grass fed products are premium for valid reasons.

Grass fed products: nutritional powerhouse or marketing gimmick?

Grass fed products are widely popular now. But very few of us know the unique qualities of grass-fed foodstuffs. These products are costly enough and not always available easily. But before you buy grass fed products, don’t you think you have all the right to know why these products are a lifestyle choice?

Obviously, you do, and let’s start from here about grass fed products and related more insights.

What is meant by grass-fed?

Grass fed products are unique in product category. It is applicable to meat and dairy products mainly.  The category is decided on the diet of the animals. Be it grass-fed beef or grass-fed ghee, the animals are fed with grass around the year and raised on green pastures with ample freedom and not in captivity. It is scientifically proven that nutrients available from natural grasses can improve the quality of meat and cow milk, so are grass fed products.

Dairy grass fed products from grass-fed cow milk are more nutrient-packed than grain-fed cow’s milk. It is globally observed that grass fed products contain lower fat levels and higher volumes of antioxidants and vitamins: grass-fed cow milk is no exception to this rule.

However, there is a marked difference between grass fed products and organic products. Certified organic animal products help lower the risk of adulterated feed by barring hazardous pesticides. They also typically have a higher nutrient count and quality because of the variances in organic ground cover.

But organic certification does not promise a natural lifestyle or specific diet for the animals involved in farming. Concurrently, not all grass-fed animals are raised on organic farms, meaning all grass fed products are not necessarily organic.

The Scope of Grass Feeding

When discussing the typical grass feeding arrangement of cattle, we mention a group of ruminants. These are some specific animals that usually graze and browse, which means that these animals mostly eat grasses and whatsoever twigs and leaves they get in access in a pasture setting.

The quality of life and overall health of pasture-raised cattle largely depends on free access to pasture, fresh air, and a superior-quality diet of greens. Beef cattle and dairy cows comprise the most ruminant population, but bison, sheep, and goats are also included.

The benefits of grass fed products:

• Diet: All grass-fed animals are only raised in natural grass pastures.
• Treatment: Animals can browse rather than stay captivated in restricted living spaces.
• Antibiotics and hormones: All grass fed products like meats and dairy products are guaranteed antibiotic and growth hormone free.
• Origin: All animals are born and maintained on family farms maintaining grooming quality and stringent dietary standards.

The Essentials of a Grass-Fed Animal Diet

According to the New Zealand dairy industry convention, grass-fed animals may eat:

• Both annual and perennial diversities of grass.
• Forbs talk about herbaceous flowering plants, such as legumes and brassica.
• By browsing, they can get to eat leaves and twigs.
• Certain cereal grain crops are added to the diet, but only while they are put in their pre-grain, vegetative state.
• Silage is the special grass and other greens harvested, stored in an airtight container without drying, and fermented for cattle feed.
• Crop residue short of grain and other fiber sources
• Grass-fed animals may also obtain routine vitamin and mineral supplementation.

What is the difference between ‘grass-fed,’ ‘100% grass-fed and ‘Certified Grass-Fed Organic’ products?

Often you see the “grass-fed” label on dairy products packages in the store. It is clearly stated that some of the animals’ diets are collected from fresh pasture or dried grasses like hay. In addition, all certified organic cows are mostly grass-fed in common sense because the National Organic Program demands that organic cows receive at least 30% of their diet from pasture throughout the grazing season.

Recently, a new Certified Grass-Fed Organic Livestock Program was introduced in early 2019, which is supposed to go a long way toward clearing up the discrepancies so that consumers can remain confident about the true meaning of the word “grass-fed” when seen on an organic product.

Until the Certified Grass-Fed Organic Dairy seal begins showing up on organic milk later in 2019, when you see “100% grass-fed” on some dairy products like ghee, cheese, or yogurt, you can trust that it indicates that all of the cow’s nutrition has come from fresh grasses, dried and stored forages, and a small number of supplements like molasses. This applies to the year-round diet, whether in summer or winter.

Does “grass-fed” mean the same as “pasture-raised”?

