How To Shop The Best Grass-Fed Beef

High-quality beef is a centerpiece of my healthy diet, but choosing high-quality meat is essential for addressing the health and environmental concerns surrounding eating red meat. Animals raised en masse in industrial agricultural complexes are less nutritious (not to mention lead miserable lives), and their production is destructive to the environment. That’s why shopping for the best grass-fed, organic beef is vital.

Contents:

• What to Look For When Choosing Meat
• Why Buy Grass-Fed Beef
• Reading Labels: Organic Vs Grass-Fed Vs 100% Grass-Fed Beef
• Helpful Certifications when Reading Labels
• Where Can You Order 100% Grass-Fed Beef Online?
• Where Can You Find 100% Grass-Fed Beef Near You?
• How To Find Local, 100% Grass-Fed Beef

What to Look For When Choosing Meat

High-quality animal products have two key components:

• Healthy animals: The animals are raised in an environment as close as possible to their natural habitat, with space to move and time in the sun. They’re eating what they were designed to eat, with no antibiotics or hormones ever. Look for information on the packaging about what the animal was eating and where they were living.
• Healthy soil: Farmers restore rather than deplete the soil with regenerative farming practices such as rotational grazing and biodiversity. Look for packaging: regenerative agriculture certifications or language like “regenerative farming.”

Healthy soil leads to healthy animals, which leads to more nutritious food for people!

Why Buy Grass-Fed Beef 

Cows are designed to digest grass, not grains. When cows (just like humans) eat food, their digestive systems aren’t optimized, the cow is a less healthy animal, and their meat contains fewer nutrients. Further, cattle raised on pasture instead of feedlots have lower stress levels, higher levels of Vitamin D due to time in the sun, and overall higher levels of quality of life, leading to a higher quality final product for you. Plus, regenerative grazing patterns might just save the environment!

Reading Labels: Organic Vs Grass-Fed Vs 100% Grass-Fed Beef

When shopping for grass-fed beef, look for the language “100% grass-fed.” Legally speaking, farmers can label meat “grass-fed” even if the cows are supplemented with grain or finished on grain. While better than 100% grain-fed beef and likely cheaper, the meat is less nutritious (and tasty!) than 100% grass-fed and finished. I love seeing farmers labeling their meat with something like: “No grain, ever!”

A note on organic beef: While the label “organic” on your meat is important, that only tells you that there aren’t pesticides in the animal’s food. It does NOT tell you what the animal was fed. So, at least organic beef from grain-fed cows won’t contain glyphosate, but they still subsist on a sub-optimal diet. That’s why “grass-fed” is more important than “organic” on your beef label.

Helpful Certifications When Reading Labels

While certifications are not always held to consistent and legally regulated standards, meat with the below certifications is more likely to be healthier and to have been treated better than conventional meat.

Animal Welfare Certified by the Global Animal Partnership

Ranking from baseline to 5 (highest), this certification evaluates the quality of living space and diet. At level 5, cows are 100% grass-fed with ample space to roam and are slaughtered on the farm, eliminating the need for transportation, which can be painful and stressful for the animals.

Humane Farm Animal Care DBA Certified Humane

This certification ensures that meat meets high standards for welfare, feed, treatment, and slaughter. They provide detailed documentation explaining their standards.

Certified Regenerative by AGW

A Greener World (AWG) is a nonprofit organization that supports independent farms and ranchers across North America in raising animals sustainably and producing meat, dairy, eggs, and fiber in ways that prioritize the well-being of the animals. They establish standards to ensure better care for both the animals and the land.

Where Can You Order 100% Grass-Fed Beef Online?

Here are our favorite sources for 100% Grass-fed beef that’s available for delivery to you.

Force of Nature

If any company will save the earth through regenerative farming, it’s this one. Force of Nature cultivates and curates incredibly delicious, nutrient-dense meat from regenerative farms with a mission to steward the land and restore the soil. They have a fantastic podcast as well.

I especially like their “ancestral blends,” which mix liver and heart into ground beef to pack a nutrient-dense punch. The rich flavor may take some getting used to, but I’ve never felt so satisfied and nourished by any other ground meat.

