Health concerns power drive for grass-fed beef
Grass-fed beef is leaner and better for you, experts say. Some regional ranchers are eager to expand the market
By SCOTT CANON
The Kansas City Star
Mar. 17, 2006
You are what your cattle eat. Maybe.
A leading environmental group said last week that, as far as your health is concerned, not all beef is created equal.
Cattle raised entirely in pasture on grasses make for healthier steaks than the beef found in most groceries, the Union of Concerned Scientists concluded in a report based on a review of studies.
Such grass-fed cattle produced meat lower in total fat and higher in potentially healthy fatty acids than conventionally raised animals, which typically spend the final months of their lives in feedlots feasting on grain to fatten for slaughter, the group's report stated.
The organization, a decades-old alliance of scientists, advocates raising cattle in pastures as a way to avoid the environmental damage that comes from concentrating tens of thousands of large animals in feedlots. Its recent report aimed to alert consumers to what it sees as health bonuses from paying extra for beef made in an earth-friendly way.
"What's good for cattle and for the environment is also good for us," said Kate Clancy, a senior scientist for the organization's food and environment program and author of the study. "There's a better way. That's putting cows back on pasture and allowing them to feed themselves."
But grass-fed cattle make up the tiniest fraction of America's beef industry. So the beef industry greeted the report skeptically.
A dietitian for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association conceded the Union of Concerned Scientists' basic claims. Grass-fed beef is leaner and packs a sturdier dose of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But, said Mary Young, the cattlemen group's nutrition chief, it might not matter a great deal.
The government classifies 29 cuts of beef as lean, and she said 15 of the 20 most popular cuts fall into that category. What's more, she said, the level of healthy fatty acids in any beef is too low to complete a healthy diet.
"Bottom line, beef is not a source of omega-3 fatty acid," Young said. "To get that, eat fish."
Independent dietitians see merits in both arguments.
Leaner beef cut from grass-fed cattle offers less fat and less calories, meaning a source of protein with less risk for obesity and dangers of increased heart disease and cancer.
"All of our meats have gotten leaner over the last couple of decades," and the leaner the better, said Peter Beyer, a professor of dietetics and nutrition at the KU Medical Center.
The burgeoning grass-fed beef industry has seized on the report as further evidence for health claims it has been making for years. Now it hopes more people will think about biting into a different kind of steak.
"Our problem is education," said John Wood, the president of U.S. Wellness Meats. His firm ships about 4,000 pounds of frozen beef a year and is eager to expand the market.
The wonder of modern agriculture has been to produce more cattle more cheaply. And modern methods churn out muscle better marbleized and more tender because the animals get fattened on a diet of grain.
In recent years, a minority of ranchers have started to capitalize on a niche market of consumers looking for healthier meat, for a different taste and who calculate animal welfare and the environment into their grocery shopping. They report a new demand is growing.
Broadcaster Bill Kurtis bought a ranch near Sedan in southeast Kansas about five years ago and began raising cattle purely on pasture.
"There were more downs than ups," he said of his cattle business.
About a year and a half ago he started the Tallgrass Beef Co. and now supplies a handful of restaurants and boutique groceries around Chicago.
"We plan to harvest 1,000 head this year," Kurtis said. "We can get more if demand goes up."
Clancy of the Union of Concerned Scientists argued that more consumers should demand grass-fed beef and dairy products. Her study compared the amounts of total fat, saturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA.
She found overall fat levels in conventional beef at almost twice that of grass-fed meat.
CLA also may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Clancy's report also touted grass-fed beef as an alternative to methods of large-scale agriculture seen as dangerous to public health. Runoff of waste from crammed feedlots can contribute to water contamination. The crowding of animals also can contribute to disease, and the routine use of hormones and antibiotics. Many scientists worry that using antibiotics so freely with livestock leads to the drug-resistant bacteria that doctors have difficulty treating in humans.
For most people, the choice will come down to a few key issues. Grass-fed beef is more expensive because it requires more land and more time.
Taste matters as well. With less fat, grass-fed tends to be less tender and has what boosters like to call "the original taste of beef." Some people take to it instantly. Some find it an acquired taste.
In Mission, at the Wild Oats Marketplace meat counter, customers have a choice of organic beef raised either on grain or grass alone.
"You can hardly tell the difference," said Stu Santner, the store's meat manager. "I like the grain-fed a little bit better for taste. The grass-fed is leaner and I would say people choose it mostly for health reasons."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health benefits
Benefits of beef and dairy products made from grass-fed cattle:
■ Lower total fat.
■ Higher levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Milk has slightly higher levels of heart-healthy acids.
But all beef can contain unhealthy levels of overall fat and can produce suspected cancer-causing chemicals when cooked at high temperatures.
And all beef is a poor source of omega-3 fatty acids.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Production methods
Conventional cattle-raising methods make it possible to slaughter more than 30 million head a year in the United States, including about 9 million in Kansas.
Concentration in feedlots can create air and water pollution and lead to overuse of antibiotics.
Cattle raised only on grass require different breeds than conventional operations, more time and more land.
Internet resources
www.tallgrassbeef.com/ Tallgrass Beef Co.
www.uscusa.org Union of Concerned Scientists
www.uswellnessmeats.com/ U.S. Wellness Meats
www.puremeats.com/ Pure Meats
www.beefusa.org/ National Cattlemen's Beef Association
www.meatami.com/ American Meat Institute
ledger-enquirer.com
Grass-fed beef is leaner and better for you, experts say. Some regional ranchers are eager to expand the market
By SCOTT CANON
The Kansas City Star
Mar. 17, 2006
You are what your cattle eat. Maybe.
