Grain Fed Rant

[OldGuy43]

I really hate the pretzels that are labeled "low Cholesterol and low sodium" NEWS FLASH: I don't eat Pretzels for my health, I eat them for the Cholesterol and sodium.

I'm with you Dennis. At my age everything is good for me.

 

[ThistleRidgeGA]

Grass-fed versus Grain-fed

I worked on a cattle farm for two years. Nope, that doesn't make me an expert by any sense of the word, but I grew up in cattle country. I very much prefer grain-finished beef. BUT let me tell you what grain-finishing steers on our farm means:
It means the animal is born and raised on a pasture most of its life. The last month of its life, it gets moved to a slightly smaller area (1 acre) and is finished with certified organic grain that is soy-free and corn-free. I know exactly what went into our steers. We don't shove them full of corn to fatten them up rapidly. They aren't in small feedlots to promote higher fat content and larger output.

I do NOT like the taste of grass-fed beef, and for the folks saying that grass-fed isn't tough, you must have had some outstanding grass-fed beef because every single piece I have had has been tough. That being said, whenever we raise steers, we raise TWO types: 100% grass-fed and grass-fed/grain-finished. The grass/grain steer is for our own purposes. The grass-fed is for friends and family who have certain dietary requirements that prevent them from eating grain-finished beef regardless of the content of the grain the steer is finished on.

Perhaps the restaurants and places that tote "USDA Grain-fed beef" mean their cattle aren't shoved full of corn to finish them off (?) Or maybe they're hoping no one notices the wording in their ad. As far as "the same [stuff] sold in grocery stores" that's not necessarily true. Look up "reclaimed meat" and "meat glue."

I have no issues with folks eating grass-fed or eating grain-finished beef. We just prefer to raise ours or buy from a local farmer who raises his own so we know exactly how the animal was raised, treated, finished, and processed. Much of our livestock handling on our small farm follows the low-stress farming practices not only for our own peace of mind but also because it has been scientifically proven that low stress = better meat.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I think that is an excellent compromise ThistleRidge between your taste preferences and the husbandry of your animals. Well done!

 

[jnntefend]

Grass-fed versus Grain-fed

I worked on a cattle farm for two years. Nope, that doesn't make me an expert by any sense of the word, but I grew up in cattle country. I very much prefer grain-finished beef. BUT let me tell you what grain-finishing steers on our farm means:
It means the animal is born and raised on a pasture most of its life. The last month of its life, it gets moved to a slightly smaller area (1 acre) and is finished with certified organic grain that is soy-free and corn-free. I know exactly what went into our steers. We don't shove them full of corn to fatten them up rapidly. They aren't in small feedlots to promote higher fat content and larger output.

I do NOT like the taste of grass-fed beef, and for the folks saying that grass-fed isn't tough, you must have had some outstanding grass-fed beef because every single piece I have had has been tough. That being said, whenever we raise steers, we raise TWO types: 100% grass-fed and grass-fed/grain-finished. The grass/grain steer is for our own purposes. The grass-fed is for friends and family who have certain dietary requirements that prevent them from eating grain-finished beef regardless of the content of the grain the steer is finished on.

Perhaps the restaurants and places that tote "USDA Grain-fed beef" mean their cattle aren't shoved full of corn to finish them off (?) Or maybe they're hoping no one notices the wording in their ad. As far as "the same [stuff] sold in grocery stores" that's not necessarily true. Look up "reclaimed meat" and "meat glue."

I have no issues with folks eating grass-fed or eating grain-finished beef. We just prefer to raise ours or buy from a local farmer who raises his own so we know exactly how the animal was raised, treated, finished, and processed. Much of our livestock handling on our small farm follows the low-stress farming practices not only for our own peace of mind but also because it has been scientifically proven that low stress = better meat.

And that last bit, in the end is really the point. Buy from someone you know, someone you trust, A neighbor. Use good, ethical management practices, or demand that your supplier does. And don't fall for advertisement, just because you see it everywhere so it must be true.

 

[ThistleRidgeGA]

And that last bit, in the end is really the point. Buy from someone you know, someone you trust, A neighbor. Use good, ethical management practices, or demand that your supplier does. And don't fall for advertisement, just because you see it everywhere so it must be true.

I couldn't agree more. A pet peeve of mine are folks that profess to be "organic" or sell "organic beef" or "organic" animals, and they are not certified organic producers. After I had entirely too many folks as us if we had "organic beef," and I told them that we weren't certified organic, didn't profess to be organic, but they could come and visit with us, see our steers, see what we feed, etc. and see that the steers were healthy and raised humanely, I ended up writing a document on using the term "organic." You'd be surprised the number of folks that don't realize there is a process to becoming organic versus slapping the "O word" in front of something for marketing purposes.

 

[jnntefend]

I couldn't agree more. A pet peeve of mine are folks that profess to be "organic" or sell "organic beef" or "organic" animals, and they are not certified organic producers. After I had entirely too many folks as us if we had "organic beef," and I told them that we weren't certified organic, didn't profess to be organic, but they could come and visit with us, see our steers, see what we feed, etc. and see that the steers were healthy and raised humanely, I ended up writing a document on using the term "organic." You'd be surprised the number of folks that don't realize there is a process to becoming organic versus slapping the "O word" in front of something for marketing purposes.

Yes, my husband and I were looking into and organic label for our sheep, but we found that the process was full of red tape, and was actually detrimental to our operation. Also, the regulations had little, if anything to do with the actual proper care and management of sheep, oddly enough.

 

[oldrooster]

Quote:
perhaps they used the wrong term because they where confused with the true meanings, they more than likely meant fed and cared for in a more healthy manner for the animal and consumer while not technaccaly organic, at least a more natural manner.

 

[cassie]

Just a comment. I used to raise beef for sale. They were essentially organic, but when I looked into all the hoops I would have had to jump through to make them certified oraganic, I decided tha aggravation it would entail wasn't worth it. I would have realized about twice as much per pound for the animals than I was getting had I done so but I figured my sanity was worth something.

 

[Gallinaceous]

From what I've heard it's very difficult making a profit raising organic beef (dairy too). And really, if you're cow gets an ear infection are you going to let it suffer and even die or are you going to just give it an antibiotic when no one's paying attention? I'm sure not every organic grower does this, but some of them do. One thing folks don't realize is that organic farmers still use pesticides, etc., they just happen to be "organic alternatives" and sometimes those alternatives are not as benign as we might like to think.

 

[OldGuy43]

Now I'm mad, too!

OldGal came home with a "gourmet" box that says on the label in big, bold letters:

MILK CHOCOLATE
ALMONDS
​

While munching on them I noticed that some didn't taste quite like almonds. Upon inspecting the label, after the obligatory small font, five lines of "Nutrition Facts" and three lines of "Ingredients" and yet another line labeled, "Contains:" the whole text of which read, "Almonds, Milk & Soy" I found this line:

May Contain: Peanuts, Other
Tree Nuts, Wheat & Eggs.

​

While I was reasonably convinced that my taste buds weren't that poorly calibrated, I took several of the smaller candies and washed the chocolate off and, just as I expected found peanuts. Thank the creator, that I'm not allergic.

I have done my best to faithfully represent the relative size and appearance of the fonts involved. I don't like being ripped off. They will be hearing from me when their district office opens Monday morning!