A couple weeks ago, during a meeting at work, a co-worker told me he had been buying grass-fed beef lately because “it’s more lean than the typical grain-fed beef”. He even brought in a clipping from a magazine to prove to me that it was more lean than grain-fed beef (in case I didn’t believe him). I shocked him when I told him that, while grass-fed beef is leaner, you can absolutely find grain-fed beef that is just as lean (and much cheaper of course).
Source: iStock Photo
To prove to him that yes, the in-store dietitian was actually correct, I went downstairs to our meat department to show him the labels of our grass-fed beef and those of our grain-fed beef. Of course, when compared to similar cuts, the grass-fed beef was typically leaner, but I pointed out that the 85% lean ground beefs both had the same fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol (so in other words, it really depends on the brands of meat you are buying). He was perplexed. I also pointed out that we, as well as some other grocery stores, only carry 90% lean grass-fed beef, yet we carry up to 96% lean grain-fed beef. So, in this case, the 96% lean grain-fed beef was much leaner.
So….why pay the premium price for grass-fed beef??
Last year after reading Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, and this article from the New York Time’s Well Blog, I felt like I had a better understanding of grass-fed beef and why so many people love it. I did some more research for this post and also found this research from Nutrition Journal. Here are some pros and cons on grass-fed beef, based on what I’ve read.
Pros
Compared to similar cuts, grass-fed beef typically provides:
- Lower levels of cholesterol-elevating saturated and trans fats
- Higher levels of Omega-3 (EPA/DHA)
- More vitamins A, E and other important antioxidants that may help reduce inflammation
- Twice the levels of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), which may have chemoprotective properties and may help prevent other chronic diseases.
- May be better for the environment, compared to grain-fed beef (grass produces much less carbon than grain, says Michael Pollan)
Cons
- Regarding the “lower levels of saturated fat and trans fat”, well, you can buy lean grain-fed beef (90 percent lean, or greater), which also has incredibly low levels of unhealthy fat. There are also some cuts of grain-fed beef, such as the ones listed here, that are very lean too, let’s not forget that!
- The levels of Omega-3 found in grass-fed beef are still far lower than that found in salmon and tuna. No matter what, you’ll still need to eat your fish to get the recommended amount of omega-3.
- If you really want a greater amount of CLA and omega-3, you can just buy the fattier cuts of grain-fed beef. They are comparable in CLA.
- Some grass-fed beef mayhave a “grassy taste”, and some find it not very palatable.
- Grass-fed almost three times as expensive as regular, grain-fed beef.
Keep in mind, when the label says “grass-fed” it may not mean the cattle were fed grass their entire life. It could mean they were fed grass just at the beginning of their life. Look for the label from the American Grassfed Association for assurance that your beef was fed a 100% grass diet, throughout their life.
The idea of a leaner meat is always thrilling to me, but I prefer to save my money and stick to the leaner cuts of grain-fed meats, personally. I do enjoy my fish twice a week, so I’ll get my omega-3s that way. Plus, I really enjoy the the taste of the extra lean cuts of grain-fed beef, as long as they are cooked using methods that tenderize well (ie: slow cookers for example!)
