Written By: Elsie Velazquez Cert. Personal Trainer Prescription Fitness (Cleveland, Ohio)

Organic and grass-fed beef and dairy products are now available at most supermarkets, which I think is a change for the better. When you see the organic label, you know the food is going to be free of pesticide residues, synthetic hormones, genetically modified organisms, and a long list of questionable additives.   If you see a grass-fed label, you know it came from cows exclusively fed grass, hay and forage. No grains should have been included in the mix. It is possible, however, that pesticides were used on the grasses or hay, and it’s also possible that cows were given antibiotics or hormones. So…grass-fed does not translate into organic.  

When choosing what kind of beef/dairy products to buy, it is good to keep in mind that grass-fed beef/dairy does have many of the benefits of organic beef/dairy, simply as side effects to raising their cattle on a pasture.  Because the cows are in their natural habitat, their lives are more humane, less stressful, and much more sanitary, which means their immune systems are under less pressure, don’t require artificial assistance, and their meat is much less likely to be contaminated with diseases like E. Coli. If antibiotics are used on grass-fed cattle, it’s only when they are actually sick, not constantly like feed-lots have to use them. Cows eat all kinds of plants on the pasture, including weeds, so it doesn’t make sense to spray their pastures full of herbicides. Pastures are essentially wild, with plenty of help from cow manure, so pesticides and artificial fertilizers are really unnecessary. While grass-fed, non-organic beef may be exposed to more chemicals than organic, it’s certainly cleaner than conventional beef.

Another thing to consider when deciding on purchasing organic or grain-fed beef/dairy is the fact that Organic Certification is very costly to attain.  It involves extensive record keeping, proving that your land has not been exposed to artificial chemicals, that the living conditions of the animals meet certain standards, and that everything you feed the cattle also comes from a certified organic source. It also means paying a USDA official to come and double check your work every year.  There are a lot of small grass-fed cattle farmers who really care about quality and raise their animals under conditions that would be certified as organic but do not have the label simply because they cannot afford it.  Grass-fed beef/dairy certification, on the other hand, is a very simple label to regulate; either you feed the animals grass or you don’t.

Bottom line is that just because a grass-fed steak is not certified organic does NOT necessarily mean that it’s of poorer quality.  What you should keep in mind before making a purchase, is that whether you go with grass-fed or organic, you’ll be taking a step towards improving your health.

If you need more information about grass-fed versus organic, please feel free to contact the Prescription Fitness team at info@prescription-fitness.com.

Red and white beef cow looking at camera in field on sunny day

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