Buying local and knowing our farmer and food source directly are two ways to improve the quality of the foods we consume.
Did you see my post about our visit to our friend’s farm in Pennsylvania? Yes, you could say knowing our food is a priority for our family!
Our family strives to eat whole foods and read labels to make better food choices. As a result, I’ve become acutely aware that not all meats are created equal.
As our family develops healthful eating habits, we’re pleased to partner with brands that align with our values and standards. So this post is brought to you by our partner brand, OBE Organic Beef.
We choose organic and grass-fed whenever possible.
Grass-fed meats are gaining recognition and popularity, so I want to cover a few reasons why we choose grass-fed beef whenever possible.
1. Grass fed animals eat their veggies. Yep – they eat grass. On organic pasture, they’re eating the best grass grown without pesticides or GMOs. This type of diet is how animals were created to live. So a grass-fed animal is living as naturally as possible.
2. You’re not eating “sick” meat. Mass-production feedlot animals are crowded into pens with little space to move. They’re given feed filled with antibiotics and other medications to keep them from getting sick – from the other sick animals standing around them! They may be consuming city garbage, animal waste, manure. Why? Because it’s cheap and fast for manufacturers. But really, these animals are sick and stressed out. There’s even risk of the animals getting E. coli! And then they sell us that meat? No thank you!
3. Better nutrition. Eating better food in a cleaner environment simply leads to a more nourished animal, which in turn gives more nutrition to the meat versus conventional beef. Grass-fed products have been shown to have higher Vitamin A, Linoleic Acid, and Omega-3 Fatty Acids. All good for keeping cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure at bay. I was surprised to read that grass-fed beef is lower in fat and calories.
4. Sustainable farming. Grass-fed beef uses renewable resources, promotes wise land use, and encourages natural soil productivity. (Versus the alternative: spending time, money, and resources raising feed grain that goes to feedlot animals?).
5. Animal welfare. Grass-fed cattle are raised in a healthier and calmer conditions, living and eating as they were created to do, instead of their feedlot counterparts.
Watch out for “grain-finished”
According to labeling laws, meats can be labeled “grass-fed” as long as the animal spends a certain amount of their life eating grass. But it is still acceptable for farms to “grain-finish” the animal prior to processing. Grain finishing is where the animal is fed some grain either throughout their lifetime or at the end of their life. Farmers do this to add fats and flavor to the meat, and while a step up from feedlot beef, there’s a better option!
OBE Organic Grass-Fed Beef is a 100% Certified Organic Australian brand that raises their cattle on organic pastures for their entire lifespan. OBE Beef is NOT grain-finished! OBE cattle are grass-fed, grass-finished, free-range, and GMO free. They come directly from the Australian Outback to your grocer!
In the United States, it’s very difficult to find beef that is completely grass-fed their entire life, with no grain finishing. We just don’t have the land mass, nor to most places in the U.S. allow for year-round grazing as Australia offers. From my research, I couldn’t see that brands have to label beef as grain finished, so it’s really important to know the brand and whether the beef is FULLY grass-fed.
The OBE brand goes through rigorous certification processes to ensure the animals are well-cared for, free ranging, and grass fed on organic pasture (fields not sprayed with pesticides).
Grass-fed beef from OBE is delicious!
Our experience with OBE organic grass-fed beef was delicious. Some people find a flavor difference between grass fed and grain fed beef. However, the only difference to me is a “beefier” flavor – that is, the flavor of the beef is just a bit more distinct, but not overly different. I love it!
We enjoyed OBE burgers, London Broil, and beef stew meat – all three were tender, juicy, and full of flavor!
Since our family is definitely a meat-eating family, it’s so important to us that the meat we consume be of the highest quality, sustainably-raised in a healthy and compassionate farming method.
OBE Beef in the United States is only available at Fairway Markets, a northeast store. So if you’re looking to pick up some quality beef, look for packages that look like this in stores:
You can also find OBE ground beef behind the butcher counter.
Connect with OBE Organic: Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter
WIN IT: One reader will win a $50 Gift Card to Fairway Market, so you can enjoy some organic grass-fed beef from OBE! NOTE: This giveaway is ONLY open to US residents, and Fairway Market is only located in the NJ, NY, and Southern CT area, so please be aware when entering this giveaway! Enter in the form below!
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This is a partnered post with OBE Organic Beef, and I was compensated for sharing this message. All opinions are my own.
Source: http://www.drfranklipman.com/5-reasons-to-switch-to-grass-fed-meat-right-now/
Gina Marie Benway
Wednesday 26th of November 2014
I have never tried grass fed yet. My family eats meat 6x a week. All boys its hard to keep food in the house!
Gina Marie Benway
Wednesday 26th of November 2014
I have never tried grass fed yet. My family eats meat 6x a week. All boys its hard to keep food in the house!
trixx
Wednesday 26th of November 2014
We havent tried grass-fed beef yet, we usually have beef once a week
trixx
Wednesday 26th of November 2014
We havent tried grass-fed beef yet, we usually have beef once a week
Lisa L
Monday 24th of November 2014
I have heard of grass fed beef but have not tried it yet. We eat meat twice a week