A leading environmental group said last week that, as far as your health is concerned, not all beef is created equal.
Cattle raised entirely in pasture on grasses make for healthier steaks than the beef found in most groceries, the Union of Concerned Scientists concluded in a report based on a review of studies.
Such grass-fed cattle produced meat lower in total fat and higher in potentially healthy fatty acids than conventionally raised animals, which typically spend the final months of their lives in feedlots feasting on grain to fatten for slaughter, the group's report stated.
The organization, a decades-old alliance of scientists, advocates raising cattle in pastures as a way to avoid the environmental damage that comes from concentrating tens of thousands of large animals in feedlots. Its recent report aimed to alert consumers to what it sees as health bonuses from paying extra for beef made in an earth-friendly way.
"What's good for cattle and for the environment is also good for us," said Kate Clancy, a senior scientist for the organization's food and environment program and author of the study. "There's a better way. That's putting cows back on pasture and allowing them to feed themselves."
But grass-fed cattle make up the tiniest fraction of America's beef industry. So the beef industry greeted the report skeptically.
A dietitian for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association conceded the Union of Concerned Scientists' basic claims. Grass-fed beef is leaner and packs a sturdier dose of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But, said Mary Young, the cattlemen group's nutrition chief, it might not matter a great deal.
The government classifies 29 cuts of beef as lean, and she said 15 of the 20 most popular cuts fall into that category. What's more, she said, the level of healthy fatty acids in any beef is too low to complete a healthy diet.
"Bottom line, beef is not a source of omega-3 fatty acid," Young said. "To get that, eat fish."
Independent dietitians see merits in both arguments.
Leaner beef cut from grass-fed cattle offers less fat and less calories, meaning a source of protein with less risk for obesity and dangers of increased heart disease and cancer.
"All of our meats have gotten leaner over the last couple of decades," and the leaner the better, said Peter Beyer, a professor of dietetics and nutrition at the KU Medical Center.
The burgeoning grass-fed beef industry has seized on the report as further evidence for health claims it has been making for years. Now it hopes more people will think about biting into a different kind of steak.
"Our problem is education," said John Wood, the president of U.S. Wellness Meats. His firm ships about 4,000 pounds of frozen beef a year and is eager to expand the market.
The wonder of modern agriculture has been to produce more cattle more cheaply. And modern methods churn out muscle better marbleized and more tender because the animals get fattened on a diet of grain.
In recent years, a minority of ranchers have started to capitalize on a niche market of consumers looking for healthier meat, for a different taste and who calculate animal welfare and the environment into their grocery shopping. They report a new demand is growing.
Broadcaster Bill Kurtis bought a ranch near Sedan in southeast Kansas about five years ago and began raising cattle purely on pasture.
"There were more downs than ups," he said of his cattle business.
About a year and a half ago he started the Tallgrass Beef Co. and now supplies a handful of restaurants and boutique groceries around Chicago.
"We plan to harvest 1,000 head this year," Kurtis said. "We can get more if demand goes up."
Clancy of the Union of Concerned Scientists argued that more consumers should demand grass-fed beef and dairy products. Her study compared the amounts of total fat, saturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA.
She found overall fat levels in conventional beef at almost twice that of grass-fed meat.
CLA also may reduce the risk of heart disease.
Clancy's report also touted grass-fed beef as an alternative to methods of large-scale agriculture seen as dangerous to public health. Runoff of waste from crammed feedlots can contribute to water contamination. The crowding of animals also can contribute to disease, and the routine use of hormones and antibiotics. Many scientists worry that using antibiotics so freely with livestock leads to the drug-resistant bacteria that doctors have difficulty treating in humans.
For most people, the choice will come down to a few key issues. Grass-fed beef is more expensive because it requires more land and more time.
Taste matters as well. With less fat, grass-fed tends to be less tender and has what boosters like to call "the original taste of beef." Some people take to it instantly. Some find it an acquired taste.
In Mission, at the Wild Oats Marketplace meat counter, customers have a choice of organic beef raised either on grain or grass alone.
"You can hardly tell the difference," said Stu Santner, the store's meat manager. "I like the grain-fed a little bit better for taste. The grass-fed is leaner and I would say people choose it mostly for health reasons."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Health benefits
Benefits of beef and dairy products made from grass-fed cattle:
■ Lower total fat.
■ Higher levels of healthy omega-3 fatty acids.
Milk has slightly higher levels of heart-healthy acids.
But all beef can contain unhealthy levels of overall fat and can produce suspected cancer-causing chemicals when cooked at high temperatures.
And all beef is a poor source of omega-3 fatty acids.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Production methods
Conventional cattle-raising methods make it possible to slaughter more than 30 million head a year in the United States, including about 9 million in Kansas.
Concentration in feedlots can create air and water pollution and lead to overuse of antibiotics.
Cattle raised only on grass require different breeds than conventional operations, more time and more land.
Internet resources
www.tallgrassbeef.com/ Tallgrass Beef Co.
www.uscusa.org Union of Concerned Scientists
www.uswellnessmeats.com/ U.S. Wellness Meats
www.puremeats.com/ Pure Meats
www.beefusa.org/ National Cattlemen's Beef Association
www.meatami.com/ American Meat Institute
ledger-enquirer.com
...why does NCBA only rely on their research? :? :???:
