Grain Fed Rant

[conny63malies]

Not all beef is the same whether it is grass fed or not. The quality and flavor of all beef, not just grass fed depends on a number of factors. Some of these are the condition, age, feeding, and breed of the steer. And maybe on the type of grass. Not all grass is the same, either. That said, I still don't care for grass fed beef. I'm not all that fond of venison either, but that's me.

That and the way it was killed is a big factor also . Stress before and during the kill influences the quality of the meat quite a bit.

 

[cafarmgirl]

OK, I just need to blow off some steam here. I live in Texas, and around here, we have alot of steak houses and every one of them EVERY SINGLE ONE OF EM(!!!) says some bull-honkey (trying to watch my language) about "Proud to serve USDA Grain-fed Beef"! Why on earth would you brag about the fact that you serve the same sh.... bull-honkey... that they can get in the grocery store? I even had a waitress one time go on and on about how the grain added extra marbling and made the meat better. I asked her if she has ever had grass-fed beef, and she says "Cows aren't supposed to eat grass" I kid you not! I turned green and asked for a baked potato. I'm not eating any of their meat.

And Heaven only knows what she thinks chickens are supposed to eat. Good grief! the corporations are going to have every think that breathes eating nothing but corn in the next few years...


OK, I can put on my happy face again now

Ok, so individual taste preferences aside, what is the problem with these restaurants advertsing that they serve "USDA grain fed beef"? They aren't saying it's a different product just that it's USDA grain fed. I just don't see the issue here. Many people eat it and love it and don't care whether it's from the same feedlot that supplied the local grocery store or not. It tastes good, they didn't have to prepare it and that's all they care about. Those who do care and want something different will make the effort to find it.

 

[jnntefend]

Ok, so individual taste preferences aside, what is the problem with these restaurants advertsing that they serve "USDA grain fed beef"? They aren't saying it's a different product just that it's USDA grain fed. I just don't see the issue here. Many people eat it and love it and don't care whether it's from the same feedlot that supplied the local grocery store or not. It tastes good, they didn't have to prepare it and that's all they care about. Those who do care and want something different will make the effort to find it.

Well, that's really the problem--- not caring. And not bothering to learn, like this waitress. What it is is just parading ignorance, thumping your chest and advertising something like it's special when it's really quite run-of-the-mill, and even unethical, and then passing this disinformation to the public, when they know the truth of it. Now the waitress doesn't know the difference, but the guy who wrote the training manual does. It's dishonest. Especially in a steakhouse in Texas, where people trust that they know what they are doing.

 

[herfrds]

jnntefend we raise cattle. Used to not feed them a lot of grain and had them hanging for 2 weeks. That was some tought steaks.
Changed our feeding program. Steers are out on pasture and getting a mix of grain feed and now get hung for 3 weeks. Those were the best t-bones we ever had.

I know what you are saying though about the preaching. My folks took me to a steak house in their area and convinced me to order a rib eye steak. Must say that was the most tasteless piece of beef I ever put in my mouth. They kept asking me what I thought. I guess I shouldn't been so honest in saying I had better beef in my freezer. Especially in a crowded steak house in front of the waitress.

As for the rude remark about the feed lots. They pile the manure up to give the cattle a dry place to lay out of the mud. These animals have a better life there and are going towards their purpose as food. As for the slaughter houses give Temple a huge round of applause for designing such awesome handling chutes.

 

[Frucat]

At least threads like this help crystallize one's own thinking.

I think jnntefend's point is more than fair: A restaurant, grocery store, or any part of our industrial food system that markets a product as USDA grain fed beef is saying more than just what the animal eats. It's an associative chain--and feel free to offer your own interpretations--that says,

1. We know that what cattle are fed on is an important consideration in your purchasing choice.
2. Saying that we buy grain fed cattle means that we care about the quality of our cattle.
3. Caring about cattle extends to the animal's quality of life at every stage from growth to processing.
4. You, the consumer, should feel good about the purchase you are making (despite the poor mean quality)

No one on this thread--at least those who have mentioned it--get their beef from the system that churns out food service or restaurant beef. I think we all agree that beef you raise or buy from a trusted source is better. But you don't have to be a PETA member to recognize that there are enormous problems with industrial beef production in this country.

Saying that your product is "grain fed" is simply an attempt to paper over the gigantic cracks in the way that your beef is produced.

And a final point: If you buy the argument that feed lots mound manure so the cattle don't have to lay in the mud, I've got a bridge to sell you. If you're o.k.with an animal living and wallowing in its own feces, then I'm not sure how you can care about what the animal is fed.

 

[cafarmgirl]

At least threads like this help crystallize one's own thinking.

I think jnntefend's point is more than fair: A restaurant, grocery store, or any part of our industrial food system that markets a product as USDA grain fed beef is saying more than just what the animal eats. It's an associative chain--and feel free to offer your own interpretations--that says,

1. We know that what cattle are fed on is an important consideration in your purchasing choice.
2. Saying that we buy grain fed cattle means that we care about the quality of our cattle.
3. Caring about cattle extends to the animal's quality of life at every stage from growth to processing.
4. You, the consumer, should feel good about the purchase you are making (despite the poor mean quality)

No one on this thread--at least those who have mentioned it--get their beef from the system that churns out food service or restaurant beef. I think we all agree that beef you raise or buy from a trusted source is better. But you don't have to be a PETA member to recognize that there are enormous problems with industrial beef production in this country.

Saying that your product is "grain fed" is simply an attempt to paper over the gigantic cracks in the way that your beef is produced.

And a final point: If you buy the argument that feed lots mound manure so the cattle don't have to lay in the mud, I've got a bridge to sell you. If you're o.k.with an animal living and wallowing in its own feces, then I'm not sure how you can care about what the animal is fed.

I won't bother to argue re all the suspected hidden meanings when a restaurant posts a sign saying they are serving USDA grain fed beef. Regarding the use of manure as bedding.... that is exactly why it's done and many, many dairies do the same thing. Some use actual bedding such as sand or shavings in free stalls, some use rubber mats or air mattresses, many use dry manure from the corrals. Manure in corrals is often pushed into a huge mound so that during the wet season the cows don't stand around in the mud.

 

[cassie]

Just a comment about manure as bedding. Some dairies have machines that are called manure separators. The manure is put on a big screen thing and the solids are separated out from the liquids. What you have left is essentially chopped hay. When dry, it makes a fine bedding, and no, it doesn't stink.

 

[jnntefend]

Just a comment about manure as bedding. Some dairies have machines that are called manure separators. The manure is put on a big screen thing and the solids are separated out from the liquids. What you have left is essentially chopped hay. When dry, it makes a fine bedding, and no, it doesn't stink.

OK, now it makes sense. I thought we were talking about just shoveled up piles of the stuff, and I was skeptical

 

[herfrds]

Frucat guess who knows more about cattle then you? Don't care about your opinion and you can keep your bridge.

 

[Frucat]

No, I'm certainly no cattle expert, but what I do know is that dried manure solid-based bedding is standard practice in indoor enclosures. What I was particularly responding to was herfrds defense of outdoor, ConAgra-type feedlots.

What really interests me, though, is how someone like herfrds can voluntarily participate in a forum, call jnnetfend's remarks about feedlots rude, and then turn around and act just as rudely. Stay classy, herfrds, and may God bless you!

At the risk of further offending, the animal husbandry practices we're talking about play no part in America's CAFOs, and the animals that are cared for in these good ways will never end up as the 'grain fed' cattle at your local Longhorn Steakhouse.