Five Myths About Grass-Fed Beef

As Americans start to realize that factory-farming is cruel to animals and unsustainable, news about possible solutions are coming out. Articles like Carbon footprint menu: Let them eat grass keep popping up in small town papers across the country, suggesting that feeding cows grass is a good alternative to factory-farming. So what’s the deal? Is grass-fed beef better for animals, the planet and our health?

Like many defenses of grass-fed beef, the Carbon Footprint Menu article is full of pseudo-science and unsupported claims that cattle who feed on grass make for better meat. It is about time we busted some of the common myths about grass-fed beef.

Five Myths About Grass-Fed Beef
Myth #1: Grass-fed beef is good for the environment.

False. Raising animals for food, especially cattle, is one of the leading causes of global climate change. In 2006, the UN release a study called Livestock’s Long Shadow which made the point that raising animals for food is the largest contributor to global climate change. The biggest environmental problem with raising animals for food is the greenhouse gases that they produce–methane and carbon dioxide. Feeding cattle grass instead of corn or soy is somewhat of a reduction of resources, but does not address the issue of greenhouse gases. It does not matter whether the cattle are located on a giant mega-factory-farm or on a small farm in Central Massachusetts, each cow still produce a huge amount of greenhouse gases.

Myth #2: Animals on grass-fed farms are happy.

False. There is certainly a gradient in the ways in which animals are treated in the meat and dairy industry, but even small operations are far from kind to animals. Cows are forcibly impregnated–a grotesque and cruel procedure. Many calves are taken from their mothers shortly after birth, to be sold to a veal farm or used as dairy cows. Did you know that many small farms send their animals to the exact same slaughterhouses as factory farms? In the slaughterhouse, animals are shocked with electric prods, hung upside-down and are slowly bleed to death.

Myth #3: Grass-fed beef is safer.

False. If you eat meat, you are increasing your risk of developing E. Coli. There is no evidence to suggest that grass-fed beef has a lower risk of contamination than factory-farmed meat. E. Coli is transmitted through contact with fecal matter and all meat has fecal matter contamination. Some prominent supporters of grass-fed beef have said that the stomachs of cows who eat grass are more resistant to E. Coli, which is a claim that has never been backed up by facts. This myth seems to have started with Nina Plank and became commonly known because of Michael Pollan’s writing. Slate recently published a piece, Beware the Myth of Grass-Fed Beef, which explodes the myth that grass-fed beef is safer.

Myth #4: Grass-fed beef is good for your health.

False. Grass-fed beef is still full of saturated-fat, cholesterol and growth hormones. It may be true that beef from cattle who are fed grass is somewhat better for your health than meat from animals who live their entire lives confined on feed-lots. However, eating a plant-based diet is even better for your health. We’ve known for years that beef consumption is linked to the major killers: cancer and heart-attack. Furthermore, it’s a myth that beef from grass-fed cattle does not contain hormones. It is common knowledge that all animal products contain hormones, but you might be surprised to hear that grass-fed beef can also contain added artificial hormones. A short time before being slaughtered, grass-fed cattle are often fatten-up with by being fed corn, soy, and given unnatural growth hormones. If you eat meat, those hormones go right into your body.

Myth #5: If everyone ate grass-fed beef factory-farming would end.

False. Eating grass-fed beef does not challenge factory-farming, because it is not a viable alternative. It is expensive and there is not nearly enough grassland in America to raise that many cattle. Every year in the United States, over 10 billion land animals are raised and killed for human consumption. There is a reason why factory-farming persists: Americans continue to eat meat. There simply is not enough grassland to raise that many animals on pastures. Plus, ordinary people cannot afford the high price-tag of grass-fed beef. A small operation based in Hardwick, MA sells grass-fed ground beef for $9 per pound and $23 for rib-eye. Working people cannot afford that.

So what can we do?
Eating Vegan Helps Animals, the Planet, and is Healthy

True. Eating vegetarian foods is inexpensive and accessible. Eating vegan dramatically reduces your carbon-footprint. It’s the best thing you can do to help animals, and it is great for your health! Plus it’s easy. Every grocery store in America now offers a selection of vegan foods–including vegetarian analogs like mock meats and soy milks. So don’t buy the myth. Avoid expensive grass-fed meats and opt for tasty vegan fare.

Read more: animal welfare

Photo cred: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28737734@N00/3642397107/

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Akin A.

6:08AM PDT on Jul 13, 2011

Thanks for sharing.

send a green star

Diane L.

7:55PM PDT on Jun 22, 2011

Well said, Steve. Don't "peek" but this article was written a year and a half ago! I have no clue why it's being dredged up again, and yes, nothing but vegan propaganda.

Grass fed cattle are the healthiest way to go, especially if one can find a local source. As for "gasses", my dog contributes more in that department than cows do, and HIS poop isn't suitable to fertilize fields, either.

Steve G.

2:01PM PDT on Jun 22, 2011

VEGAN propaganda!! I've never seen so many lies in one article before. Care2 needs to check the data before they publish an article. So it is better to eat soy chemically processed based lab food? Humans have been eating grass fed beef for thousands of years. How long have we been eating lab processed tofu? Sorry but the person that wrote this has probably never even been on a grass fed beef farm. I've been 10 feet from over 250 head of grass fed beef cattle that are moved to a new pasture every day. I didn't smell anything. When you smell something that is the gases that are being released into the ground. If the cows are moved to a new pasture then it is not too much manure for the land. No smell, no greenhouse gases. Get out of the city before you right an article. We know of a small farm that raises and sell 100% grass fed beef all the way to their processing date. Tender Grass Farm Please do not compare factory farms with small organic grass fed farms. We have been eating real food for years and feel much better after we gave up the processed, pre packaged organic lab food.

