The Best Meat Subscription Boxes, Tested and Reviewed (2025) Leave a comment
Grass-Fed? Grass-Completed? Pasture-Raised? What The?
The USDA, which oversees beef manufacturing within the US, says grass-fed signifies that “grass and forage shall be the feed supply consumed for the lifetime of the ruminant animal, except for milk consumed previous to weaning. The weight loss plan shall be derived solely from forage consisting of grass … Animals can’t be fed grain or grain byproducts and will need to have steady entry to pasture in the course of the rising season.”
In different phrases, grass-fed cows can eat solely grass. All cows begin life consuming grass. Whereas farming practices range, typically cows begin nursing, grazing, and residing in pasture for the primary six months or so of life. Then conventionally raised cattle are moved to feedlots for 3 to 4 months (generally extra) the place they’re fed grain, a extra economical means of getting them to market.
There’s nonetheless appreciable variation between grass-fed beef although, even “grass-finished beef.” Seems the definition of “grass” varies. One of the best grass-fed beef tends to remain at pasture (ideally natural pasture that is not sprayed with pesticides), whereas the rather more frequent grass-fed beef you discover prepackaged at your native grocery store is distributed to feed tons and fed grass pellets. One of the best ways to get grass-fed beef that you understand comes from cows that truly ate grass is to get to know your native ranchers and household farms. If you do not have native ranchers, that is the place this information is available in.