Butcher Box

A popular option for affordable, customized orders of high-quality meat! As you build your box, keep your eye out for the labeling on the meat. Butcher Box sources beef from two farms, only one of which raises exclusively grass-fed meat (the other finishes with grains). The 100% grass-fed and finished farm practices rotational grazing and soil regeneration, making their meat a top-notch choice.

Farm Foods

All their beef is 100% grass-fed and finished, sourced from farms around the country practicing responsible and ethical animal- and land management. (They even source chicken from Pasture Bird, our favorite source for pasture-raised chicken!) They have a delicious variety of options and offer great discounts for buying in bulk, like this Roast Variety Pack.

First Light Farms

First Light Farms is a premium option for those looking for high-end steaks; they source 100% grass-fed and finished Wagyu beef. That’s a rare and significant achievement, as wagyu cattle – famous for meat with exquisite marbling and higher fat content that creates unparalleled succulence and flavor – is typically raised on a meticulously scheduled, grain-based diet.

The founders of First Light aim to raise “the best cattle on the best land,” combining natural grazing patterns with the world’s finest cattle – combined with ethical employment and processing standards – to create the world’s best steak. The nutrient profile, not to mention the flavor, of their steaks is unparalleled!

Good Ranchers

Good Ranchers pasture-raises all of their beef (and chicken!) sourced from local, independent farms in the United States, which is a plus! They are proud of the high quality of their meat and use no antibiotics or hormones.

Nature's Ranchers

Nature's Ranchers offers high-quality grass fed beef (and other proteins). Cows are fed no antibiotics, no added growth hormones and fed vegetarian diets. Their beef are 100% pastured and 100% grass fed! They are rated a 4 G.A.P Certified, which indicates a higher level of humane treatment.

Where Can You Find 100% Grass-Fed Beef Near You?

It has become fairly common for most grocery stores to carry 100% grass-fed beef options, even big chain grocery stores like Safeway, HEB, and Meijer but especially health-conscious stores like Whole Foods.

All meat at Whole Foods requires baseline standards that are higher than those at your average grocery store. For example, none of the chickens they sell were ever given antibiotics or added hormones or were raised in cages, and their slaughter met certain humane criteria. Starting with that baseline, any of their “100% grass-fed” meat will likely be a good option. They offer brands like Force of Nature and Good Ranchers.

How To Find Local, 100% Grass-Fed Beef

Another great way to source high-quality meat is to find a local farm that raises 100% grass-fed, regeneratively pastured beef. My family lives by the quote, “Shake the hand that feeds you.” We love getting to know our local farmers and purchasing locally-raised, high-quality meat wherever possible.

• Visit your local Farmer’s Market! That’s the best way to meet farmers face-to-face and ask them questions about their animals. Maybe they’ll even invite you out for a visit!
• Contact your local Weston A. Price Foundation Chapter for a resource list; they do a great job at vetting farms and food sources.

Look for labels and language like “100% Grass-Fed”, “Regeneratively Raised,” and “Never Fed Grains.”

How to Make Purchasing High-Quality Meat Affordable

100% grass-fed beef is definitely an investment, but it’s easier to afford nutrient-dense meat than you might think. Plus, don’t forget that you’re getting MORE for your dollar in terms of the nutrient density of the meat, so it’s definitely worth making it work.

Here are some ideas to make high-quality meat affordable:

• Buy the whole cow: My family buys half a cow every year or so from a local farm. We invested in a deep freezer, and by buying in bulk, we can get fancy cuts like 100% grass-fed Ribeye and Filet Mignon for less than half the price. We also love having a stocked freezer and supporting our local farmers!
• Purchase organs: 100% Grass-fed organ meat like liver, heart, or kidney are some of the most nutrient-dense food (on the planet!) and are usually some of the cheapest cuts. My family eats liver for dinner once a week, and I’ve come to crave it!
• Purchase economy cuts: Don’t underestimate the humble grass-fed ground beef. It packs a nutrient punch and can be made tasty in SO many ways. Other tasty cuts like Osso Bucco, Oxtail, and Short Ribs are cheaper than fancy steaks and are fantastic when cooked low and slow.
• Use the bones: Use the whole animal to make the most of your dollar. Homemade grass-fed organic beef bone broth is nourishing for the gut and deliciously tasty.

Happy grilling (or pan-frying or slow-cooking) your delicious, regeneratively raised, 100% grass-fed beef!