Food Label Series: Beef
Read the rest of the series here:
Where's the Beef?
How many people remember that Wendy's commercial? With the new plant based burgers and how beef is raised, this is a question worth asking.
I hope everyone has picked up on a couple of recurring themes in this series. It should be along the lines of the following:
(1)"You are eating WHATEVER the animal is eating"
(2) the less stress and anxiety the better for the animal
(3) you will be affected by the hormones and antibiotics that the animal is given. Thankfully that practice of giving extra hormones and antibiotics is slowly falling out of favor.
CERTIFIED Grass Fed: Absolutely one of the most important labels to look for when purchasing beef. This means the cattle was pasture raised, grass fed, without grains and animal byproducts. Some companies may call their product "grass fed" but do not adhere to all of the other restrictions.
Grass fed beef tends to be lower in calories and higher in antioxidants and nutrients. The beef is also higher in Omega 3 fatty acids because the cattle are consuming the grasses full of that! The downside is the price. Grains and corn fatten up the cattle faster and being grass fed takes longer for the animal to reach its processing weight. Some cattle start out as grass fed but are then moved to trough feeding to fatten up for sale and in turn can take up less room.
CERTIFIED Regenerative: This goes a step further and ensures that the animal is not only pasture raised grass fed, but is raised in a holistic "close-loop" system that is better for the animal.
USDA Organic: Animal feed must be 100% organically produced without synthetic fertilizers, industrial pesticides or animal byproducts.
Animal Welfare Approved: the most stringent standards for animal welfare. These standards were developed by AGW (A Greener World) in collaboration with scientists, researchers, veterinarians and farmers. Farmers and ranchers are required to meet these standards in order to be certified.
NON-GMO: The beef and its feed were not produced with GMOS in any way.
CERTIFIED Humane: Just the words " Humanely Raised" are not enough. It must have the certification. This label addresses animal welfare practices.
Natural: No clear standards, and yes we know it is a natural product.
No Antibiotics: Unfortunately, this is not always the case. One particular study found antibiotics in the urine of 15% of 600 cattle studied.
https://www.drovers.com/news/industry/beef-fails-antibiotic-free-test-new-study
(Side note: Antibiotics given in the prevention of disease in industrial farming have been blamed for the rise in antibiotic-resistant strains of disease. Because it takes more time and resources to raise cattle in a sustainable way to prevent disease and raise healthy animals, there is a financial incentive to commit fraud.)
Numbers: 85/15, or 93/7. Have you seen these numbers on the beef and didn't know exactly what they meant? The second number is the percentage of FAT in the beef. For example, the first reference means that there is 15% fat in this selection of beef.
Quality Grades: There are eight quality grades that have been used since 1927!
Prime- highest in quality, limited supply
Choice-high quality, usually in the food service and retail markets
Select-lowest grade commonly sold at retail, acceptable but less juicy and tender
Standard-lower quality yet economical
Commercial-low quality from older animals
Utility- low quality seldom sold at retail.. used for processed meats
Cutter-low quality seldom sold at retail.. used for processed meats
Canner-low quality seldom sold at retail.. used for processed meats.
I hope this helps! If you have any further questions or confusion, you can reach me at sherry@rippleeffecthealthcoach.com