Ground Beef | Grass fed vs Grain fed beef vs Local beef | Health benefits

Ground Beef | Grass fed vs Grain fed beef vs Local beef | Health benefits
Ground beef is one of the most versatile, economical, and nutrient-dense foods for us to consume. Many factors go into the seemingly dull staple, so I am comparing and contrasting three different ones.
There are many different lenses to look through in the comparisons, and I cannot address them all here.
I went to Walmart and bought two pounds. One was the most common and economical, and the other I would have bought if I didn't have local meat available.
1. Regular ground beef
a. 73/27 Lean/fat blend
b. $4.47 lb, the least expensive package not in a roll
c. Origin - Who knows
2. Grass-fed and finished
a. 90/10 lean/fat blend
b. $5.98 lb
c. Origin - Not sure
3. Local Grassfed and finished
a. 90/10 lean/fat blend
b. $9 lb
c. Atkins, Arkansas - Hoien Farms
In preparing for this presentation, the first challenge I encountered was the need for more transparency about where the beef was coming from. As I dove deeper into my research, it became even more confusing. Imported beef can be labeled as a product of the USA, even though the cattle never lived in the country. For example, a cow raised in Brazil can be processed and sent to the USA for packaging and labeled as "Grass-fed and Grass-finished" with USDA Inspected labels.
I have nothing against imported beef. Many countries have exceptional husbandry standards. However, I want to know the source of my food and believe we should feed ourselves.
Finding the origin source of regular ground beef can be even more concerning. It usually comes from the commodity market and almost certainly from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), where livestock is raised in varying degrees of confinement in a factory-type system, leading to high-volume production. Farmers and ranchers sell their calving operations into the commodity market.
#sowingprosperity #meandmcgeemarket #groundbeef #grassfedmeat #grainfedbeef #localbeef #healthbenefits #healthandwellness
Feeder cattle are weaned calves that weigh between 600 and 800 pounds. They are then fed a high-energy diet in a feedlot to promote weight gain, and when they reach a weight of about 1,200 to 1,400 pounds, they are slaughtered to produce beef.
I have discovered that even one pound of ground beef can come from many cattle. The price of commodity beef is highly correlated to the cost of feed, which is made from corn, soy, and wheat.
The most expensive meat is locally raised grass-fed and finished beef from small markets like ours, but it offers the most transparency and keeps the most money in the local economy.
For example, with Hoien beef, I can trace the product from the burger back to the farming family that raised the cattle, the processing facility, and all of the $9 spent by the consumer stays within an 80-mile stretch along I-40.
In many instances, especially on our partner farm, the animals live their entire lives in one place which is a stark contrast to commodity beef.
Everyone has different taste preferences, but I personally prefer grass-fed beef. However, some people may find it too "dry." I cook our ground beef in tallow or ghee, which adds fat and flavor, giving it a richness, but without the gamey taste sometimes associated with venison.
Local ground beef also has a distinct advantage in scent, as it does not have an unpleasant odor, unlike store-bought beef, even the grass-fed variety. The grass-fed in our experience, has a rich smell but in a pleasantly savory way. The color of the meat is also a stark contrast, but I am becoming wary of relying on color as additives can be deceptive.
There are many differences, and the visuals are telling.
Hopefully, these comparisons give you some
information to the best choice for you.
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Located just outside of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Me & McGee Market provides an outlet for local farmers and producers. In a relaxing environment, Arkansas products can be found such as meats such as grass-fed beef, buffalo, pork, lamb, and poultry. As well as, plants, eggs, honey, fresh produce, spices, jams, and jellies! As an extension of these farmers and artisans, we cherish the retail responsibility of our partnerships, especially interacting and connecting with customers.
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[@jaialai3257]

In the past couple of years I've thrown away more ground beef than I've eaten; it either has an unpleasant odor or it feels waterlogged. Does the pre packaged grass fed ground beef have a gamey taste?

[@SowingProsperity]

I haven’t found anything that compares to locally raised and processed beef. I’ve not found it to have a gamey taste. I won’t eat meat from a big box store anymore. I agree completely.

[@loganduvall5529]

Not that I've experienced.

