Give Up Eating Beef (Unless It's Grassfed Beef)

Photo: Ron Chapple Stock / Istock

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There is good news for those who want to be green, but don't want to give up the occasional burger or steak for a leafier plate of food. A little over three years ago, the USDA defined "grassfed" as a new kind of meat, one that provides a better life to cattle, less environmental pollution and, often, a healthier cut of meat. Grass-fed beef cows are raised on a diet of nothing but their mother's milk and grass, which provides a more natural growth for the cow and makes the meat more nutritious—with around 10 times more beta-carotene, three times more Vitamin E and three-times more omega-3 fatty acids. That said, beef is still higher in saturated fats than other proteins.

Currently, most cows are fed a grass diet temporarily before being confined and switched over to a diet of grain coupled with hormones to speed up growth and strength. This unnatural diet, coupled with cramped conditions on feedlots, can lead to disease-spreading E. coli bacteria building up in their guts. E. coli is a leading cause of food-borne illness, and frequently prompts large recalls of beef and other meats.

By eating only grass-fed beef, you are choosing a more humanely raised animal, allowed to grow at its own pace and with little worry about disease running rampant. The only downside is that due to the slow pace of keeping cows on this diet, it's tough for producers of grassfed beef to keep up with demand for the larger retail markets, which means prices are often significantly higher than for comparable cuts of beef. The American Grassfed Association recommends going straight to the producer and provides a convenient list by state for you to start researching how fast you can make the switch to a greener beef.

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