Producers of grass-fed beef in Manitoba want to spread the word that despite recent studies, red meat has benefits for human health. As well, they want to publicize that their niche product is especially rich in beneficial fatty acids, like omega 3.
“There are actually a number of studies have been done on the benefits of grass fed beef. And if you Google it, you’d be surprised how much comes up,” said Jim Lintott, who farms near Oakbank, Man., and heads up the Manitoba Grass Fed Beef Association.
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The study of more than 500,000 Americans aged 50 to 71, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that people who ate more red meat were more likely to die from cancer and cardiovascular diseases than subjects who ate less red meat.
The results of the study provoked strong reactions from cattle and beef organizations across North America, including the American Meat Institute, which said the results were based on self-reporting on eating habits, which is unreliable.
“Meat products are part of a healthy, balanced diet, and studies show they actually provide a sense of satisfaction and fullness that can help with weight control,” James Hodges, the institute’s executive vice-president, said in a statement.
The National Cancer Institute in the United States commissioned the study.
Lintott said that grass fed beef has health benefits on top of those basic nutrients offered by conventionally raised beef.
Peter Jones, director of the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutriceuticals in Winnipeg, verified those claims.
“It (grass fed beef) has higher levels of these beneficial fats… ,” said Jones. “There are precursors to the Omega 3 fatty acids in grass.”
But the amount of beneficial fats depends on the grass, Jones added.
“Green grass has a better profile (of good fats)… than does regular feed or hay,” he said, noting that when cows consume that grass, they build the reserves of beneficial fats in their tissue.
With science demonstrating a link between grass and human health, cattle producers must realize that growing high quality grass is the number one priority, said Doug Gunnink, a grass fed beef producer in Minnesota.
“We think of ourselves more as cowboys rather than grass growers,” said Gunnink, who has Black and Red Angus cattle near the community of Gaylord, southwest of Minneapolis.
“We need high-nutrient dense grass and once we get that, we get the high Vitamin D, the omega 3s… and we get many of these health benefits.”
