A beef animal's diet has a huge influence on the nutrient content of the meat. A major benefit of raising animals on pasture is that their products are healthier for you.

 

Less Fat. Compared with grain-finished meat, meat from grass-fed cattle has less total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has more vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and health-promoting fats, including the heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid,” or CLA.

 

As an example, a sirloin steak from a grass fed steer has about one half to one third the amount of fat as a similar cut from a grain fed steer. To see a comparison of grass fed to grain fed beef and more detail on the topics below, see www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm

 

Healthy Fats. Omega-3s are called "good fats" because they play a vital role in every cell and system in your body. Of all the fats, Omega-3s are the most heart-friendly. People who have ample amounts of omega-3s in their diet are less likely to have high blood pressure or an irregular heartbeat. Grass fed meat gives you from two to six times more omega-3 fatty acids. 

 

Omega-3s are most abundant in seafood, nuts and seeds such as flaxseeds and walnuts, but they are also found in animals raised on pasture. The reason is simple. Omega-3s are formed in the chloroplasts of green leaves and algae. Sixty percent of the fatty acids in grass are omega-3s.

 

Most beef cattle are taken off omega-3 rich grass and shipped to feedlots to be fattened on grain, where they lose their store of this beneficial fat.

 

CLA Bonus. Meat and dairy products from grass-fed ruminant animals are the richest known source of another type of good fat called "conjugated linoleic acid" or CLA. When ruminants are raised on fresh pasture alone, their products contain from three to five times more CLA than products from animals fed conventional diets.

 

Weight Loss Grass fed meat has about the same amount of fat as skinless chicken, wild deer or elk. Switching from grain fed to grass fed meat is a healthy, natural way to lose weight. If you eat a typical amount of beef for Americans (66.5 pounds a year), switching to grass fed beef will save you 17,733 calories a year—without requiring any willpower or change in eating habits.  If everything else in your diet remains constant, you could loose about six pounds a year.