On Greenwood Farms, our goal is to produce healthy meats with gourmet quality flavor. The first step in raising quality grass-fed beef is to choose a breed of cattle that fattens easily on grass. We selected British White cattle because their docile temperament, early maturation, and resistance to stress make them excellent producers of grass-fed beef. We then improve these existing traits by keeping only those cows whose offspring produce superior quality meat and breeding to bulls who also posses these characteristics.

Pasture management is another important component in the great flavor of our meat. We plant our pastures with species of grass that cattle like best, so they get maximum nutrition with minimal effort. Using a technique called Intensive Grazing, we move our herd to a new pasture every 4-5 days so they always have a fresh buffet of the tastiest and most nutritious grass. This way, our cattle expend very little energy grazing, producing beef at its tender and juicy best.

Grass-fed beef has about the same fat content as skinless chicken ~ 30-50% less than grain-fed beef ~ but with all the protein, iron, and other vital nutrients found in red meat. If you eat a typical amount of beef (66.5 pounds a year), switching to grass-fed beef will save you 17,733 calories every year!

Meat products from grass-fed ruminants, like cattle and sheep, are the richest known source of "conjugated linoleic acid" or CLA. When ruminants are raised only on grass, their meat contains from three to five times more CLA than products from animals fed grain-based diets.

CLA is important because it may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer. In medical studies, a very small percentage of CLA— a mere 0.1 percent of total calories—greatly reduced tumor growth in laboratory subjects. In a Finnish study, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet, had a 60% less incidence of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels of CLA in their diet.

GRASSFED BEEF IS SAFER FROM “MAD COW” DISEASE: Strong evidence supports the theory that the agent for BSE is composed of a self-replicating protein, referred to as a prion. It is transmitted through the consumption of BSE-contaminated meat and bone meal supplements in cattle feed. The process that leads to the contaminated feed starts when livestock already harboring the BSE agent are slaughtered. After cows and sheep are killed, the edible parts are removed. The inedible remnants are taken to a special plant, where they undergo a process, called "rendering.” 

Although the animal remnants are "cooked" at high temperatures during the rendering process, the BSE agent, if present, is able to survive. Once rendered, these contaminated meat by-products are used as a protein supplement in feed for animals. When the BSE-laden feed is

given to cattle,the disease spreads rapidly, posing tremendous health risks to the public at large. It is believed that contaminated feed was the source of BSE that spread through the British cattle herds a few years ago.In 1997 the United States Food and Drug administration banned the practice of incorporating most mammalian protein in animal feed for cows, sheep, and goats. However, animal feed can still contain material from cats, dogs, and mink carcasses (after their fur has been removed). All of these animals are capable of being infected by transmissible sponigfrom encephalopathies (T.S.E.s) and can pass the disease to cattle via contaminated feed.

Why Greenwood Farms Beyond Organic Beef is Safer: Because Greenwood Farms Beyond Organic Beef is raised entirely on grass and hay, our beef cattle never come in contact with the commercial grain and supplements that incubate BSE.

GREENWOOD FARMS BEEF IS CHEMICAL FREE: Because our pastures are not polluted with pesticides and other chemicals, the only food our cattle eat is 100% natural, clean, healthy grass. When our cattle go to market, we take them ourselves to an inspected facility where they are processed the same day. At no time are they exposed to the health dangers that exist in crowded commercial feed lots. This adds up to beef that is much, much safer for you and your family than commercial, grain-fed beef.

GRASSFED BEEF IS SAFER FROM E. COLI: It has been known for decades that grain feeding makes a cow's digestive tract abnormally acidic. In this type of environment, E. coli and other bacteria grow rapidly and become acid-resistant. As a result, these bacteria are much more likely to survive the cleansing acidity of our own digestive juices and make us sick. In contrast, grass-feeding keeps the acidity of the cow’s digestive tract at a normal, low level.