Grass Fed
The
grass fed label is new as of
November 15, 2007, and thank goodness for
it! The new rules clear up a lot of
confusion and require that meat labeled
“grass fed” must come from animals with a
diet of hay, grasses, and non-grain bearing
vegetation. This practice is simply a return
to traditional methods of livestock
management, where flocks and herds where
rotated through pastures to prevent
over-grazing and soil degradation. In
addition to these benefits, grass feeding
also comes with a much smaller carbon
footprint. It takes an estimated 200 gallons
of fuel oil to raise a feedlot steer, due to
the corn and soy that have to be farmed,
processed, transported to the lot for feed.
A grass-fed steer does require some input of
fuel oil, to be transported to the
slaughterhouse and then to the store, but
the numbers pale in comparison to that
corn-fed beeve.
Since
grass-fed cattle are not
crowded together in unsanitary conditions,
there is much less likelihood of
contamination with bacteria like e.coli and
campylobacter that would require antibiotic
treatment. There is also much more
opportunity for exercise and the resulting
meat is healthier, containing more vitamins
and higher levels of omega 3’s, the good fat
found in fish, nuts, and flax oil.
It is important to remember that the Organic
label doesn’t mean grass-fed, and grass-fed
doesn’t mean organic. You have to look for both
labels to know that the steer your hamburger came
from had this double layer of inspection.
Green on a Shoestring:
Sitemap