Been eating grass fed and finished beef for a year now. Grass feed cows still go to a feed lot and can be fed: hormones to bulk up, anti-biotics, corn, soy, etc. Grass finished animals spend their whole life in a pasture and are not fed pellet feed.

I eat this grass finished beef because it tastes 3x better than regular grass fed. Also, a huge plus for me, is that it reduces my PTSD sleep problems dramatically.

I gave a few pounds of the grass finished beef to a friend and he noticed the his hair, which had begun coming out gray along the temple and side burns, grew out black again. When he ran out of the meat I gave him, the hair then came out gray.

A month later he bought some of the next grass finished beef I ordered, and once again his hair is now coming out black. The amount of beef he has been eating has been the same all along. This tells me there is some intrinsic nutritional component that is simply not there in store bought beef.

Also his 8 yo daughter cannot get enough of the grass finished beef, she would eat a pound a day if he did not limit her. I do not know if her strong desire for the grass finished is because it tastes so much better, or perhaps her body instinctively craves the different beef.

The grass finished I buy has been dry aged, which makes the meat tastier and more tender.

I wouldn't have figured out the difference from the terms. From the title, I thought grass fed were cows fed with grass all their lives and grass finished were cows who were fed grass in the days just before they were slaughtered.

I don't have that educated of a palate.

I've been reading a lot the past year or so that healthy diet will consist of an Omega-6 to 3 ratio that optimally is 1:1, but of no greater than 4:1. For example, this extremely verbose Pubmed abstract says that an unhealthy ratio promotes many diseases including cardiovascular, cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune.

As far as beef, I repeatedly see that:

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) grain finished beef (i.e. most grocery store beef) is between 15:1 and 20:1.

Grass fed, grass finished is between 1:1 and 2:1. This Purdue paper says it's similar to wild ruminants such as elk, deer and antelope from the Rocky Mountains region

As far as gray hair, an autoimmune disease called vitiligo can cause the immune system to attack the scalp. I'd surmise a high Omega-6 to 3 ratio diet such as grocery store beef would make it worse. Here is an article on vitiligo.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so here is a picture of a CAFO:

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:
I wouldn't have figured out the difference from the terms. From the title, I thought grass fed were cows fed with grass all their lives and grass finished were cows who were fed grass in the days just before they were slaughtered.

I'm planning to buy land when I retire and want to run a few steer for beef so I started reading and watching YouTube. The past year has been an eye opener for me, and it's changed my beef purchasing habits.

Here is a graphic from Cattlemen’s Beef Board and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (i.e. a pro-beef organization) that depicts the 3 stages of beef cattle's life cycle:


The first 2 stages are on pasture (ie the grass fed beginning of OP's title), but the 3rd stage varies drastically:

grass finished. Steer stays on pasture eating grass and forage until butchering day. It takes longer.

grain finished. Typically, goes to a CAFO eating a balanced diet of grains, local feed ingredients, like potato hulls or sugar beets, and hay or forage.

hybrid. Steer stays on pasture eating grass and forage, but they bring in some troughs and once or twice a day feed grain (e.g. corn).

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

When it comes to cuts of meat, I love seeing the Bearded Butchers find the exact cut and what to look for. This is from a recent video, but they're done others on grass vs grain.

I think we have grass something at the local market. Not sure if it's grass fed or grass finished. They generally look leaner and much less marbled than other beef choices. So, assumed to be less flavorful and tender.

Sounds like grass finished (not grass fed) is healthier. I'll try it if available. How long before any effects observed? Sounds like w/in a month?

OP - how about a link where you've been buying the good stuff?

We have been eating grass feed/finished beef for the last 6+ years
We love it, we practically stopped eating out other than Indian or sushi.

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
I eat this grass finished beef because it tastes 3x better than regular grass fed.

I think it tastes nasty. Like it's turned. No thanks. Give me grain finished beef every day and twice on Sunday.

Regarding the gray hair? Bunk.

