Grass or Grain Fed, How Feed Affects Meat + How Mycotoxins Affect the Liver
There seems to be a lot of fuss these days about grass fed or grain fed beef. Is there really a difference between the two? Is it just marketing? What about flavor? We dug into the literature to find out.
Also, one of our subscribers asked about recipes for elevated liver enzymes and we were surprised to learn that even small doses of mycotoxins can cause liver damage. Yet another reason to avoid kibble long-term.
Before that here are this weeks recipes:
What exactly do cows eat?
Cows are ruminants. Ruminants chew and digest grasses, then regurgitate semi-digested food called cud. The cud is then chewed some more and then swallowed again. Their stomachs have four compartments that allow special bacteria to ferment the grasses and turn it into protein.
Itโs likely that cows were domesticated for this exact reason. During lean times, cows can can sustain people by eating grass that people (and dogs) canโt digest and turn it into milk, cheese and meat. In fact, nearly every type of ruminant protein production produces more protein than they consume. See this study from France. This Australian study claims grain-finished beef produces about 2-times the amount of human edible protein it consumes, while grass-finished beef produces almost 1600-times the amount of human edible protein it consumes. On top of that the protein cows consume is typically low quality. The protein from dairy and beef is super high-quality.
Grass vs grain โfedโ beef
Grasses are the main food of all ruminants, so pretty much every cow eats more grass in their lifetime than grain. Milk producing cows are often supplemented with grain because itโs more calorically dense. Grain-fed beef actually means โgrain-finished.โ In other words, cows are fed grass and hay for most of their lives and then fed a supplement of grains only for the last 60-90 days to fatten them up for slaughter.
Grass-finished beef, on the other hand, continuously eats grass during the finishing process. Because grass is less calorically dense than grains, this process is slower and more expensive. Only about 5% of the cattle in the United States is grass-finished. If you buy grass-finished beef in the U.S. there is a good chance itโs imported.
Because technically all beef is โgrass-fed,โ some producers are calling their meat grass-fed and grain-finished, which can be misleading to consumers.
Itโs also important to note that there are no regulations for using the term โgrass fedโ on product labels. Prior to 2016 when the program was revoked, the USDA administered a certification program for โUSDA Grass-fedโ beef which, similar to certified organic, outlined requirements for producers to use the grass-fed label.ย Since the removal of that program, there are no longer any regulations for producers to follow to label beef as grass-fed.ย
University of Montana
Because there are no certifications, even products labeled 100% grass-fed could potentially contain grain-fed beef. However, if you buy 100% grass-fed from a reputable brand the chances are good that the product is, in fact, grass-finished.
What does the research say about the differences?
There is a difference between grass fed and grain fed beef. One study we found used special light sensors to see if they could tell the difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef. Surprisingly they were able to identify the diet of cows with almost 90% accuracy just by shining special light on the meat and then measuring the light patterns.
A 2010 literature review of studies comparing the nutritional differences in grass-finished vs grain-finished beef concludes that grass-finished beef has a more favorable fat profile. It is leaner than grain-finished beef and has a n-3 to n-6 ratio (ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids) that is preferred by the nutritional community. Furthermore, grass-finished beef is found to be higher in vitamin E and vitamin A content and also higher in anti-oxidants.
Conversely, grain-finished beef is traditionally considered to be more pleasant tasting and usually has more marbling which makes it more tender and juicier. The researchers conclude that todayโs beef, regardless of feeding strategy, all can be used interchangeably with fish or skinless chicken to improve lipid profiles in people.
Our Conclusion
Grass-fed beef is great, but if youโre on a budget, itโs probably not worth the added expense for you or your pups. Lipid profiles of food can be enhanced with fish oil, while vitamins E and A are plentiful in sunflower seeds and carrots for example.
Elevated Liver Enzymes
One of our social media followers messaged about recommendations for elevated liver enzymes. Since we arenโt healthcare professionals we donโt give medical advice, but when she told us she fed kibble we werenโt surprised.
As weโve discussed before, mycotoxins are high in most commercial dog foods. According to a 1985 study on mycotoxins, only a very small amount of mycotoxins are capable of causing liver damage. According to a more recent study even small doses, fed for a limited time, can affect liver function in pigs. See this post for more info on how prevalent mycotoxins are in animal feeds.
Kibble is great for what it does. If you are in need of quick food that has a long shelf life, it can sustain your pets. Itโs kind of like fast food, when youโre short on time and hungry it does the trick. But if you ate McDonaldโs every day your health will probably suffer (see Supersize Me). If youโre interested in the health of your pups there are definitely better options.
Thatโs all for this week.
All the best,
Joelle and the Precious Creatures Team