This is a challenge for most areas of North America, and, we worry that we are heading for a future in which cattle are “finished” - fattened - with a grass-based feed, in a similar manner as a factory farm, that is a majority grass in pellet form with the potential for the inclusion of grain, corn, and soy.įor us, we believe that true grass-finishing through grazing not only makes the best tasting, tender beef, but also the most delicious. The best way for that to happen is for cattle to graze on pasture.
When a consumer buys grass-fed beef, the belief is that the product they are purchasing comes from cattle raised on a pure grass and forage diet. This is why, at ButcherBox, we emphasize that our meat is grass-fed AND grass-finished. Grass-fed beef comes from cattle that have only grazed on pasture, have never been fed grain or corn feed, and have eaten natural grasses its entire life. We’ve written before about some of the misleading marketing that occurs in the beef industry with the mislabelling of beef as grass-fed, even when it may have been “grain-finished” in a factory-farm. Which is why beef that is “grass-finished” importantly comes into play. factory farming system in which the animals are fed grains, corn, and other foods not natural to their diet.Īnd while grass-fed beef has arisen as a healthier, leaner, and more humane alternative to the standard beef you can find at the grocery store, there is not really a clear understanding - or regulatory oversight - as to what exactly qualifies as 100 percent grass-fed beef.
It is an image that has been connected to the beef purveyors and ranchers well before the current era of grass-fed being a term of differentiation between pasture-raised cattle and those coming out of the U.S. For most, it elicits the idea of an idyllic cow on the range eating natural grass.
The term “grass-fed,” as it applies to beef, has been in use for quite a while. What is Grass-Finished Beef and Why Does It Matter