Why Grassfed Beef?

  • It Tastes Good: Because animals raised on a natural diet in open pastures eat a variety of grasses and forages, the meat often has a rich palate of flavors.  Grass-fed meat is also usually dry-aged, which enhances both flavor and tenderness.
  • It’s Good for You: Meat from grass-fed beef, bison, lamb and goats has little total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and calories. It also has vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and a number of health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. All this can help to reduce cholesterol and the risk of diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure and other life-threatening diseases.
  • It’s Good for the Animals: Animals raised on wide open rangeland (in the Southwest, there is often 50-100 acres per cow!)  With plenty of room to roam, fresh air and a truly natural diet, cattle rarely get sick, which negates the need for antibiotics.  And most farmers and ranchers who raise grass-fed livestock do not treat their livestock with hormones or feed them growth-promoting additives. As a result, the animals grow at a natural pace.
  • It’s Good for the Land: Providing a nutritious and natural diet requires healthy soil and careful pasture management so that the plants are maintained at an optimal stage of growth. Because high-quality pasture is the key to high-quality animal products, good land stewardship is a must. The vast livestock ranges of the Southwest also provide critical open-space, habitat and migration corridors for wildlife.  Most grass-fed producers practice holistic land management strategies, which store significant amounts of water and carbon in the soil, where it is most beneficial
 
 
IMG_4612.JPG
 

Long Term Effects of Grass Fed-Beef

When you purchase meat, eggs, and dairy products from grass-fed animals, you support a healthy and viable local food system which is less energy dependent and which builds community by establishing connections between the producer and the consumer. You help small-scale ranchers and farmers make a living from the land, who can continue to supply families with healthy wholesome products while keeping the land open to a host of wildlife species.

 

Further info on benefits to be found on the SWGLA website