Like “cage-free” in poultry, “grass-fed” has become a popular misnomer. It’s truly just marketing-speak to appeal to consumers who care about animals. A chicken can fully qualify as “cage-free” but still be raised in inhumane, confined conditions. Similarly, a cow may be “grass-fed” but only at one stage of its life; if it’s not also labeled “grass-finished,” it means the animal was switched to a grain diet to fatten it up quickly for market. At that point, cows are put in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), which not only make it easy for disease to spread—that’s why antibiotics become necessary—but produce a lot of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, along with other pollutants and waste. Cattle did not evolve to eat grains. And, while adding kelp to the diet reduces the methane, they didn’t evolve to eat that either. Further, in feedlots cows get less exercise, making the beef fattier, less lean. They are also highly stressed, which results in changes to hormone levels. That’s on top of the hormones they’re given to increase their growth.
We use grass-fed and-finished, certified organic cattle only. The cows are typically two to three years of age when butchered (conventionally-farmed or grass-fed animals are only 18 to 20 months old) and their meat is lower in fat with up to five times more omega-3s; it’s also packed with antioxidants like beta-carotene, as well as vitamin C and vitamin E. And there are no added antibiotics or hormones. Because we want our dogs and cats to eat what they evolved to eat, we hold to the same standards for the animals we use in their food.