Environmental Benefits

Change to Grass-fed-Beef = Save the Environment?

You’re thinking how this can be true, right? Well, it is. Not only are there many health benefits to grass fed or pasture raised beef, there are also many environmental benefits too. Some of the environmental benefits have a lasting impact on a global scale, and some of the benefits improve the local conditions. Some of these advantages are obvious, but most are not.

Top 5 Environmental Advantages to American Grass Fed Beef

1. Grazing cows can help to maintain the landscape.
2. Grass fed cattle promote a more sustainable agriculture.
3. Pasture raising cattle result in healthier (and more) animals (not just including cattle).
4. Organic beef ranching promotes cleaner water.
5. Grazing prevents soil erosion.

Pasture Raised Beef Animals + Grazing = Greener Grass

One practical environmental benefit to grass fed beef, is that with the help of the rancher, the cattle actually help maintain and enhance the prairie grass and farm landscape. If the cattle are rotated properly between pasture fields, they can actually help the grass to grow faster and to spread.

Spreading the Seeds:

Pasture cattle can take a barren (but grassy) field and turn it into a fertile area. How? Nearly everything about their grazing is beneficial. Even just by eating the grass they are helping it to grow.

You’re thinking this can’t be true, right?

Take a look:

A grazing cow eats the grass. --> The grass goes into the first chamber of its stomach and eventually gets regurgitated. The grass seeds get separated from the blades of grass. --> The seeds get blown away or directly implanted into the ground (the hoofs of the cow also help the grass to implant by pressing it into the ground).
 
It’s that simple. Grazing cows can help the grass grow just by eating it. But let’s not forget that if the cattle are grazed properly, they can also help the grass to grow with their natural fertilizer!  What’s great about their manure is that it doesn’t contain any chemicals from hormones, so it’s great for the environment.

Grass Raised Animals + Pasture = Sustainable Agriculture

I don’t want to bore you with the facts, but 60% of all the corn, and 50% of all total grains grown in the United States goes to feed livestock. So the next time you are driving down the interstate somewhere in the Midwest, think about how much of the grains we actually consume versus what is planted.

Imagine what the same boring Midwest drive would look like if we didn’t have to plant all of these crops to feed livestock. Instead of seeing corn in the summer and nothing but dirt in the winter, we would see grass.

Don’t get me wrong. We do need crops, but should we sacrifice our environment to plant them for animals, when there is a better alternative?

Grazing + Cattle = More Animals = Healthier Environment

Natural animals equal a healthier environment. Why?

Because doing what is natural for grass fed cattle meat is going to make healthier animals. If we could restore natural grasslands for cattle to graze on, we would be helping out other animals to live a healthier life.

Try to answer the following questions about the American grasslands:

• Can you name five animals that live in the American grasslands?  Did you name the coyote, red fox, badger, monarch butterfly, eagle, deer or prairie dog, or did you choose one of the hundreds of other animals?
• Can you name one animal that lives on the American grasslands that is endangered species? Answer: bison, black footed ferret or prairie chicken are three of the many endangered species.
• Can you name one animal that lives in a grain field? You can probably think of two: rats and mice, but there are a few others.

The point of this quiz is to show how many animals depend on grasslands to live. The size of the American grassland is decreasing for many reasons that really can’t be controlled. However, the growing of grains so that they can be conveniently fed to livestock is a controllable reason, and it is an irresponsible reason.
 
How can you help? Well, if you only want to do one thing it’s this: switch to fresh and tasty grass-fed beef. One person won’t make a difference, but if more and more consumers make the switch, the beef industry worldwide will be forced to explore organic grass fed beef.

Grass Fed Cattle = Cleaner Water

There are many pollutants that are filtered out of your water before you drink it. Some of these pollutants can’t be controlled, but most of them are the result of everyone trying to make the most profit right now. Let’s look at some of the water pollution that is caused by having thousands of cattle in one place.

The water cycle is a circle. If it rains, the water that goes into the ground goes with it, and eventually ends up in a river or lake. But not just water can flow into a lake.

Huge amounts of manure in one place leak into the ground soil and contaminate the water supply. Wait, you said that manure (in proper amounts) was good for the soil. Don’t worry, it is. But if you don’t use it properly, or if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will cause serious problems.

• Manure is naturally nutrient rich. If it gets into lakes or rivers, it will cause huge amounts of algae to grow. These algae can kill the fish, because they eat away the fish’s food source.
• The ammonia from the manure can combine with other chemicals – the result is acid rain. Acid rain also kills the fish in rivers and lakes (and ruins your paint job on your car).
• Chemicals, such as antibiotics and hormones, which are injected in grain fed cattle, have been found in lakes and rivers. These are the same hormones that are banned from meat in the European Union because they have been shown to cause cancer. Do you want these in your water?

How Can Switching to Organic Grass-fed Beef Help this Problem?

Certified organic beef meat ranchers use a more natural approach. The beef animals have to eat something, so they are given enough land to graze. If grazed properly, the soil can absorb their manure as a nutrient, not as waste.

Also, natural beef doesn’t use growth hormones on their cattle to accelerate growth. So the water (and the meat) will not be harmed by these dangerous chemicals!

Agriculture places a burden on the water supply in general, but pasture raised beef animals don’t overload the water cycle with waste and chemicals.

Organic Beef = Better Soil + More of It

Soil erosion is a major problem for farmers. Why is it a problem? What causes this problem? The problem is that the top layer (and most fertile layer) of soil will blow away if there is no ground cover on it.

How can we prevent soil erosion from happening? Of course one way is to plant grass that can be grazed on by animals such as Texas grass fed beef animals. If properly grazed, grass fed beef can decrease the amount of soil eroded. Because more pasture raised beef equals less grain that needs to be produced, you have even less erosion.

So pasture raising helps save the valuable top layer of soil, but it also helps to make the soil more fertile in two ways. First, it naturally fertilizes the soil with manure. Second, it allows the fields that would normally be planted to rest and regain their nutrients naturally.

It's really time to start shopping for healthy grass-fed-meats! Don't you agree?