Students from the Culinary Institute of America attending the “Grass-fed Beef Day” in Davis, hosted Friday, Jan. 20, by the UC Davis Department of Animal Sciences, learned all about grass-fed beef from producers, a researcher, a veterinarian and marketing and public relations experts.

The students didn’t need to ask, “Where’s the beef?” The beef was right there—in the PowerPoint presentations, outside the building (Cole Facility) and on their lunch plates.

Mack Graves, chief executive officer of Western Grasslands Inc., said that the members of Western Grasslands Inc. want consumers to know that their beef is “born and raised in the USA.”  They raise all-natural, grass-fed cattle without hormones or antibiotics or grain or animal byproducts.

Grass-fed beef is “the best beef you’ve ever tasted,” Graves said. It’s high-quality, fork-tender, flavorful, nutritious, low in fat and low in calories. Plus, he noted, it contains greater amounts of the “good stuff”: omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).
.
The culinary students, who soon will be preparing “beef-­it’s-what’s-for-dinner” meals for the populace, learned everything from how grass-fed beef is raised to how to prepare it (don’t overcook it; grass-fed beef takes less time to cook).

California Beef Council spokesperson Holly Foster noted that approximately half of the beef sold in the United States is sold through food service, encompassing commercial restaurants and other dining facilities, including university and hospital cafeterias. Some 55.3 billion customers visited commercial restaurants in 2004, compared to 54.5 billion visits in 2003.

Beef servings in commercial restaurants in 2004 totaled 11.3 billion in 2004, an increase of 81.9 million servings compared to 2003, Foster said.

Western Grasslands, a group of 45 ranchers dedicated to rangeland stewardship, not only want to determine their own destiny, Graves said, but to give consumers a choice. The ranchers believe in COOL – short for country-of-origin labeling – and the kind of beef raised in grassy pastures several generations ago.

Grass-fed beef is finding a strong niche among health-conscious consumers, Graves said. Although Tyson Foods, Swift and Co., Cargill and the National Beef Packing Co., control 81 percent of the nation’s cattle market, more demanding consumers want grass-fed beef “born and raised in the USA.” Just because beef is stamped “USDA,” doesn’t mean the beef came from the United States, Graves pointed out.

Winters-Esparto cattleman Rick Harrison described how he raises forage-based cattle with Western Grasslands protocols; the genetics of Angus, an early maturing breed of cattle; and with humane treatment. “We like to produce a good product and it’s the right way to go about it. It takes more time, but it’s worth it.”

Katy Harrison, a research associate at Chico State University and daughter of Rick Harrison, extolled the virtues of grass-fed beef, citing scientific studies that show grass-fed beef is more healthful and more nutritious than grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef contains 60 percent more omega-3 content than conventional grain-fed beef. It also contains twice the vitamin A and E of grain-fed beef and three times more CLA.

“Not all fat is created equal,” she said, noting that grass-fed beef has a much higher concentration of “the good fats” (omega-3 and unsaturated fats) than the saturated fats in grain-fed beef.

Addressing beef safety and quality, John Maas, UC Cooperative Extension veterinarian and beef specialist of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said that cattle ranches differ, just like restaurants differ. “Ranches are as different as say, the Capitol Grill in Washington, D.C., and Burger King,” he said.

“Producers understand and embrace the fact that they grow food, not just cattle,” Maas said. “U.S. solutions are better than importing food.”

The United States boasts the best safety and quality assurances for beef than any other country in the world, Maas said. 

More information about grass-fed beef is available at http://www.csuchico.edu/agr/grassfedbeef/.