Americans are known for their steady diet of burgers and hot dogs. But more consumers now are opting to stay away from meat, instead they are choosing other food options. And the consumption of red meat in the US is said to be in a serious and steady decline.
Between 2005 and 2014, it's estimated that consumption of beef has decreased by roughly 20 percent.
It probably didn't help the matter when the World Health Organization in 2015, took to announcing that processed meat (bacon, sausages, and other meats) would be considered a human carcinogen. No doubt the increase in health concerns around this product has prompted many people to reconsider adding it into their diet; they're opting for other food items instead.
We might be seeing less red meat sales in the US, but that sure isn't the case when it comes to grass-fed beef in the nation. In the last few years, interest for grass-fed beef has exploded and a growing number of stores are looking to offer this product in order to meet customer demand.
The grass-fed beef market has grown from around $17 million in 2012, to almost $300 million now (about $272 million in 2016).
It's reported that demand for grass-fed beef has skyrocketed, it continues to grow annually, to the point where now it has the potential to compete with factory farming feedlot systems. But in order for that to happen, according to the Back To Grass report from the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture , it's suggested that production needs to be scaled. And experts have affirmed that there is enough land space in the US to support scaling of grass-fed beef production. However, it would take the conversion of over 17 million acres of land which is used to grow subsidized grain at the moment; mostly used for feedlot beef.
When it comes to this method of farming, experts say that by utilizing mob-grazing and rotational methods, it boosts productivity three fold.
One issue with grass-fed beef is the price, many people see it as a premium and they aren't willing to purchase it yet. But you really need to shop around and try to find a good deal. Quite often I am able to find a number of decent grass-fed steaks at my local Trader Joes for $3-4 each.
Overall, grass-fed beef only accounts for less than 1 percent of US beef consumption, so there is a lot of room for growth still and it's a market that is expected to continue growing yet for years to come. Consumer demand for this product continues to surge in many different areas.
One big meal delivery service, Blue Apron, has said that they are switching from grain-fed beef to using 100 percent gras-fed for their millions of meal kits that get delivered every month.
The grass-fed market has seen steady growth in recent years, to include grass-fed protein powder, grass-fed cheese, grass-fed yogurt, and grass-fed milk. There are even a number of options for pet treats being made with grass-fed products as well.
It's more than obvious that a growing number of US consumers are interested in food that is antibiotic-free and non-GMO, and the grass-fed interest is an extension of that; a reflection of the growing number of people who want what they believe is a better food choice for them.
Pics:
Pixabay
USDA via Fortune fortune.com/2015/10/27/red-meat-consumption-decline/
Blue Apron via blueapron.com/pages/learn-more
Sources:
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22032017/beef-climate-change-diet-global-warming-carbon-footprint
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/03/22/americans-eating-nearly-20-percent-less-beef-than-used-to.html
http://fortune.com/2015/10/27/red-meat-consumption-decline/
http://fortune.com/2015/10/26/meat-cancer-health/
http://story.stonebarnscenter.org/annual-report/
http://www.fooddive.com/news/could-grassfed-beef-become-mainstream/444678/
http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/05/31/kathy-gunst-yogurt
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/beef/big-picture-beef-hopes-to-capitalize-on-grass-fed/article_a6c2db05-2f23-596d-b3ee-5d18974e6b98.html
https://www.qsrmagazine.com/outside-insights/argument-grass-fed-beef
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We can get grass fed beef and free range chickens around our area. We live in farm country area. When you buy ground beef in the stores, it might contain meat from a hundred cows and no telling the chemicals involved. Here we know the meat is from one cow and no chemicals. Good article.
I rarely eat meat, but that looks delicious :)
So it's not like people are abstaining from meat, just that they are looking for healthier options. There is so much adulteration and alteration happening with food that people certainly need to be careful.
Interesting read, thanks for sharing!
it's a bit of both :)
Would you put regular gas in a lamborghini if you cared about it performing at its maximum cababilities? no. Why would you do that to your body? Seems like people are starting to come around. Not only that but if you think corporations are a problem why would you not want to support local butchers and farms? I stopped eating meat for about a year and now when I enjoy a burger it is local grass fed. you can taste/ feel the difference.
Wow!!!
