Grass-Fed Grass Finished Beef vs Grass-Fed Corn Finished Beef.
Is there a difference or is meat just meat? Short story? Yes, there are differences. Several differences.
Before we dive in, let’s cover the two types of grass-fed beef:
- Grass-fed grass-finished beef
- Grass-fed corn-finished beef
While all of our grass-fed cattle roam freely and enjoy grazing on Colorado’s finest grasses for the majority of their lives, when they are in their final 90 to 160 days, they are finished one of two ways.
One option is grass-finished, where they spend their last few months grazing on the pastures they were raised on.
Option two is where they are fed our homegrown corn to add additional weight. Unlike traditionally raised cattle, corn-finished cattle are not confined to tight spaces and still enjoy a quality life experience.
With corn-finished grass-fed beef, you can expect cuts with more similarity to traditional beef, but still enjoy many of the health benefits of grass-fed beef.
With grass-fed grass-finished beef, you can expect:
- Slightly more coarse due to an overall lighter weight
- Lower overall fat
- Less marbling
5 Reasons To Choose Grass-Fed Beef
Grass-fed beef has fewer calories.
Traditional cattle are raised on corn, soy, and other fattening foods to maximize the beef yield. A large portion of this additional weight is fat. Grass-fed beef naturally contains less fat and less calories.
Grass-fed beef has higher levels of CLA.
CLA, or conjugated-linoleic acid, has been shown to have many health benefits including the prevention of obesity, diabetes, and cancer, regulation of blood sugar, and a reduced risk of heart disease.
Grass-fed beef contains additional healthy fats.
Grass-fed beef contains up to 6x more healthy fats such as Omega-3 fatty acids than traditional beef. Omega 3 consumption has been linked to several health benefits such as:
- Decreased inflammation
- Increased mental well-being
- Lower blood pressure
- Preventing heart disease
Grass-fed beef is far more nutritious than traditional beef.
Twice the amount of lutein and beta-carotene, three times the amount of CLA, and up to four times the Omega-3 fatty acids. In just one grass-fed strip steak, you’ll be consuming:
- 49 g protein
- 45 mg omega-3 fatty acids
- 0.3 mg Riboflavin (16% DV)
- 14.3 mg Niacin (72% DV)
- 1.4 mg Vitamin B6 (70% DV)
- 28 mcg Folate (7% DV)
- 2.7 mcg Vitamin B12 (2.7% mcg)
- 1.5 mg Pantothenic Acid (15% mg)
- 139 mg Choline
- 16.3 mg Betaine
- 19 mg Calcium (2% DV)
- 4 mg Iron (22% DV)
- 49 mg Magnesium (12% DV)
- 454 mg Phosphorus (45% DV)
- 732 mg Potassium (21% DV)
- 118 mg Sodium (5% DV)
- 7.7 mg Zinc (52% DV)
- 45 mcg Selenium (64% DV)
Grass-fed beef is all natural.
No antibiotics. No hormones. This leads to cattle that are healthy and more resistant to the bacteria that make their way into your meat.