(We are just beginning our beef operation, but these are the standards we are working with)
| Grass-fed Beef | Conventional Beef |
|---|---|
| No vaccinations | Vaccinations (immuno-depressants) |
| Once-in-a-blue-moon medications | Routine medications |
| Late Spring calving -- when deer are fawning (we are currently buying feeder calves in the Spring and grass feeding them through the fall while we develop our own herd) | Winter calving -- stress |
| Shed feeding to protect ground and hay -- winter | Damaging winter feeding -- ground tromping and impaction; soiling of feedstuff |
| Winter feeding of perennial polycultures | Winter feeding of hay + annuals (grains) -- require tillage and use chemicals to grow |
| Deep carbonaceous bedding for lounging area, protected from rain (leaching) by roof | Winter nutrient pollution -- leaching of manure and urine into water |
| Sanitary winter housing -- deep bedding at proper carbon/nitrogen ratio is warm, clean and produces natural antibiotics | Unsanitary winter housing -- mud, manure, and/or concrete |
| Winter manure protected and composted before field application -- pathogens destroyed | Winter nutrients unprotected and/or applied raw -- pathogens reinfest field |
| Sanitary winter feeding -- in V-slotted feedergate excluding animal soiling of feed (hay) | Unsanitary winter feeding -- on ground, in animal- soiled feeders |
| Compost and natural soild amendments | Chemical fertilizers |
| Controlled grazing -- stimulates ployculture and high forage succession (prairie) | Continuous grazing -- weakens good species; encourages weed and brushy plants |
| Nutrient allocation for beneficial assimilation | Nutrient translocation -- under shade trees, in streams and campsites (concentrated cattle lounge areas) |
| Limited or complete prevention of access to riparian areas -- water taken to cattle | Generally unlimited access to ponds and streams for water -- pollution and contaminated drinking water |
| Natural wormers -- Shaklee basic H soap and intensive rotational grazing for paddock rest | Systemic grubicides and wormers --permeate muscle and organs |
| Sanitary pasture -- free range chickens sanitize paddocks before regrazing by scratching through cow paddies (eating fly larvae and exposing manure to sunlight) | Unsanitary pasture -- regraze pathogen/parasite-infested zones (constant animal access feeds pathogens) |
| Forest fenced out and old fencelines reforested -- biodiversity encouraged (creates more stability in the ecosystem) | Innappropriate grazing areas -- forest and steep hillsides -- biodiversity discouraged |
| Often never see headgate in whole life -- no stress | Numerous and routine corral/headgate experiences --stress |
| Close human contact -- quiet, contented animals | Sparing human contact -- "moving" becomes a major chore (stress on cow and farmer) |
| No hormones | Anabolic steriods for faster weight gain |
| Kelp meal -- dehydrated seaweed | Synthetic minerals/vitamins |
| Pasture paddocks -- moved every day to clean, fresh area | Feed lots --smell, filth |
| Forage feeding -- permanent ground cover; no chemicals or tillage | Grain feeding -- expensive, erosive, ecologically unsound |
| Ecologically enhancive -- grass based. | Ecologically destructive -- each bushel of corn cost two in bushels of soil; irrigation depletes water resources and causes salinization of soil. 70% of all grain grown in America goes through multi-stomached animals; this is unnecessary and accounts for the majority of all pesticide, herbicide, chemical fertilizer and agricultural petroleum use. |
| Runs on solar energy | Runs on petroleum -- costs 15 calories of energy to get 1 calorie of food |
| Forage fattened -- fat outside muscle and lower saturated fat (yellowish) | Grain fattened -- fat inside muscle (marbling) and higher saturated fat |
| Local transportation -- produced, processed and sold locally | Long distance transportation -- 1000 miles for average steak in US |
| Rich taste | Bland taste |
| No chlorine carcass baths | Chlorine carcass baths |
| Decentralized food system | Centralized food system |
| Consumer/producer relationship | Consumer/producer alienation |
| Edible | Inedible |