[@mst3ksanta]

you can search up all meats that are store bought to see where they come from and were packaged. That way you'll know if it was moved across the country before being placed on the shelf. some times the meat is moved back and forth to be butchered, packaged, then placed on a shelf. I don't remember the process. I had to call the usda (i think) and talk to a nice guy. the lady that i talked to didn't know anything and hung up on me twice. I asked to be instructed on how to search up the place the meat was butchered so I can know if It's more local or has been shipped all over the place or is meat from another country. You can also use this search to know if there's been a recall on any meats. Thinkin back it might not have been the usda but some other organization. I know that not all labels had the info for a search but some did. It depended on if they used their processing plants or whatever.

[@mst3ksanta]

www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/establishments/meat-poultry-and-egg-product-inspection-directory this looks extremely familiar but I can't find the search for the proper est/mfg whatever code thing

[@mst3ksanta]

www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/fsis-inspected-establishments this is it!! pretty sure. there's a search in the middle left under advanced search

[@SowingProsperity]

Thank you!

[@SowingProsperity]

Appreciate your insight!

[@J_Chap]

The one thing you did not comment on was the smell. I can tell a huge difference between the regular store bought ground beef and the Grass Fed/Grass Finished ground beef, and the farm raised. I just recently bought beef from our local Yoder's Meats. The regular store bought ground beef literally turns my stomach. The smell is horrific! We ate it for years without even noticing it. But, once I switched to the Grass Fed/Grass Finished and had been eating it for several years then I went to see my son and he was cooking the regular store bought beef and I nearly threw up from the smell, it was that bad. This is my first month buying locally raised processed beef. We tried it yesterday and it smelled delicious. It wasn't even the grass fed/ grass finished beef, but, it was very clean with no antibiotics or hormones and it was very good. I didn't see much difference between the Aldi grass fed/grass finished and what I bought from Yoders. Here is my question. I grew up on farm raised beef that my grandparents raised and took to the locker for processing. That meat was greyish in color, not red and not bloody. Beef you buy, even the beef from Yoders is red in it. I know from growing up around farmers meat off the farm does not have that. I was expecting the meat from Yoders to look like the beef from the farm that I grew up on, but, it did not. I know when meat is packaged from the farm they put chemicals in it to make it look like it is bloody and fresh. You did not touch on this in this video either. I was very surprised when I opened the Yoders meat and was cooking the hamburgers red liquid squirted out. I dabbed it on a white paper towel. It was bright red, which blood is not even bright red and suspect it has the same chemicals in it as the store bought meat. I wish I could find meat that is not treated with that red stuff in it. I was very disappointed to see it in the Amish store's meat.

[@SowingProsperity]

I covered the smell in the video in minutes 3 and 4. In these specific ones, there was no smell with the commercial samples. I was surprised by that. The local had the strongest smell but was pleasant. There is a water buffalo farm tour and meat processor in the second half of the video that goes into what you're speaking of on the chemical and much more. kzbin.info/www/bejne/baqZYpSZn8Ssf9Esi=7YYiTaPF42T2wSg_

[@maddytoy7000]

Great presentation! Are you available for hire for cookouts?

[@SowingProsperity]

I can give some great recommendations 😉

[@OneStrangeJourney]

Umm so which was which? When they tasted?

[@SowingProsperity]

They are in the same as cooking - commercial, commercial grassfed then local. Sorry we didn’t identify better.

[@elisewuelling9159]

Ty for the presentation you said local is more expensive how expensive exactly?

[@SowingProsperity]

There is a full breakdown in the video description :) Ranges are from $4 to 9

[@engineking777]

2-5 dollars more per lb. its expensive, but worth it.

[@mst3ksanta]

5 dollars for decent ish meat from walmart but you can't ask what process and such the cow has had. and 6.50 for local 100% grass fed around here. and it's a pick up at the farm. you can also guy unpasteurized milk. meaning it has nutrients. a lot of the milk in the store is heated and dried to be a powder and then sold for whatever purpose is needed THEN it's mixed with water to make milk. . . So you don't get any nutrition. just low quality dairy sugars, fats, and proteins. IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE IT IS CHEAP. you get to live longer, increased quality of life and you don't need to buy as much food to get full when it's fresh and has more nutrition in it.