Are You Really Buying Grass Fed?

I have done quite a bit of reading on the subject of grass fed meat. We currently raise meat chikens on grass, in a mob grazing fashion, and very much enjoy the benefits and taste. Our goal is to have grass fed beef and pork as well. You'd be surprised how much grass a chicken will eat. But consumer, beware. There are eggs and meat out there that are marketed as "high in omega 3's" and trace minerals that are essential for good health. The part you have to beware of and educated on is the grass element. In other words, there are those that will market their beef, chickens, eggs etc as grass fed but really aren't. What do I mean? It is not enough to raise a cow on grass only to finish it on grain. Grass fed means from start to finish. Grass is the key.

The same applies to eggs. Farm fresh eggs are higher in Omega 3's, true, but only if the birds have constant access to fresh grass and bugs. You know, letting the chicken be a chicken.
Omega 3's are found in higher amounts in grass fed animals than even fish oil. Again, the key is the grass. It is the green, leafy vegetation that provides those essential nutrients. And, yes, chickens eat grass. So do pigs, and you know cows do and sheep and goats. It is important to let the cowness of the cow and the sheepness of the sheep and the chickeness of the chicken to be. It is unnatural to industrialize the raising of animals.

Agriculture is just that, a culture. When we take the industrial, assembly line mentality and apply it to agriculture, it then becomes agribusiness. Unfortunately, all this produces is corporate business men in suits who call themselves farmers and reap the subsidy gravy train that never actually set foot on a farm. Wouldn't it be nice if we stepped back to a time when local farmers provided local food for their communities?

For more information and some good reading visit www.eatwild.com