Re: pastured vs. range-fed

[Guest guest]

From my understanding grass and pasture mean the same thing. I'm not sure

about range fed, that could mean they eat pasture and grain. I prefer to eat

100% grass fed meat which is what I get here from my local farms.

I'm not even sure if large natural food stores carry that type of meat in the

US.

Do you get Wise Traditions? They have a list of farms and products for

pastured animal foods.

piimaman

[Guest guest]

Hey

Here's my take on this teminology mess:

In a message dated 9/11/02 5:39:11 PM Central Daylight Time,

ChrisMasterjohn@... writes:

> Hi,

>

> Is there any difference between the terms " pastured " or " grass-fed " and

> " range-fed " ?

Pastured can be in a small area which is changed daily or weekly or monthly

(chickens are often pastured rather than free range) but the animals are

confined rather than being able to have large areas to " range. " Range to me

means there is grass, brush, weeds, small trees, you name it for animals to

graze on. Grass is grass or grains such as alfalfa, wheat, oats.

I was exposed to the latter mostly before being acquainted with WAPF and

this

> list, but either of the first two are used more in these parts. I had been

> under the impression that " range-fed " meant a cow grazing on pasture, but

> now I wonder. When I started eating meat again at the beginning of the

> year, I asked the guy at Bread and Circus if he had any " range-fed " meat,

> and he said that all the beef was range-fed 11 months of the year, and not

> during one month. Does this mean it is grass-fed or can it mean other

> things? I am a little suspicious now and figure I'm eating decent meat but

> prolly not the best.

Being suspicious is a good thing. Many folks are calling beef

range/pasture/grass-fed if they are grazing growing greens most of the time.

There is a myth that you must " put up " the steer for a month and grain feed

it before you butcher. Seems insane to me, we don't do it, won't do it and

the beef is fine. Keep looking for the animals that are on growing greens for

12 months rather than those put up to fatten.

Hope that helped some,

Belinda

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/11/02 7:33:37 PM Central Daylight Time,

pthompson@... writes:

> " They do it " because they, the feed lots are paid on the weight they put

> ON the animal before they butchered. I just bought a

> half of a beef.-ine in WA

>

Yes and no. We have neighbors who raise their own meat, bring it to the

butcher themselves and eat it all themselves. It is not a question of money.

One of the idiots put his steer up in the middle of June when grazing was at

its best.

Belinda

[Guest guest]

Hi

Where I live in Eastern Washington State there is a lot of dry sagebrush

land which is sometimes leased to cattle farmers and this is frequently

referred to as rangeland, definitely not verdant pasture but there is grass

and other growing things the cows munch on. I believe cattle farmers who

range feed their stock typically bring them down several months prior to

sale time and then give them grain to finish them. Grass-fed I would think

refers to cattle raised on green pasture as opposed to rangeland. What,

however, any of these terms means in the market place is another question

entirely. Than there is the issue of the fatty acid profile and other

charactristics of the meat if a cow is fed on the range vs in an irrigated

pasture. Any cattle farmers on the list who can shed light on this?

I asked once at the local supermarket if they had grass fed beef and got a

dumbfounded look from the lady at the meat counter, when I explained she

lectured me about how much better meat was when it was grain fed. I wasn't

there to convince her just checking on whether any of these concepts are

filtering into the larger society--guess not yet.

--

-----Original Message-----

From: ChrisMasterjohn@... [mailto:ChrisMasterjohn@...]

Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 3:39 PM

Subject: pastured vs. range-fed

Hi,

Is there any difference between the terms " pastured " or " grass-fed " and

" range-fed " ? I was exposed to the latter mostly before being acquainted

with WAPF and this list, but either of the first two are used more in these

parts. I had been under the impression that " range-fed " meant a cow grazing

on pasture, but now I wonder. When I started eating meat again at the

beginning of the year, I asked the guy at Bread and Circus if he had any

" range-fed " meat, and he said that all the beef was range-fed 11 months of

the year, and not during one month. Does this mean it is grass-fed or can

it mean other things? I am a little suspicious now and figure I'm eating

decent meat but prolly not the best.

Thanks,

Chris

[Guest guest]

I live in Switzerland and our beef comes from cattle that are rotated around

the lush (rainy) green meadows here. From what i can discern, they are also

not grain fed at the end. My husband and i laugh whenever we cook beef and

the instructions say to drain fat, because there is very little to none. The

beef here is unlike anything we tasted in the states -- denser in flavor and

texture.

Elaine

[Guest guest]

I had no idea chickens ate small mammals!!!! Do they eat mice?

Elaine

[Guest guest]

" They do it " because they, the feed lots are paid on the weight they put

ON the animal before they butchered. I just bought a

half of a beef.-ine in WA

-----Original Message-----

From: bilherbs@... [mailto:bilherbs@...]

Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2002 5:24 PM

Subject: Re: pastured vs. range-fed

Hey

Here's my take on this teminology mess:

In a message dated 9/11/02 5:39:11 PM Central Daylight Time,

ChrisMasterjohn@... writes:

> Hi,

>

> Is there any difference between the terms " pastured " or " grass-fed "

and

> " range-fed " ?

Pastured can be in a small area which is changed daily or weekly or

monthly

(chickens are often pastured rather than free range) but the animals are

confined rather than being able to have large areas to " range. " Range to

me

means there is grass, brush, weeds, small trees, you name it for animals

to

graze on. Grass is grass or grains such as alfalfa, wheat, oats.

