by Brian Johnson
Most of us have been taught that all meat is the same – that a log of beef at the discount shopping club is the same as ground 
beef that has no hormones or antibiotics. This is simply not true! Let me take you on a little journey through the world of beef production today. The truth may shock you.
Let’s start with the fact that cows naturally eat grass. They have been doing so for thousands of years. However, most cows today are fed a corn-based diet. Even if cows eat grass at the beginning, these days they are almost always finished (at least the last 60-120 days) on grains, plus other remnants that are allowed in their feed such as cardboard, newspaper, and sawdust. The purpose of this feed is to fatten them up, which renders more weight come selling time. When cows start eating a diet of grains instead of grass, they get sick, which means they have to be injected with antibiotics and chemicals. What that means for you, the consumer, is that you are eating sick meat.
As I mentioned in the last article on eggs, you cannot expect health from that equation. Grains like corn (or whatever other garbage is thrown into the feed) are not meant for a cow’s digestive system. Much like humans, if we eat foods that we aren’t meant to eat, we are going to get sick. The problem is many of these diseases and infections get passed on to the consumer; yet the consumer doesn’t realize what they are eating.
In Paul Chek’s book, How To Eat Move and Be Healthy, it states that in 1998, the USDA inspections and safety system reclassified an array of animal diseases as being “….defects that rarely or never present a direct public health risk,” and said “unaffected carcass portions” could be passed on to consumers by cutting out lesions. They also stated that the following animal diseases do NOT pose health risk to humans: cancer, pneumonia of poultry, glandular swellings or lymphomas, sores, infectious arthritis, intestinal worms or tumors. Are you kidding me? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want any part of that!
Knowing that when a cow eats grass, they are healthier, it only makes sense that grass-fed beef is a healthier option. Nutritionally speaking, a grass-fed cow is going to have a much better ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids and a much leaner marbling of fat. It also has a higher CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) content, which has been shown to be a powerful antioxidant and to help the body utilize fat as fuel, further aiding in weight loss. All of that simply means that when we eat healthy 100% grass-fed beef, we get more Omega 3s and protein, both of which are great for our bodies.
At The Movement Dallas, we get all of our 100% grass-fed beef from Burgundy Farms. Burgundy’s cattle are free to roam around and eat as much grass as the land has to offer. The beef that hits tables in America today comes from feed lots of tens of thousands of cows packed in and full of disease. With stats showing that the average American eats over twice their body weight in meat per year, you can see how all these factors can either be positive or negative. Next time you are shopping for beef, consider whether your beef is conventional or grass-fed. We want to make it easy for you to get grass-fed beef for yourself and your family. We have a vast variety of grass-fed beef at our studio at an affordable cost. Just come in, choose your cut, and enjoy great health.
Knowing the truth makes your decisions a lot easier doesn’t it?
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This is the best article ever!!!
Love you all:)
I am a big believer in natural beef (no hormones, no antibiotics, humane raised). Unfortunately, you are misleading people about corn fed cattle. Cattle do not get sick from eating corn. The hormones and antibiotics are used to force the animal to add more weight, not to combat illness as a result of being fed corn as you state. I am aware of many natural beef programs that use corn and never have to use antibiotics or hormones. Don’t forget, corn is actually a grass! Blanket statements about the cattle industry are unfair and misleading. No two operations do the same thing. They each have their own way of doing things. Also, grass fed beef has better ratios of Omegas but due to the lower fat content, does not contain more than grain fed beef. Both are excellent sources of Omegas.
Del,
Thank you so much for your post. We love seeing people get involved with healthy all-natural eating. You are correct that corn is a type of grass. But it’s also a grain. When we talked about grass in the article we were referring to the actual green stuff and we were referring to corn as a grain. We typically do not post too much scientific stuff because it can be boring for the average reader, but we are always excited to share when we have the chance. We hope this research helps anyone with more questions.
We do believe cows get sick on corn because they were never meant to eat corn. It has only been in the last 50-60 years that corn has been the main food source of cattle. We can thank federal subsidies and the huge surplus of corn in this country. (At today’s rates it actually costs a farmer more to grow corn than to sell it.) A cow gets sick on corn because their digestion system cannot take the grains. Michael Pollard, a writer for the NY Times, conducted extensive research in 2002 that showed:
“Perhaps the most serious thing that can go wrong with a ruminant [an animal that chews on its cud] on corn is feedlot bloat. The rumen is always producing copious amounts of gas, which is normally expelled by belching during rumination. But when the diet contains too much starch and too little roughage, rumination all but stops, and a layer of foamy slime that can trap gas forms in the rumen. The rumen inflates like a balloon, pressing against the animal’s lungs. Unless action is promptly taken to relieve the pressure (usually by forcing a hose down the animal’s esophagus), the cow suffocates.
A corn diet can also give a cow acidosis. Unlike that in our own highly acidic stomachs, the normal pH of a rumen is neutral. Corn makes it unnaturally acidic, however, causing a kind of bovine heartburn, which in some cases can kill the animal but usually just makes it sick. Acidotic animals go off their feed, pant and salivate excessively, paw at their bellies and eat dirt. The condition can lead to diarrhea, ulcers, bloat, liver disease and a general weakening of the immune system that leaves the animal vulnerable to everything from pneumonia to feedlot polio.”
So because of these health risks antibiotics must be used. By definition, according to the Oxford University Press, an antibiotic is a chemotherapeutic agent with activity against microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi or protozoa. So antibiotics are used to kill the bad stuff. It’s why doctors use them to help sick people get better.
Here are the typical antibiotics used in feed lot cows:
Rumensin – inhibits gas production in the rumen which prevents bloating.
Tylosin – reduces liver infection
A Colorado State University study showed not only higher Omega 3’s and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) but it also showed 4 times the amount of Vitamin E in grass-fed verses grain-fed.
Proceedings of the New Zealand Grassland Association showed a depletion of Beta Carotene to almost 0 in grain-fed cattle by day 34 on a grain diet.
This comment has already gotten pretty long so we haven’t really gotten into Omega 3’s and 6’s but in a nutshell the problem with the Standard American Diet is way too much Omega 6’s compared to Omega 3’s. The ratio is what is vital.
Lastly, I would encourage you to check out the documentary, “King Corn”. You can find it at your local movie rental store. It clearly explains the problem with corn in our society today.
We welcome comments and love it when we can talk more nutrition science.
TMD