In general, “Pasture-raised” describes the complete values of ethical dairy farming, which includes free raising animals without captivity on pasture, where they enjoy the fresh air and olive sunshine and can display regular cow behaviors, which embrace eating pasture grasses. “Pasture-raised” also includes high standards for humane rights animal care and offering cattle good living conditions.

Compared to pasture-raised, “grass-fed” defines what the cows eat or their diet. All the cows are “grass-fed” in the broad sense as certified organic cows are supposed to get a share of their diet from pasture, but only few of them are “100% grass-fed”, as their complete diet comes from green pasture grass.

What Are the Benefits of Grass Fed Products?

Grass fed products are considered superior quality food items because of certain health benefits they offer consumers. Read here some of the obvious benefits of grass fed products.

Improved omega-3 fatty acid: A study published in Food Science & Nutrition compared the quantity of omega-3 fatty acids in three milk types: grass-fed, conventional, and organic. Researchers collected more than 1,000 milk samples from grass-fed cows for three years and compared it to the data collected from a similar study of conventional and organic milk.

The results showed that the milk collected from grass-fed cows had 147% more omega-3s, which is useful for fighting tenderness and heart disease and promoting brain health. It is better than conventional milk, and grass-fed milk offers a better health advantage of 52% more than organic milk.

Omega-3 fatty acids, such as ALA, EPA, and DHA, are polyunsaturated fats that the body needs by cannot produce and, therefore, need to be obtained through eating only. These essential nutrients prevent and manage heart disease.

Our body uses ALA for energy and the other two Omega-3s, EPA and DHA. EPA makes sure that our inflammatory system functions properly by allowing the cells to signal and communicate, and it can reduce the risk of excessive inflammation. DHA ensures that our nervous system functions well.

Happy cow offers better milk quality: “Grass-fed cow dairy is originated from the happy cows that have browsed in pastures year-round, which includes the winter and early spring,” says Sharif Ramadan, Head of Brands at NFPC.  He added, “Animals are free to roam in the open fields to graze all year round, including the spring, summer, and early autumn. This brings them from enjoying their usual free browsing and grazing habits to what their true nature is, and they turn out to be happier than the animals in captivity.

Supply of CLA: According to research, we should find ourselves in getting at least 75mg of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) from an 8-ounce portion of grass-fed cow’s milk.

CLA is a short form of conjugated linoleic acid, a fat linked with many positive health benefits. The amount of CLA available in grass fed products get increased based on the cow’s diet of fresh grasses. CLA offers better immunity and inflammatory support, improved bone mass, takes care of blood sugar regulation, helps reduce body fat, minimizes the risk of heart attack, and aids in maintaining lean body mass. Researchers have started to look into CLA as a reducer of cancer and tumor risk, although this is not yet well-researched.

Beta-carotene:  Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that can protect cells from the harmful effect of free radical damage to DNA. Beta-carotene is being researched as a possible cancer-prevention support agent. Beta-carotene becomes a potential malignance fighter when coupled with vitamin E.

Products from grass-fed animals (like beef and ghee) tend to be leaner with less fat content. Nutritionists have already declared that all fats are not that bad for health. The body needs and even craves some “good fats” to get it. These grass fed dairy products are richer in omega-3 fats, beta-carotene, and CLA.

Benefits of Grass-Fed clarified Butter.

Clarified butter or ghee Butter contains loads of saturated fats. If we consider grass-fed products like beef as leaner than their grain-fed equivalent, grass-fed clarified butter is almost a pure dairy fat, so grass-feeding neither lowers the fat nor affects the caloric content.

What grass-feeding enhances for grass fed products like clarified butter is to make it richer in power and more nutritious.

Grass-fed clarified butter or ghee is found to be richer in fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins, such as:

• Vitamin A strengthens the teeth, skeleton mucus membranes, and skin. This promotes good vision, low-light vision, and increased endocrine system functioning.
• Vitamin E is identified as an antioxidant to shield the cells from recurring free radical damage.
• Vitamin K2 can improve heart health by keeping calcium left over out of the arteries.
• Butyric acid is an anti-inflammatory fatty acid that can help with heart health and maintain a healthy colon.
• Arachidonic Acids (ARA) promote cell signaling function to help increase immune responses in the human body.
• Like many grass-fed products, grass-fed clarified butter is higher in CLA than its traditional alternative, especially when it is extracted from the animals nourished by fresh grasses from the pasture in the diet.