I’ve raised steers for 7 years now and have noticed a lot of variables regarding feed. Mine are primarily grass fed but they do get a small amount of grain each evening to train them to come in if they get out of the pasture which can and does happen. When I first started I only had 2 steers and gave them a large amount of grain throughout. They were butterballs when I took them to the butcher. Plenty of marbling but the butcher ended up tossing some of the excess fat/trimmings. Over the years I’ve increased to 5 steers and give less grain per steer. They’re not as fat or heavy which isn’t really profitable for me but the meat is still very tender and the flavor is better in my opinion and the people that buy the beef each year. I’ve also noticed the fat is more white now rather than a tan appearance like earlier years.

If there’s cattle that aren’t grass fed, I’ve yet to see one. Confusion comes from marketed “grass-finished” beef as grass fed.

I think we’ve found the perfect beef, and it’s what tatortodd referred to as hybrid. We buy our beef locally from a Wyoming ranch family. Their cattle do get grain for finishing, but right there on the ranch, they are not sent off to a CAFO. Grass finished may well be best for Omega 3 FAs, but none of the grass finished beef I’ve had tastes as good as this beef.

We are very spoiled with the quality of beef in our freezer in Montana. A local rancher breeds and feeds out his own Wagyu/Angus cross beef. His “fat pen” (feedlot) is 2 square miles. He supplements the grass to build up the marbling. He also butchers them much later than the average feedlot. One beef I purchased was 2100 pounds on the hoof.
I usually get 2 beef a year and keep one half for myself. Other friends/clients buy quarters. It is fun to have it cut exactly the way you want and even the “off” cuts are incredible.
Bone in New Yorks and ribeyes, sirloins, rounds, cube steak, skirt and flank. One of my favorites is a big chuck roast in the crock pot. Close to half will be hamburger. Best smash burgers around.
Check out www.montanawagyu.com
This is all beef from the Galt Ranch where I source mine. There are great pictures on the website and I don’t have to drag steaks out of the freezer to post pics!

If I want grass fed, I'll shoot a deer.

My Dad was a DVM veterinarian. He often said what the cows eat made a big difference. I do not know the details. Dad had an alphabet behind his name USDA, APHIS, MPIP.
Also, what they might have been treated with might cause a difference. I do know that some brands of dairy will give me a bad itching rash. Switching to a different brand stops the rash. And sulfa based prescriptions will give me a similar rash.
Dad knew his meat. I recall a time Dad condemned the deer meat he shot. Again, I have no details. He took the carcass to the rangers. What they did I do not know.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:
I eat this grass finished beef because it tastes 3x better than regular grass fed.

I think it tastes nasty. Like it's turned. No thanks. Give me grain finished beef every day and twice on Sunday.

Regarding the gray hair? Bunk.

I've had grass-finished that I didn't like as well. I think it's the breed and or the type of grass they eat - my buddy started a grass-fed line of beef for local sale & had to jump through some hoops because the native grass he had on his land wasn't nutritious enough. Planting a different species went against something - either local enviro issue or being able to label the end produce 'all natural', I can't remember but it was kind of a dumb problem to have.
I think a lot of it is 'closer to natural' vs the 'factory-style' of raising the cattle. CAFO beef might taste like shit because they live in shit conditions.

That said, some of the best beef I ever had a lot of came from when my great-uncle was playing mad scientist & tried to see how big he could grow them. I'm 5'11" and the few times I helped feed them, I couldn't see over their backs - and all 100 of them wanted close to anyone who would pet them. I'd probably grow a 3rd arm if I ate more of it, but it was damn good & there was a lot of it.

I am in NorCal, and have been buying from Stemple Creek: https://stemplecreek.com/collections/custom-cut-wrap

Everyone I know, that has shared a cow with me, says the same thing: They will never go back to eating store bought beef.

My friend, no vitiligo I am sure. I have known him for 15 years. I will ask him to try and obtain some photos of the gray hair next to black.

I tried peidmontese grass finished ribeye. It was good. Tastes different but not better or worse. It was surprisingly tender; at least the cap was. I haven’t tried the center piece yet. I’ll keep buying it for now.