I never understood what is the difference between grass-fed and regular meat besides the price being extraordinary High. I don’t understand if you are supposed to eat meat with fat why does it matter if it’s grass-fed or not. I have kept up with the grass-fed meat but it’s very expensive. I do notice a huge difference in taste. The problem is between a grass-fed steak versus a regular steak the price difference is about 4 to $5. That doesn’t sound like a lot for one but if you do that in a month you’ll see the big difference and price. Keto kind of expensive
Grass-fed vs. Regular meat
anon2571578
#3
Buy what you can afford. There may be more soluble vitamins in grass-fed animals, but you can absolutely do well and lose weight eating grain-fed. Don’t let anyone pressure you into only buying grass-fed.
PrimalBrian
#4
True.
Google CAFO (Centralized Agricultural Feed Operations), then visit https://www.whiteoakpastures.com/meet-us/animal-welfare/. There’s your price difference. For some people, the differences between how CAFO meat is raised and how pastured/grassfed beef and chicken are raised is worth the difference. Another reason people are OK with paying more for grassfed is to support local, smaller farmers versus the “big box” mechanical meat processing industry.
Another reason I choose grassfed when I can afford it is because some believe that the antibiotics given to cows are concentrated and stored in the fat deposits, so the fattier piece of conventional meat you eat, the more you get yourself. For some, this is a big deal. It doesn’t bother others.
anon13588705
#6
Lectins.
The people for whom it is really important and makes a difference to debilitating GI problems and pain levels are those who are lectin sensitive or allergic.
They can’t eat grain fed meat and have to stick to grass fed (or not eat meat).
CarlKeller
(Carl Keller)
#7
You’ve heard the saying “you are what you eat”. Well, we are also what our dinner ate too. If an animal has a healthy diet, those vitamins and minerals trickle down to us when we eat them.
Like @anon2571578 says, “buy what you can afford”. As long as you are eating ketogenically, you are eating way better than you used to and way better than 90% of the population. I do buy some grass fed meats but not all the time.
Funny thing happened last week at the restaurant where I work. A waitress comes to me and says a guest asked her if we have grass fed chickens. Now we do use grass fed beef but the image of chickens mowing my lawn made me laugh.
ChrisW
#10
Believe it or not, it is a thing-
"Our All Natural 100% Free Ranging Pasture Raised Grass fed and Grass Finished Chickens are Non GMO, Soy Free, Free Corn, Gluten Free, sustainably, humanely and responsibly raised on our family farm pastures.
Our poultry flocks are never given any hormones or antibiotics, and they live on pesticide, insecticide and chemical free grassy pastures where they hunt, peck, scratch and eat grasses, wees, flowers, bugs grubs and anything else out there that peaks their fancy. They do that freely day and night protected by their very own Maremmas, which are their Livestock Guardian Dogs who protect them from predators."
4dml
#11
Like anything else (ie. cellphones, furniture, cars, clothing, musical instruments), high quality cost more. As @PrimalBrian and @CarlKeller have said, there are real differences between organic, grass fed cows from a local rancher and cows from a corporate feedlot. Nevertheless, don’t let the inability to achieve the ideal discourage you from achieving the good enough.
One way to reduce cost is decrease the amount of meat consumed. A HFLC diet doesn’t need to be high in protein. I typically eat 2-3 lbs of animal protein a week. I get additional protein from another 1 lb of nuts and seeds. I aim to get roughly 25% of my calories from protein.
Another way to reduce cost and increase quality is to eat local. When we lived in Georgia, we got deer and ducks from hunters. We bought eggs and chicken directly from farmers. Now we live in a fishing community. You can probably guess what are primary “meat” is.
A third way to reduce cost and increase quality is to buy the whole animal. Admittedly, a cow is complicated and expensive due to the volume of meat it yields. We’re likely going to buy one this year and split it among 3 other families. But other animals are easier- pig, goat, and lamb are a lot less intimidating while still providing a significant amount of meat. If doing this, chest freezers are a cheap and worthwhile investment.
Meat is expensive, but good health is priceless.
Rclause
(Scott)
#12
I asked my butcher about grass fed. He said the problem with grass fed is the price. It goes up because generally stop grazing when it get really hot but they will eat grain.
He doesn’t carry it but I do shop at a market that does have it at a reasonable price.
Keto6468
(Karen)
#13
Yes price is the problem. Although I have read of grass finished beef that people who are gluten inintolerant or celiac may also have problems grain fed or grain finished beef
Brennan
(Brennan)
#14
My mom was diagnosed celiac in the early 90’s, I don’t think she’s ever bought grass fed and has no problem with meat. The slightest bit of gluten in a sauce really messes her up though.
Or just buy in bulk, buy roasts and cut the steaks yourself. I found a $15 sirloin tip roast and now I’ve got 3 big 1.5" thick steaks! (*Not grass fed). But they are some big [spoiler]ass[/spoiler] $5 steaks!
CoffeeStout
(James)
#15
Zero carb/carnivore usually put more emphasis on purchasing grass fed AND grass finished meat due to micro nutrient density. You have more options per se on a ketogenic diet being that other foods are permitted besided strictly animal product.
Keto6468
(Karen)
#16
Grass fed is likely better, but I would never want to discourage someone who is on a modest budget. I’ve been listening to the carnivore cast podcasts. Of their guests was talking about three stages of carnivore. The very last stage was salt water and grass fed grass finished beef.
Slow-Steady
(Dee)
#17
Like stated, buy what you can afford. I’ve never bought grass fed meat; budget will not allow.
ctviggen
(Bob M)
#18
The main benefits to grass fed (meaning eats all grass, never eats grains) include better O6/O3 ratio, more nutrients, more CLA, etc. However, you have to put this into perspective. If you’re looking to buy grass-fed for a better O6/O3 ratio, that can be completely undone by eating some nuts:
https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2016/07/27/are-nuts-paleo/
Similarly, you can blow away the amount of O3 in beef by eating salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies, etc.
Where I live, we can find ground beef that’s grass-fed and not too expensive, but anything else is usually too expensive.
brownfat
(Todd Allen)
#19
Grass fed vs regular meat?
To me animals raised on pasture is regular, at least it was regular for the first few millenia of animal husbandry. The recent practice of putting large numbers of animals in a confined space, making them fat with grain, no exercise, antibiotics and hormones might deserve a more descriptive term than regular. I’d call it common, cheap or maybe cruel before calling it regular.
The answer to a question can be biased by the way it is asked.
Grass fed vs regular meat? or Traditionally farmed meat vs modern industrial factory meat?
ctviggen
(Bob M)
#20
But animals can be raised in a pasture and still grain fed. I get animals from a local farm, and they are grass fed and on pasture for a while, then “grain finished” to supposedly provide marbling and I’m sure to gain weight before slaughter. In fact, I’ve read that basically all cattle are grass fed for a certain period, and only grain-finished. Whether they are in a confined space or not is a different story.