We think we are making a better decision for our family by forking over extra money at the local health food store for "organic" beef and dairy products.  We feel good about our decision and go home, bags of goodies in tow, to prepare a healthful meal.  We smile as they eat.  But is this the best choice?  Organic is clearly a better choice than conventional, but grass-fed is a better choice than organic (and when we can find organic grass-fed, well, we are fortunate indeed to have this option!)

Cows were meant to eat grass, not grain. But nearly all cattle and dairy cows, including those that sell under the label of Certified Organic, feed their cows grain.  Many start on the pasture, but then they are shipped to feed lots to be stuffed full of grains.  This is because it's cheaper and because it's easier to control.  It's also because it will fatten them up faster and get them to market where the money can be made. 

While organic feed is indeed a better option than the poor conventional cow (who may eat ground up siblings, manure from chickens and other things that are clearly NOT part of any natural diet), grain is not the best food; it is not the natural food of cows.  You are what you eat.  The cows are what they eat.  If they are not eating optimally, when we consume the dairy produced from these cows or the beef of these cows, we, in turn, are not eating optimally. 

And since they are what they eat, the pasture has to be wonderfully rich with nutrients too.  This takes more skill and more money for the farmer.  They are "grass-farmers" and not just ranchers.

Pasture-raised animals have a much better life.  They aren't shipped off.  They remain on the pasture their entire lives.  They have room to roam.  They have fresh air.  They eat a natural diet, what they were intended on eating.  They are healthy.  Since they are eating right they are strong and healthy; therefore they have no need for antibiotics and hormones like conventional cows.  They grow naturally.  Therefore, the products from these cows are truly wholesome and natural.

Pasture-raised cows are better for the environment too since manure doesn't pile up as in feed lots, instead it's used naturally to fertilize the very land upon which they graze - all as nature intended.  This also means that the farmer doesn't need as many gas-guzzling pieces of equipment to move the manure (or the cows) and this helps our environment too!  Ranchers of grain-fed cows use ten times the amount of fuel to raise their cattle!

Pastures are not treated with chemicals, chemical fertilizers or herbicides because they don't need those things.  The cow taketh from the earth, the cow giveth back to the soil.  Ahh, the circle.  Pasture raised animals don't need constant antibiotics to ward off disease since they are not in tight quarters.  They don't get growth hormones.  They meet "organic" standards on almost every call but cannot, as a rule, be certified organic.

The latest studies indicate advantages and health benefits of consuming grass-fed beef and dairy products from the milk of grass-fed cows. The cows convert the grass into powerful CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), much like the wild fish convert their natural food into powerful Omega 3s that we can then use in our bodies once consuming them.  There is nearly two to six times more CLA or Omega 3s in grass-fed cattle and in dairy cows raised on pasture over cows fed grain.

CLA is a naturally occurring "good" fatty acid produced in cows, and it is found the milk of dairy cows.  Cows manufacture CLA from grass in their stomachs; commercially-raised cows that only eat soybeans or corn meal produce little, if any, CLA.  CLA and Omega-3 are good fats, critical to the health of every cell in our body.  When we consume the dairy of a grass-fed cow or when we eat grass-fed beef, we also consume CLA and Omega 3s and we can then use this power to optimize our own health. 

Meat and dairy from pasture-raised cows offer Omega-3 fatty acids, and powerful antioxidants:  Vitamin E, and Beta Carotene.  According to Positive Health studies have also shown CLA to promote muscle growth and fat burning in the body.  This means CLA may help us lose unwanted fat and build a leaner and stronger body.  CLA is also a cancer fighting fat and is quite valuable to us for many reasons. 

Cattle and the milk from grass-fed dairy cows have up to six times more CLA than the conventional cow, and much LESS total fat (grass-fed beef is much leaner and needs less cooking time because of that) as well as less Omega-6 fatty acids (as a rule, our diet is too high in Omega 6s and throw off our 3:6 ratio which is critical to our good health).  

Just as wild fish is a better choice than farm-raised, for the most part, while organic is a better choice than conventional, the products of grass-fed cows are a better choice than products of organic grain-fed cows.

 

	Conventional Beef	Natural Beef	Organic Beef	Grass-Fed Beef from U.S. Wellness Meats	Organic Grass-Fed Beef from Grateful Harvest Beef
Hormones	YES	POSSIBLY	NO	NO	NO
Antibiotics	YES	POSSIBLY	NO	NO	NO
Pesticides	YES	POSSIBLY	NO	NO	NO
Feed Lots (grain)	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO
U.S. Beef	POSSIBLY	POSSIBLY	POSSIBLY	YES	NO
Certified Organic	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES

Delicious Organics offers

• Grass-fed Beef

• Grass-fed Organic Beef

• Grass-fed Dairy products - milk, butter, cream

• Health Benefits of Grass-fed Products

• Eat Wild
• Positive Health