Recent studies suggest a link between beef finished on grain and the development of deadlier strains of E. coli. According to a study done by microbiologists at Cornell University, feeding grain in the weeks before slaughter creates a higher acid level in the colon, fostering the development of acid resistant strains of E. coli. Although E. coli occurs naturally in our digestive tract, it is these acid resistant strains that our stomach acids cannot always overcome.
The research also showed that if the cattle were switched from grain to fresh grass or hay for as little as five days, the deadly, acid resistant strains all but disappeared
"Fat produced with grass is far healthier than fat produced with grain," (Allan Nation, "Allan's Observations," The Stockman Grass Farmer, July 1997). Studies show that there are vast nutritional differences between beef finished on grass and beef finished on grain.
We now know that all fat is not the same. We also know that a special balance of certain fats should be an essential part of our diets in order to obtain optimum health benefits, as well as fight disease.
We are programmed to believe that all fat is bad, all fat makes us fat. The fact is, our bodies have been programmed for thousands of years to believe the opposite. Our ancestors lived on plants, and fish and animals that subsisted on living plants. It is only in the recent past that our diets have shifted dramatically, changing the ratios of fatty acids our bodies receive.
Studies show that the American diet is particularly low in one of the essential fatty acid families, known as the Omega 3 fatty acids, while being very high in the Omega 6 fatty acids. This imbalance is being linked to many very serious conditions, such as: heart problems, stroke, obesity, diabetes, asthma, cancer, ADHD, and many others including some mental conditions and disorders.
What does this have to do with pasture finishing? "Any grazing animal that is allowed to eat its natural diet of wild plants and greens is far richer in omega-3 fatty acids than an animal kept in confinement and fed an artifical, grain-based diet," (Artemis P. Simopoulos, MD., The Omega Diet, p. 29).
As well as being higher in omega-3's, pasture finished animals have much higher levels of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid), which is created in the rumen of ruminant animals. CLA is an anti-carcinogen that is only found in the milk or meat(fat) of ruminant animals, but according to a study being conducted at Utah State University, the levels are much higher in animals on a pasture based diet.
As well as being a cancer fighter, CLA lowers bad cholesterol and may help reduce body fat and regulate sugar levels!
Simopoulos, Artemis P., MD., and Jo Robinson. The Omega Diet. New York: HarperPerennial, 1999.
Allan Nation, "Allan's Observations," The Stockman Grass Farmer, July 1997