November 8th, 2009 @ 10:42 pm
Yesterday I picked my share of a 1/4 steer of local grass fed beef from a small local farm. My sister was the coordinator of this adventure and when she mentioned it to me I told her we definitely wanted in. I was very curious about what we’d get – how much would it be, how would it be packaged, would we have to do any of our own cuts, how would it taste etc. So when I went to my sister’s to get it, I was surprised at how “normal” it all was.
The farm from which we bought the beef, Berry Hill Farm of Sherborn, MA, raises the cows on their property and feed them a very healthy grass diet. They send it to an FDA approved facility. Then what we get is actually pretty “old school”. It comes to us frozen in packages wrapped in freezer wrap and labeled clearly with the cut. We got ground beef, a sirloin steak, a little tenderloin, some stew beef, some stir-fry beef, a pot roast, and a couple of small steaks.
So cool! Tonight we cooked our sirloin steak. Grass fed beef is definitely different from what you get at the supermarket. It tastes a little more “natural” – or at least that’s the only way I can think of putting it. But that’s not in a bad way. It was delicious! It’s funny – we aren’t big meat eaters in general. We stick to a lot of meatless meals or poultry. So this will be a lot of beef for us – but once I started to research, I understood the benefits of this type of beef.
Grass fed beef:
- has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories
- has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid” or CLA
- has been raised on feed of grass. Commercial beef are typically raised on genetically modified grain and soy, and are often given ‘filler’ feed that is cheap and plentiful including municipal garbage, stale pastry, chicken feathers, and candy. Eew. For real.
There’s a great site that is a terrific resource: www.eatwild.com. If you are interested in exploring the possibility of getting local beef (or poultry, eggs, etc) this site can connect you with resources in your area. It also has some great information on the benefits of eating locally grown meat and poultry. There’s also a great article from Mother Earth News that speaks to the benefits of grass fed beef.
Lisa Wilcox
said,
November 9, 2009 at 12:09 pm
HI thanks for promoting you purchase of grass ged beef. I am a small farm of grass fed beef near Tacoma, Washington. My description of the grass fed beef is “more beefy, or beefier.” A restaurant bought my beef and it was served to us in a “special cutting” in 3 courses. One was a beef fritter, then we got beef tar tar, and then the wonderful beef filet. I am new to the raising of beef and decided I was going Grass Fed and Grass Finished all the way. I had never eaten it before that I know of and was a little scared at first.
If people want to try it before they buy it, they might try finding a restaurant that serves it. The taste of grass fed beef can vary from region to region. I love the website http://www.eatwild.com and I have learned a lot from them that site as well. Thanks for referencing them.
Sincerely,
Lisa Wilcox
(twitter user name: Grass_Fed_Beef_ )
Lynn
said,
November 9, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I love your site. I checked in on your old blog from blogger and was redirected to here. I absolutely love what you are doing here. I am on this same journey and going for the same healthier alternatives. I am looking for a beef farm local to start purchasing more natural meat. Wal-Mart has started stocking some healthier grass fed ground beef but it’s way expensive. About how much was your meat so I can have something to base it off of? How can I follow your site and all this wonderful info?
My best, Lynn