Pros and Cons of Eating Grass Fed Products

The pros and cons of eating grass fed products are interesting enough. Grass fed products are undeniably better doe consumers. They contain enlarged amounts of Omega-3 fatty acids, CLAs, and Beta-carotenes. They also offer vitamins and nutrients that usually come from eating greens.

By most reports, grass-fed cattle and dairy cows are measured as happier since they do not suffer from the problem of captivity or the common diseases that often come from grain feeding.

Cons

The major drawback of eating grass fed products like meat is the same issue that torments the beef industry. Methane releases from cattle are counted as greenhouse gases that are polluting the environment and contributing to climate change to a large extent. And the demand for beef offsets the production capability of pasture-raising farmhouses.

But we can happily conclude that this con may affect beef eaters, not grass-fed dairy consumers. Let’s summarize what makes grass fed products promising for us.

Grass-fed products: food for a better future

Factory farming is damaging our planet, and accordingly, it is divining our natural resources, too, without much strain. Corn, the main grain fed to feedlot cattle, may need vast amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, and the use of fossil fuels in its production.

To put all these into count, David Pimentel, an Ecology professor at Cornell University, has stated that “to make the fertilizer to grow the corn to feed just one feedlot steer for its short life (14-16 months) takes about 284 gallons (1,075L) of oil; a massive drain on a finite natural resource.

Heavily subsidized, corn is a cheap grain that allows for the quick fattening of cattle without considering the larger picture of what it is doing to our planet”.

Grass-fed is the healthy way! Cattle that do not get their food from quality-compromised cheap corn do not have the same ecological impact that factory-farmed captive cattle do, and the difference makes them healthier than their captive siblings.  

If we wish to stay healthy regarding our food, we need to take care of what we are having and how we are taking care of our health. Grass fed products are one of the ways to stay healthy inside and outside.

Grass-fed products: benefits of the animals

Grass-fed cows, conversely, are allowed to graze in open pastures on a diet that nourishes them instead of distressing them, resulting in healthier cows that don’t require antibiotics to keep them healthy.

The amount of grass a grass-fed cow consumes may vary based on the country and region in which the dairy farm is located. So, the benefits of grass-fed farming for animals are 3 benefits.

1. Happier Animals – Permitted to wander free in a natural environment for a lifetime, grass-fed animals enjoy a natural diet, fresh air, sunlight, and rain.
2. Healthier Animals – offering grass-fed animals with plenty of space, which reduces stress levels and keeps them neutrally healthy
3. Respect and Integrity – Grass-fed animals enjoy minimal human touch points– this aids them in remaining happy and living their lives with joy.

Grass-fed farming: welfares for environment 

Grass-fed cows can graze in open pastures on a diet that nourishes them instead of upsetting them. This results in healthier cows that don’t require supportive doses of antibiotics to retain their health and immunity.

Cramped into small coops, often not even bigger than they are, manure mashes at the cattle’s feet while given a  diet that causes digestive upset, and illness often makes these animals stressed and unhappy. Coupled with strain and nearness to disease, it is no wonder these cows lead unhappy and undernourished lives.

The grass-fed cow’s volume of grass may vary based on the country and province in which the farm is situated. In North America, specifically in the Northeastern United States and in Canada, grass-fed dairy cows are fed a minimum of 75% grass to ensure the general health and well-being of the animals are well maintained.  

Due to the average climate challenges worldwide, grass-fed cows are fed a diet rich in grass to ensure they can endure healthy energy levels and produce healthy grass-fed milk. The concept of grass-fed products are about a healthy and naturally nutritious food concept for a better lifestyle.

Conclusion

We can safely conclude that Grass fed products have some definite health advantages. Following this dictum, grass-fed clarified butter is better than normal dairy butter. The science behind grass-fed butter is simple: cows consume grass, their natural diet, and produce milk with a better scale of nutrients. It’s now logical to go for grass fed dairy products. It’s worth including in your daily diet.

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Ref Links:
1. Organic ghee
2. Organic clarified butter