Nutrionial Benefits of Grass Fed Beef Vs Cornfed Beef

Video, Tiny Desk Kitchen: Scout These Four-Legged Lawnmowers In Action

What's old is new again. Across the U.S. farmers are turning back to a traditional method of cattle raising: feeding cows on grassy pastures instead of troughs filled with corn. A decade ago, at that place were only well-nigh 50 grass-fed-cattle operations left in the United states. Now, there are thousands and the numbers are growing.

Only await to your local farmer'due south market or specialty grocer for the evidence. Information technology's much easier these days to get your easily on grass-fed beef from farms where cows spend their days out on pasture grazing on all sorts of grasses — from clover to wild onions to different types of tufted grasses called fescue. And beef eaters discover a departure from corn-fed cattle. (Sentry my Tiny Desk Kitchen video above with NPR's Susan Stamberg and Ari Shapiro to see which beefiness they preferred.)

The Taste

So there'due south more than of this meat on the marketplace, but is it really any different? I was curious about differences — both in taste and nutrition — so I called on farmer Forrest Pritchard, who runs Smithfield Farm in Berryville, Va.

Tiny Desk Kitchen host Allison Aubrey (left) gave a blind taste test of grass-fed beef and corn-fed beefiness to NPR'south Ari Shapiro and Susan Stamberg. See the video for the results. Maggie Starbard/NPR hide caption

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Maggie Starbard/NPR

Tiny Desk Kitchen host Allison Aubrey (left) gave a bullheaded gustatory modality test of grass-fed beef and corn-fed beef to NPR's Ari Shapiro and Susan Stamberg. See the video for the results.

Maggie Starbard/NPR

"I call up of my cows equally four-legged backyard mowers," Pritchard told me as we walked his pastures one morning. Later he pointed this out, I noticed that his cows were ever on the move. That exercise leads to more muscle tone. And the resulting beef? Well it can sense of taste a piddling chewier than near folks are accustomed to. Taste testers say the flavor is more varied than the typical grocery store cuts of beef that come from corn-raised cows.

From Pasture To Trough

Farmers first made the switch from grass to corn years ago because corn allows them to fatten up their cattle faster.

Information technology's the difference, for humans, between eating bags of spinach all 24-hour interval vs. dense, calorie-rich oatmeal. A lot of corn-fed-cattle raisers still start their animals out on pasture, but and so quickly motility them to troughs of grain for fattening.

That means farmers can heighten more cattle and in smaller spaces — because they don't need all of that pasture. And yep, that means at that place's more than beef for the millions and millions of hungry Americans.

Something Fishy

Cows love to consume clover, which is rich in omega-iii fat acids. Eating clover and other grasses gets those heart healthy fats into their meat. Zac Visco for NPR hide caption

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Zac Visco for NPR

Cows beloved to eat clover, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Eating clover and other grasses gets those middle salubrious fats into their meat.

Zac Visco for NPR

All correct, there is a difference in taste, for sure. But what I'thousand really interested in is whether it's nutritionally any different. And the story gets a lilliputian fishy here. You lot know how nutritionists are always recommending fish? Well, that'due south because many fish are rich in centre-healthy omega-three fat acids.

And where do the fish get these omega-3s? They eat information technology. (Well, generally, the tiniest body of water creatures eat algae, and information technology moves up the food chain to bigger fish.) With grass-fed cows, it's a like story. Omega-3s are in their meat-- because they're eating grasses and clover rich in these middle-good for you fatty acids.

A recent analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists plant that grass-fed steak has about twice as many omega-3s as a typical grain-fed steak. Another study published in March in Nutrition Journal backed up those numbers.

Still, with 35 milligrams of centre-healthy fats per serving, grass-fed steak tin can't compete with a salmon dinner, which has nearly i,100 milligrams. But it's a significant difference in omega-3s between grass-fed and corn-fed beef. (You can calculate the fat/poly peptide or micronutrients of any nutrient in your diet with this USDA tool.)

And since grass-fed cattle are typically leaner, almost all cuts of grass-fed beef have less total fat than beefiness from corn-raised cattle. Of course, the breed of cattle leads to variation, too.

The Cost

There's a lot of variation in price on both sides of the aisle — and grass-fed will ordinarily cost more. Farmers have to pay for all that pasture. A random price check found Whole Foods selling a pound of grass-fed sirloin for $9.99; Safeway was selling its corn-fed sirloin for $7.99 a pound. (On the solar day we checked, Safeway had the sirloin on sale for $5.99 a pound.)

My conclusion? On the whole, grass-fed beef is better for y'all than corn-fed. But it may non requite you lot that melt-in-your-mouth awareness you grew up on, and it's going to cost you a more. Then are these differences worth the cost? That's up to you.

Produced by Vikki Valentine and Maggie Starbard

Grass-fed cows most always have less total fat in their meat than corn-fed cows. Zac Visco for NPR hide caption

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Zac Visco for NPR

Grass-fed cows about always take less total fat in their meat than corn-fed cows.

Zac Visco for NPR

America's Test Kitchen: Pan-Seared Sirloin Steak

Tiny Desk Kitchen doesn't take a stove, so we used an indoor grill. In the video, nosotros only melt the steak for three minutes, because both sides are seared at once. If you're doing this at home on a stove, follow this recipe from America'south Test Kitchen:

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

two boneless vanquish sirloin steaks (acme butt) or whole flap meat steaks, each well-nigh ane pound and 1 1/4 inches thick

Instructions

1. Heat oil in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until smoking. Meanwhile, flavor both sides of steaks with salt and pepper. Place steaks in skillet; melt, without moving steaks, until well browned, well-nigh two minutes. Using tongs, flip steaks; reduce heat to medium. Cook until well browned on 2d side and internal temperature registers 125 degrees on instant-read thermometer for medium-rare (about 5 minutes) or 130 degrees for medium (nigh 6 minutes).

2. Transfer steaks to big plate and tent loosely with foil; permit balance until internal temperature registers 130 degrees for medium-rare or 135 degrees for medium, 12 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare pan sauce, if making.

3. Using abrupt pocketknife, slice steak about 1/4 inch thick against grain on bias, arrange on platter or on private plates, and spoon sauce (if using) over steak; serve immediately.

Copyright America'due south Examination Kitchen

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Source: https://www.npr.org/2010/04/08/125722082/the-truth-about-grass-fed-beef

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