Benefits

The Advantages of Eating Beef Cut From Grass-Fed Cattle

Range West Beef

Not all meat is created equal.

Some people are under the illusion that red meat is bad for you, and more often than not, that is the case unfortunately. Today’s conventional red meat sold in grocers is typically filled with additional hormones, drugs, and artificial chemicals to assist in mass production and shorten the life span from when the cow is born to when it reaches the shelf.

Now that’s just sad, isn’t it? Range West Beef is a small diversified family farm raising commercial corn, alfalfa and mixed grass hay, and recently, wheat and soybeans. Our grass-finished animals are grazed on high-quality irrigated grass and legume pasture, and are fence line weaned for reduced stress. Most of our cattle reach processing weight and finish at about 24 months of age, but some will range in age from 20-29 months. Our target is that cattle would grade - high select to choice grade USDA. Animals are processed at Wahoo Locker, Wahoo, NE. This is a USDA inspected facility and all of our “Range West” branded products are USDA inspected.

Range West Beef

Fact: Red meat is one of the most nutritious foods you can eat.

For Starters

Health Benefits of Grass-Fed Beef

  • Nature’s perfect balance of (3/1) of polyunsaturated fats omega 6/3
  • 3x more omega-3 than grain-fed
  • Up to 5 times more CLAs than grain-fed
  • 2 x more beta-carotene
  • Fewer calories per serving, about 100 fewer
  • Less saturated fat
  • Lower risk of e-coli contamination

The Technical Stuff

Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acid is an essential fatty acid, which means we cannot produce it ourselves and must consume it for good health. Fish are a great source of omega-3, but mercury pollution has caused concern about potentially toxic levels building in people over time. Some plant foods, such as flax, have good levels of omega-3 but it is in the ALA form, which is converted poorly in humans. DHA and EPA are the forms that we need and it can be found in small quantities in grass-fed products. DHA is critical in brain function and development among other things. Omega-3 is an anti-inflammatory. Chronic inflammation is a factor in many diseases including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and auto-immune diseases such as arthritis. There is 3 times as much omega-3 in grass-fed as grain-fed but excessive, disease-causing omega-6 is reduced.

CLA

CLA, conjugated linoleic acid, has been shown to reduce tumor growth in lab animals and may be our best natural defender against cancer. Fear of fats in general, and animal fats in particular, may have reduced our intake of CLA and had a negative impact on cancer rates in the US. Studies have shown that women with higher levels of CLA in breast tissue have lower rates of breast cancer. CLA is also a powerful agent in building lean muscle mass. Grass-fed meats are a good source of natural CLA. Grass-fed has up to 5 times the CLA as grain-fed.

Beta Carotene

Beta carotene is an anti-oxidant important in cells natural defenses. Eating grass-fed meats is like increasing your servings of vegetables and decreasing your servings of grains. You are what your food eats.

Calories

How much nutrition is packed into the foods you eat? Beef is a nutritionally dense food. Grass-fed is even more nutritionally dense because there is more nutrition as outlined above yet it is lower in calories. The average American consumes 65 pounds of beef per year. Switching to grass fed beef will save over 17,500 calories per year and you won’t feel the need to replace them with junk food because you are getting the nutrition you need. Grass-fed meats are an excellent tool in the fight against obesity.