Quote: (10-29-2015 02:53 AM)Tex Cruise Wrote:
I've noticed something of an obsession with grassfed beef on this forum.
I'm going to come straight out and declare my conflict of interest here as I run both a beef cattle breeding enterprise and a commercial feedmill, so both my streams of income are directly related to the production of grain fed beef. That doesn't change what I believe to be facts.
The thing most people may not be aware of is that "Grassfed" is primarily a marketing device used by very large companies, a way of selling an ideology in order to charge a premium, just like "free range" eggs or "organic" vegetables. What consumers demand is a consistently priced product of consistent quality on the shelf 365 days a year... pasture is seasonal, so the very nature of nature itself means that pasture finishing to achieve this is just not possible. Sure it's possible to produce quality grass fed beef, just like I guess it's possible to make gains at the gym eating a strictly vegan locally sourced diet, but a carefully balanced and blended diet is both quicker and more economical.... Same for cows.
I agree, but I think it's safe to assume most guys here are savvy enough to see through the hyperbole in ideological marketing techniques.
Obviously there is no ROI from buying smaller more expensive organic bananas than buying the bigger less expensive non-organic bananas. There are endless examples out there.
No doubt that it's more economical to produce grain-fed beef, but I'm not out there shopping for the greater good by conducting a societal cost-benefit analysis through my shopping cart.
Grass-fed is leaner protein, tastes like real meat should and has more favorable omega-3 to omega-6 ratio than grain-fed.
It's superior. I'll eat more of it if I want to bulk. I'd encourage other guys to do the same if you have the $ for it. Nothing wrong with grain-fed either, it works too.
Quote: (10-29-2015 11:38 AM)Goldhawkstar Wrote:
That's a good point. And yes, I am trying to bulk up. I'll consider sticking with grain-fed. I may look up the numbers to see if it really has more or less protein. Thanks.
Grain-fed will do you just fine, but don't feel the need to emphasize the red meat so much over other meat products if you are not convinced you want to shell out the dough for it.
Chicken thighs are a good bulking substitute for beef as they are cheaper and have a decent amount of fat. Eat 5 or 6 eggs a day too.