I like fresh food :)
Go Vegan.
Yes :))
Or not. I have eye teeth for a reason. Further, there are many issues with going vegan, including consuming soy for protein (which has major issues without fermentation).
Sorry, "go vegan" is NOT a solution for everyone. Might not really be for anyone.
Grass fed beef its better to eat than beef fed by feeds or nor not by grass.. now a days our food is full of chemical from salt, seasoning, diary product and even the meat. So its better to buy grass fed meet even its expensive. Thanks for the post. Upvote and follow you
Go Vegan.
No.
nice one \1
Basically, you are what you eat!
If the cow doesn't eat what it's supposed to eat - it won't taste as good as it's supposed to taste.
(plus it's way healthier)
Go Vegan.
I prefer for my food to eat the vegetables for me. ;)
Here is a Vegan receipe you will like
https://steemit.com/health/@dakashin/healthy-summer-treat-how-to-make-vegan-strawberry-chocolate-chip-muffins
I think so too !
good news about blue apron!
Grass fed beef is the only beef choice my family has purchased for at least 4 years now. It's better in so many ways.
I just made some grass feed beef meatloaf the other day so tasty! I am Bobby from FlavCity and I just joined, I'm stoked to post and share all of my recipes. My friend Allas Yummy Food turned me on to Steemit! I am going to post a recipe for BBQ ribs soon, hope you can check it out :)
Very nice 🙂🙂
The consumers are more health conscious nowadays. Thanks for a few upvotes :)
Go Vegan.
Great relevant information! Thanks for the info. I had no idea we were looking at these kind of statistics. This shows huge change in the eating habits of Americans, and it's moving in the right direction!
Go Vegan
It always boils down to the same sentence..
"You are what you eat" including the animals and plants you eat
Grass fed would be healthier. What the animal is consuming is also what you are consuming when you eat their meat. Makes sense to me. I have been on Steemit for about a month. I am sensing that many folk like yourself offer well documented reports or essays complete with references and links to follow. Reminds me of my college days. At any rate I love good beef and I enjoyed your post. I am following now - Troy
I would really be interested in seeing what the assumed impact would be on the land (and surrounding areas) if it were used for grass fed beef as opposed to what it is currently used for.
That being said..... great article, and thank you for sharing!
The constant plowing and addition of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and herbicides to continue this mono-culture farming ritual we perform today is far more harmful (my opinion) on the environment than grazing cattle on the land. The cattle return a large amount of nutrients to the soil, and the land can be re-used for other animals or crops between letting the field go fallow for the next round of grazing. No real "inputs" are needed for the cattle, other than water, and we can find great permaculture ways to provide them with water/food that restores the land instead of destroys it.
this provides a good discussion on that :) https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/is-grass-fed-beef-really-better-for-you-the-animal-and-the-planet/2015/02/23/92733524-b6d1-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html?utm_term=.eae66551ef79
as well as this report http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/images/content/3/9/39629/Grassfed-MarketStudy-F.pdf
You make me hungry
Thanks for sharing
Have a sweet monday
hi thanks for the info here really interesting. and also thanks for donating to @papa-pepper for the steem-pocolipse survival game. what a nice thing to do.
my pleasure, did you win it? :)
no i'm not in it i just like to see others help people out.
every single person here who upvotes others, resteems their content, or comments on their posts - heck even just takes the time to read it, or those who offer verbal support etc, they are all helping another person out, i'd say :)
yes that helps too. thanks again.
In environmental, Grass Fed beef always destroy huge amount of area.
You know? 1kg Beef= Driving 250km and 100w light bulb lighting 20days
There's plenty of room for sustainable farming, but you're completely free to be vegan. Your choice.
I follow the Weston Price Foundation dietary recommendation.
Grass fed, raw milk and LOTS of grass fed butter for starters.
https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/differences-between-the-weston-a-price-foundation-diet-and-the-paleo-diet/
My HDL cholesterol is 80 and as you can see I absolutely rock healthy cholesterol https://medlineplus.gov/magazine/issues/summer12/articles/summer12pg6-7.html
Thank you for your post. I always enjoy reading what you share.
