{"id":46079,"date":"2019-07-11T09:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=46079"},"modified":"2019-07-08T08:20:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-08T13:20:56","slug":"%ef%bb%bfpounds-of-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=46079","title":{"rendered":"\ufeffPounds of choices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kyle Bauer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fairbury senior<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You walk\ninto a supermarket and head to the deli section of the store. It’s a beautiful\nsunny weekend, and that means one thing \u2013 grilling. In the Midwest, this\ncommonly calls for you to approach the display case packed full of fresh\nsteaks, where you might see a variety of choices, such as organic, grass-fed,\nand the traditional grain-fed beef. How will you ever make up your mind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can\nbe confusing, but one thing they have in common is that they spend at least\ntwo-thirds of their lifetimes in pastures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grain-fed\nbeef is the most common form of production in the United States. This animal\ncan be found in a feedlot being fed such things as dry distillers grains,\nrolled or steam flaked corn or sorghum, silage, and hay of some sort. They are\nfed this diet after grazing with their cows prior to being weaned. After\nweaning, cattle are usually backgrounded through grazing or being grown in a\ngrower feedlot with a similar ration to their finishing ration, except it\ncontains more roughage and less grain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After\ntheir growing period, they are moved to feedlots to begin the finishing\nprocess. As a result, all finished cattle spend the first two-thirds of their\nlives on pasture. The difference is in the final phase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more\ntime consuming practice in beef production is grass feeding. These animals have\na similar upbringing, being raised on their cow on grass. They are then weaned\nand continue to be grown on grass. But instead of entering the finishing phase\nin a feedlot, the cattle continue to graze until they meet an acceptable market\nweight. This process is slower and on average requires 10 extra months or a\ntotal of 24 months compared to the 14 months for the typical grain-fed animal.\nThe need for more land and the longer feeding requirement causes less\navailability and a heftier price tag on products deemed \u201cgrass-fed\u201d by the U.S.\nDepartment of Agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nintensive production process is organic beef production. These cattle are\nrequired to be separated from cattle in differing production systems and have\nmore extensive standards to receive the organic grade. They are allowed to be\nvaccinated for diseases, but not allowed additional antibiotics. So if they get\nsick and need treatment to get well, they are no longer sold as organic. They\nare not allowed to be fed anything but 100-percent organically raised products,\nor anything containing animal by-products. This allows for grain feeding but\nonly if it was certified organic. The finishing process is accelerated compared\nto grass-fed due to the increased energy of the diet and increased fat\nproduction from grains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ndiffering practices give rise to various concerns. Grain-fed beef fights the\nstigma of using antibiotics and hormones and the myth of these compounds being\nfound in the retail beef sold in stores. The USDA diligently checks beef to\nprevent the circulation of meat containing any form of antibiotics. All\nmedications allowed to be given to cattle have strict withdrawal dates that\nhave been rigorously researched to determine how long the medicine stays in\nanimal systems. With these withdrawal dates, producers know when it is safe to\nship their cattle for harvest and for the beef products to pass regulations are\nset by the Food and Drug Administration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\neating quality of the finished product can be in question when it comes to\ngrass-fed beef, known for being a leaner product. Consumers have struggled with\ncooking grass-fed beef. Over cooking leads to less flavor along with a higher\ndegree of toughness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organic\nbeef struggles to be a cost effective and readily available in all markets.\nProducers have higher input costs due to the lessened availability of certified\norganic feedstuffs and the practices required to be certified organic. Organic\nbeef may be grass- or grain-fed. In fact, over two thirds of the organic beef\nproduced in the United States is fed grain. If cattle get sick or injured and\nrequire treatment, they must be removed from the National Organic USDA program.\nWithout the aid of added antibiotics, the animals have to rely more heavily on\ntheir own natural immunity to fight disease, and producers might be reluctant\nto give medical treatment, which would result in removal from the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nwith the differences in production, the end result is three very similar\nproducts. Dr. Stephen Smith, Texas A&M University, has shown that both\ngrass- and grain-fed beef contain high amounts of heart healthy fatty acids,\nthe same ones found in olive oil. The main differences in these products are\nsmall differences in levels and types of fats. Grass-fed beef has a little bit\nhigher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in comparison to grain-fed, which has a\nlittle bit higher level of oleic acid, a fatty acid which increases the HDL\n(good) cholesterol level and reduces LDL (bad) cholesterol. Organic production\ndoes not affect these fat levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Superior\nfat marbling gives an advantage to grain\u2013fed beef, along with the improved\ntenderness, juiciness and flavor. The vast majority of the higher quality cuts\ncome from grain-fed cattle, with deeper and more widespread marbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diversity\nin the beef industry provides a high quality selection for everyone and their\nvarying tastes. Nutritionally, they all are high quality sources of protein and\nvitamins. They differ slightly in fatty acid composition, but all forms have\nheart-healthy qualities, which has been proven by reliable research projects\nconducted at such institutions as Penn State. As a student at Fort Hays State\nUniversity and an advocate for agriculture, I encourage the continued\ndevelopment of this essential industry to our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle Bauer, a 2015 Fairbury High School graduate, is a senior majoring in animal science at Fort Hays State University. He is the son of Brian and Sandy Bauer, Fairbury, Neb.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This essay on a topic in agriculture was researched and written by a student as part of a project in a senior animal science class at Fort Hays State University. The project director is Dr. Brittany Howell, associate professor of agriculture, bjhowell@fhsu.edu<\/a>, 785-628-4015.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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