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Grass-finished beef is higher in beta carotene

One of the reasons that grassfed meat is nutritionally superior to feedlot meat is that grassfed animals graze living plants, not stored forage. As you can see by the graph below, fresh pasture has higher levels of beta carotene than grass that has been harvested and turned into hay or silage. Thus, the meat of animals finished on fresh pasture will be higher in this important antioxidant than the meat of feedlot animals, which are fed only stored forage.

Jim Gamble of Napa Grassfed Beef in California submitted samples of his beef to a laboratory for analysis of its nutrient content. Not surprisingly, the lab report showed that his grass-finished beef had significantly more beta carotene than meat produced by Oregon Country Beef or by industry giant IBP.

If it's in their feed, it's in our food.

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