grass-fed animals, grazing on pasture. Then, for the last 3-4 months, cows are kept in open-air barns and fed grains. 

^{Finishing the cows at LaPlatte River Angus. Photo by Ben Sarle.}

This process of grain finishing gets the animals up to slaughter weight more quickly but studies find that the nutritional benefits of 100% grass-fed beef are not present in grass-fed/grain finished meat. 

Grass-fed/Grain Finished cows may be fed GMO grains. If you’re looking to avoid genetically modified foods, choose 100% grass-fed or organic beef. In addition, Boyden Farm ensures they are feeding non-GMO grains by only feeding their cows barley grains (which is not genetically modified).