This is a great trend for personal health and local economies. Find your local grass-fed meat producer, and throw your business their way. I've started making monthly trips to my local farm, and the products are fantastic. It's also nice to know the people producing your food - maybe consider producing some of your own as well. You'll never beat that quality at a grocery store.
With such an increase in the consumption of "Grass Fed" beef, is there a possibility that this would open the door to fraudulent farmers labeling their packages as such "Grass Fed". As far as I know and I may be wrong, there is not enough farmland in the US to support the cattle matched up with the dramatic increase in demand. Just another Buyer Beware. Also I am certain the US does not import as much Beef as they would need to accommodate the sudden increase in this demand. Just my thought. Thanks for sharing
Go Vegan.
Cows are ruminants, they are supposed to eat grass. To feed them a different diet is somewhat cruel. Grass fed beef simply tastes better too.
I'd prefer a "hunt to eat" type of lifestyle, where the only meat consumed was that which has been hunted and harvested by the intended consumer. The majority of the human diet should be raw vegetables and fruits, with meat as the occasional supplement, not a daily gluttony of factory farmed garbage meats. The further we move away from factory farmed meats, the better we will all be for it.
Local and grass fed is really the way to go for our health and the animal's health and well being.
Go Vegan.
I am so sorry I disagree. Eating meat causes cancer. Lesson to Dr. Michael Greger. He is one of the smartest Doctors I know. Please research. Plant Base Vegan is the healthiest diet.Peace.
We all die of something, mate. Quality of life matters, and most humans are natural omnivores. To state that "eating meat causes cancer" is grossly misleading. It's wonderful that you can thrive on a vegan diet, but it doesn't work for everyone. Hyperbole (and trolling "Go Vegan") doesn't help your argument.
And for desert....
https://steemit.com/health/@dakashin/healthy-summer-treat-how-to-make-vegan-strawberry-chocolate-chip-muffins
The single most powerful way to change the flawed corporate controlled agricultural system is to demand higher quality food. Or, even better, learn how to grow it yourself!
Buen post! Te dejo un voto y te sigo.. Acá te dejo mi último post. https://steemit.com/food/@yanethlopez/ceviches
Grass fed is definitely the healthier way to go. I think one other reason beef consumption has dropped has to do with price. I think it's possible many people opt for cheaper meats because that's what they can afford and health reasons aren't necessarily their reason.
Theres a new and even more productive way than grassfed. Its Treefed
Well Trees and giant grasses.
They produce more biomass and protein than pasture or grains and can be a gamechanger in putting healthy meat on the table
Ill be posting a out this soon with examples.
Grass fed beef has definitely been documented to be healthier than commercially raised and/or grain fed beef on many different occasions. We are a small farm that raises grass fed, grass finished beef and we love it-flavor, texture, and especially knowing exactly where it came from and how it was treated. We have a stand at a local farmer's market, and I often have people come up and tell me that they can get grass fed beef way cheaper than our prices at Aldis, and other supermarkets. I caution them, and everyone, to make SURE they know where that beef is coming from. I have read different articles/documents stating that almost 80% of the grass fed beef consumed in the U.S. is imported from different countries. That, is a lot, especially since @doitvoluntarily just said above that the industry has grown to almost 300 million. Not to mention, you can't even trust the grass fed beef labels that say "Product of the USA", because they can use that label even if the beef was only PACKAGED in the U.S. It's not that beef raised in other countries can't be good, but why would you want to buy something from that far away, not knowing anything about it, when you can get in in your own "back yard"? All this to say-Buy your meat from local farmers that you can actually talk to about your food. Ask questions(I love telling people about our cows!), and truly know where the meat you're putting in your mouth is coming from. You can't do that at the supermarkets...it will always be a guessing game with them. I understand that purchasing meat this way isn't a reality for some, and that saddens me...but for those of you who have the option, please spend the extra money, and practice safe eating.
Here is a Table I found on http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/07/11/brazilian-beef-scandal.aspx that lists the Top 5 countries the U.S. imports their grass fed beef from and the amount in pounds from 2016. I don't know where they sourced it from, so I can't attest to it's complete accuracy, but it gives at least an outline of the numbers.
Rank /Country /Total pounds imported 2016
1
Australia
767 million
2
Canada
718 million
3
New Zealand
613 million
4
Mexico
493 million
5
Brazil
152.7 million