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The following comes from an article by Jim Gerrish, published
in Popular Farming Series – Cattle Volume 3, from the Editors of Hobby Farms Magazine “Pasture-finished beef (PFB) is better for the animal,
the cattle producer and the final beef consumer. In a PFB operation, beef animals
can live their entire lives in their natural pasture setting, enjoying the feed they were meant to eat. Cattle are ruminants with a multi-compartment stomach designed for digesting high-fiber diets. They stay healthy and perform very well on a pasture diet.” “Feeding high-starch grains to ruminant animals was virtually nonexistent
prior to World War II. Feedlots were the product of government policy to deal
with surplus grain following the war. The need for antibiotics and growth hormones
came from forcing the animals to eat an unnatural diet in a confined, unsanitary environment.
By removing the excess starch from the diet and giving cattle some space, the need for these additives disappears.” “Many consumers may not know that
various fats are actually essential parts of the human diet, and eating the right fats is healthy and can even help with weight
loss. One problem with feedlot beef is that the fats they create are not natural
components of the human evolutionary diet and are not as healthful as the fats created from a balanced ruminant diet. Humans evolved eating meat from wild cattle, bison, elk, deer, sheep, goats and other
ruminants. None of those animals ate much, if any, grain in their natural habitats. The fats our ancestors consumed were from wild game, fats that are healthy and provide
essential nutrients in our diet. Domestic livestock produced entirely on pasture
contain those same healthy fats.” The above also applies to buffalo (bison) and beefalo. We cannot stress
to you enough that it’s important to ask any farmer that you are thinking about purchasing meat from, “How are
your animals raised and what are they fed?” It may also be a good idea
to take a trip to the farm to check things out. See for yourself how much pastureland
the animals are grazing on. (One man’s pasture is another man’s feedlot!)
Look for feed bunkers or troughs. Are they being fed grain to “fatten
them up” and speed them to the butcher? Are they in confined pen areas
and being fed grass hay during the summer months? While grass hay is essential
to get livestock through the winter months in the northern, snowy climates, it is no substitute for fresh, green grass. The first three paragraphs above is only a small portion of a really good article that goes into greater
detail about the differences between “natural”, “grass-fed”, “organic”, “organic
grass-fed”, “pasture-finished” and “organic pasture-finished” meat. Some people throw various terms around, but in the end, it must be “buyer beware”. If you really care about what you are eating, you will check it out and make sure you are getting exactly
what you want. Don’t assume anything.
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