What the heck is the difference if a cow ate grass from actual soil with nutrients and minerals than if a cow was raised eating mass produced corn? Does the cow or chicken I’m about to eat come out the same or not?
Also is there any difference between an organic vegetable an a non organic one? I heard the non organic vegetable have pesticides inside of them that you can’t really wash form the outside. Thanx
Think of it this way: Cows (ruminants) are evolved to eat grass. They chew the grass, swallow it, where it collects bacteria and yeast from their multi-chambered stomach, then they regurgitate it into their mouths and chew on it all day. This is the cud, and from whence the term “chew the cud” originates. This requires a lot of energy expenditure for their nutrient collection. As they chew, the bacteria and yeast go to work breaking down the cellulose into sugars the cows can get energy and nutrients from.
Corn, on the other hand, is very simple for a cow to digest and requires zero effort on their part. It turns to sugar very quickly. This, in turns, makes cows fatter faster and produce more milk.
But ask yourself this: What’s healthier? Someone eating a healthy diet they’re evolved to, or someone who eats sweets all day every day? A cow eating tons of corn is eating sweets all day. They’re fat and unhealthy and so is their meat and their milk.
Cattle can’t properly digest grains (corn, wheat, etc) Their stomachs are made to digest grass. So a grain fed cow will not get properly nourished, and the flesh will not be as nutritious for you when you eat it.
It’s the difference between a human who eats whole foods, home cooked meals their entire life and a human who is served McDonalds all the time.
The ratio of lean meat, connective tissues and fat is different and the composition of fatty acids is different.
It’s also better for the environment on a number of parameters, mainly because grass fed cows don’t use up huge areas of land to produce their fodder. Also grass fed live stock can be kept in areas of land not suitable for arable farming, and they are a key component in management of more biodiverse “natural” areas.
The biggest difference is in the fat profile. There is a slight difference in some vitamin/mineral content, but for the most part you’re looking at decreased saturated fats and increased omega 3 fatty acids
ETA: agree with others that if the cost is prohibitive, it’s less important nutritionally for lean cuts. But the fattier the cut the more you might want to think about it.
But what they eat does make a difference, not understanding why you think it wouldn’t? I mean, we are all here commenting on a nutrition sub because clearly we believe what we eat makes a difference for us. Why wouldn’t it for a cow? A healthier animal produces a healthier food.
All cows eat grass during their life. Some cows are “finished” at a corn lot. They eat nothing but corn basically for the last 3 months before slaughter to add fat to them which is the marbling in the meat. They cannot eat corn longer than that because it destroys their gastrointestinal system. Grass fed cows are not finished on corn, just corralled and shipped to the slaughterhouse. Their meat is subsequently leaner and doesn’t have the high fat content of conventional beef. Grass fed is kinder to the cows and a healthier meat. Source: did my PhD in sustainable agriculture.
The difference is marginal. Omega-3 for example:
> A 3-ounce serving of grass-fed beef has about 0.015 grams of omega-3 fatty acids, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Nutrient Database
Wow, 15 mg of omega 3s!
Focus on the big picture instead of the tiny details. The forest vs. the trees.
A cow evolved to eat grass, not grain. Eating grain causes differences in the meat, yes. There’s not enough research, but we do have some insights already about the problems that arise, as other replies state.
Organic has no poison in them. Some vegetables, like the tomatoes, do keep the poison inside. But there’s also the environmental harm agrochemical production causes. Overall, there’s a very harmful level of contamination everywhere caused by industrial agriculture, including poisons in the water supply, depletion of soils, massive death of insects, demineralization in food products, etc.
I’m just regretting moving to North America. The place I come is a town and way back we had a tiny farm with two big cows, 5 chickens and some neighbours sold eggs free range, real stuff - it has a different flavour even the chicken meat and I never liked it.
Also we could buy beef from an actual person who slaughters the buffaloes and it is grass fed and eats only from outside. And the oil possibly coconut we make it our own sometimes or buy from actual manufacturing place. 10-20 minutes drive by - or around fields of paddy there will be vendors selling own gram grown veggies.
i couldnt find much evidence to suggest that really lean cuts of meat have any substantial differences between grass-fed and factory farmed grain-finished. if youre getting a fatty cut, i would suggest grass fed as the other commenters already mentioned the higher content of omega-3 fatty acids and phytonutrients.
i just prefer grass fed or free-range everything anyway, since i dont like the idea of consuming animals that at some point in their lives were made to exist in conditions entirely unnatural to them. also, its pretty much the same price where i live, and much tastier.
Happier cows better quality meat. Generally speaking… stressed cows will have poorer quality meat, of course the feed also matters but it does make a difference. Make sure its grass fed pasture raised not grass finished.
The rationale for grass fed is not nutrition. It’s avoiding the stress hormones that cows create in response to corn.
Corn (or any other seed) creates a systemic inflammatory response in cows. The meat and dairy carries these inflammatory compounds with them and into your body.
Grass fed meat will cook faster which will dry faster but is healthier. If I want to be bad, I’ll eat a doughnut but I’ll at least make sure it’s vegan. If I want to be really bad I’ll get a choice non-grass fed rib eye and have a vegan dessert to balance the my guilt😬
Cows stomachs are “designed” to digest and process grass, not grain. So when a cow is fed grain, it makes them sick and causes health issues. For those health issues, the cow is given antibiotics which end up in the meat you eat. So, with grain fed beef you’re eating meat from a sick, medicated cow. Grain is fed to cows in the US because corn is subsidized by the government, there’s a huge surplus of it, and it gets cows up to slaughter weight faster. To that end, grain-fed cows are often also given growth hormones to get them up to slaughter weight faster. You end up ingesting those hormones when you eat their meat.
the cow’s digestive system is designed to process grass, not corn.
corn-feeding cows is really torture, and it necessitates antibiotics and other unnatural stuff.
the fat content of grass-fed beef has been proven to be healthier, due to Omega-3 fatty acids (that you might otherwise may be marketed into supplementing by fish oil).
However, you may want to keep in mind that the cheapest grass-fed beef might come from Brazil where the Amazon rainforest (that’s the “good” Amazon, just to be sure) may have been killed in order to raise cattle. Your best choice is really to reduce your intake of meat, and try to make sure you know where what you eat actually comes from.