11:27PM PDT on Apr 20, 2011

Well said, Joanne and Laurita. It's amazing to me that Care.2's writers apparently don't have to do any research and can spew whatever nonsense they wish without being fired. If this was a credible journalist, he/she wouldn't have lasted a day on a legitimate newspaper.

I only "visited" this discussion after reading about it's "existence" elsewhere and was curious as to what the article was about. Now I know and I won't waste anymore time responding to what is utter nonsense.

Laurita W.

8:39PM PDT on Apr 19, 2011

Actually, vegans probably eat a lot of soy and stuff that would make them an unhealthy choice for a carnivore.l Grass fed beef is obviously a much better choice.

8:31PM PDT on Apr 19, 2011

While "Eating Vegan Helps Animals, the Planet, and is Healthy" may be true, I wouldn't know which vegan to eat. But wait: Maybe just any vegan would do, or maybe it should say, "vegans!" I do think it would cut down on some of the BS spread around, must be a lot of methane just from this particular source!

Joanne U.

9:10PM PDT on Apr 18, 2011

As for the last little bit of propoganda:

Eating Vegan Helps Animals, the Planet, and is Healthy

Eating vegan requires vast acreage of tilled land to grow crops. It destroys native habitats. If requires a huge infrastructure to move plant crops from where they are grown to where they are consumed. And it requires massive poisoning of the environment with chemical pesticides and fossil fuel fertilizer inputs.

There's nothing good for the environment in eating fruit shipped from Equador or GMO soy raised in huge monocultures in the midwest. If you can get all your plant food locally, more power to you. But I dare say most vegans/vegetarians are buying their food from the grocery store that ships it from thousands of miles away.

When I buy beef, I get it from a cow raised one town over. The cow spend its whole life on a pasture that thrives with wildlife. The only fossil fuels required were to raise grass for winter feed. The cows fertilize the soil and restore the land. They give birth and raise their young to adulthood. They receive no vaccinations and their death is swift and humane. Their body nourishes me, as the bodies of all animals nourish other animals.

This author has displayed his ignorance and bias, and I'm embarrassed for him.

9:04PM PDT on Apr 18, 2011

Myth 5. The author is right. There isn't enough grassland for grass-based meat production, because so much of the land is devoted to raising grains for cattle and people. The insatiable appetite for seed oils and soy substitutes is gobbling up land while destroying it at the same time.

A properly managed farm using rotational grazing such as that done by Joel Salatin produces a prodigious amount of meat while restoring grassland and habitat for all animals. The animals live as naturally as possible and are humanely cared for and humanely slaughtered.

The only thing standing in the way of increasing small, grass-based farms is industrial self-interest and political pressure to place barriers in the way of small farm operations.

And I know of a small operation based in Edinboro, PA, that sells grass-finished beef for $2.50 a pound, even cheaper than you can get it in a store, but you'll have to buy a quarter or half to get that price. Why? Because laws prohibit farmers from selling their beef by the piece unless they pay exorbitant licensing and slaughter fees.

8:57PM PDT on Apr 18, 2011

Myth 4. Again, the author demonstrates his ignorance.

All cattle are grass fed for the first few months of their lives by farmers on their own land. They are then sent to feedlots to be fattened on grain.

When people speak of grass-fed, what they're really talking about is grass-finished, meaning cows that are not send to feedlots and spend their entire life on pasture eating grass. They are fed no grains and given no hormones. The beef I bought wasn't even given vaccinations, because they were healthy and required none.

Grass-finished beef contains very little fat, and much of is is unsaturated omega 3 fat from grass. This meat must be cooked at lower temperatures and for less time because it has little fat. The breed I bought, Piedmontese, is very lean.

And I'm sorry, but science has not proven that saturated fat is bad for the human body. There are plenty of books available to prove this point. The seed oil producers (corn, soy, sunflower, etc.) have been indoctrinating society to believe their products are healthy and saturated fats are bad. But the science is pretty clear that a diet heavy in unsaturated fats is unhealthy.

Sorry, but saturated fat and cholesterol do not cause heart disease and cancer. Keep studying.

8:45PM PDT on Apr 18, 2011

Myth 2. The author's ignorance is appalling.

First off, babies aren't taken from their mother and sold as dairy cows, because cattle raised for beef are not dairy cattle! However, male offspring from dairy cattle are sold off for meat, and that's what you'll get at the grocery store. Those of us looking for good grass-fed cattle don't buy dairy breeds, and the farmers raising grass-fed beef don't raise dairy cattle.

Grass-fed cattle are happy cattle. They live a life free of much interference. They have as much grass as they desire and are protected from predators.

Cattle are not "shocked with electric prods." They are rendered unconscious by the use of a stun bolt and then slaughtered. Go ahead and feel bad that they're slaughtered, but don't make it out to be an inhumane, horrific death. It's quite swift and painless.

The meat I bought came from cows who raised their babies to adulthood.

This author is trying to malign small-scale grass-fed farming practices by describing industrial dairy operations. This is a joke.