I was exposed to the latter mostly before being acquainted with WAPF and

this

> list, but either of the first two are used more in these parts. I had

been

> under the impression that " range-fed " meant a cow grazing on pasture,

but

> now I wonder. When I started eating meat again at the beginning of

the

> year, I asked the guy at Bread and Circus if he had any " range-fed "

meat,

> and he said that all the beef was range-fed 11 months of the year, and

not

> during one month. Does this mean it is grass-fed or can it mean other

> things? I am a little suspicious now and figure I'm eating decent

meat but

> prolly not the best.

Being suspicious is a good thing. Many folks are calling beef

range/pasture/grass-fed if they are grazing growing greens most of the

time.

There is a myth that you must " put up " the steer for a month and grain

feed

it before you butcher. Seems insane to me, we don't do it, won't do it

and

the beef is fine. Keep looking for the animals that are on growing

greens for

12 months rather than those put up to fatten.

Hope that helped some,

Belinda

[Guest guest]

--- Don't overlook animals other than cattle which are grassfed in

pastures and on the range. My 4 month old pastured/range fed chickens

are losing this status tomorrow morning as they are dieing like flies

without protection. Therefore when I get home from work tonight

around midnight I'm building a fence for their protection. Free

range/pastured poultry is a great idea in some ways and in many ways

it's not. Some people train there dogs to be problems and some are

problem people with dogs. And some of these chickens, even just sort

of walked off into the timber last week. That didn't work! And of

course there's always normal predators and inclement weather and it

all adds up to spending lots of time protecting the free

range/pastured chickens. I think I've lost half of our 200 chickens

before reaching maturity. Does this help? Dennis

In @y..., ChrisMasterjohn@a... wrote:

> Hi,

>

> Is there any difference between the terms " pastured " or " grass-fed "

and " range-fed " ? I was exposed to the latter mostly before being

acquainted with WAPF and this list, but either of the first two are

used more in these parts. I had been under the impression

that " range-fed " meant a cow grazing on pasture, but now I wonder.

When I started eating meat again at the beginning of the year, I

asked the guy at Bread and Circus if he had any " range-fed " meat, and

he said that all the beef was range-fed 11 months of the year, and

not during one month. Does this mean it is grass-fed or can it mean

other things? I am a little suspicious now and figure I'm eating

decent meat but prolly not the best.

>

> Thanks,

> Chris

[Guest guest]

--- You're on track! It's a matter of tradition(Wise Traditions).

Cattle go to grass(pasture) here in KS, May 1 and traditionally come

out of pasture, Sept. 1. But not chickens! Traditionally they

hangout around the barnyard. That is until somebody invented chicken

tractors(little pens for chickens which are easily moved to fresh

ground/grass/range). At that point chickens became non-traditional!

For central Kansas anyway.

And by the way the range fed animals don't finish/gain weight very

well but the past fifty years no one wanted lean meat(almost no one)

so along comes the feedlot. Well I gotta go. Happy days are here

again. Gotta build that fence. I knew I shoulda moved to an open

range state. Dennis in Kansas

In @y..., zumicat@a... wrote:

> From my understanding grass and pasture mean the same thing. I'm

not sure

> about range fed, that could mean they eat pasture and grain. I

prefer to eat

> 100% grass fed meat which is what I get here from my local farms.

> I'm not even sure if large natural food stores carry that type of

meat in the

> US.

> Do you get Wise Traditions? They have a list of farms and products

for

> pastured animal foods.

> piimaman

[Guest guest]

At 06:38 PM 9/11/2002 -0400, you wrote:

>he said that all the beef was range-fed 11 months of the year, and not

>during one month. Does this mean it is grass-fed or can it mean other things?

The terminology should not get in the way of understanding. Grass fed is

just that. Range fed does not necessarily have the same meaning. In areas

of the world with mild winters grass grows continuously and ruminants can

feast all year long. Even in some areas that get snow the pastures are

somewhat green underneath and animals such as bison can forage through the

snow. And they do naturally eat other plants and leaves sometimes. Many

farmers take hay (a type of grass) and raise it during the warm months then

harvest and store it for use during the winter months when the pasture

isn't as productive.

The question you really want to ask is if the animals [beef, bison, etc.]

are fed anything else but grass or hay. If they are fed grain then that

unnatural food will upset the animals' normal metabolism and immune

strength (and fattens them for the slaughter). That type of animal is just

not as healthy for us to consume. Of course this grass versus grain

concept only applies to ruminants and not to carnivores (chickens, for

example). But carnivores should get a balanced diet that is not entirely

one food group. Well-fed chickens, for example, should eat many foods such

as insects, small mammals, seeds, grains, vegetables, etc.

-=mark=-

[Guest guest]

Yes, i helped a friend kill some chickens once and he threw the heads into

the pen where all the chickens commenced eating. But i didn't know they ate

living meat!

Elaine

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/12/02 1:24:25 AM Central Daylight Time,

emarshall@... writes:

> I had no idea chickens ate small mammals!!!! Do they eat mice?

> Elaine

Mice, snakes, each other. We have a fellow here does work for us and will

not eat pork because pigs are scavengers. Told him he'd best stop eating

chicken as they often eat each other while I've never seen the pigs doing

that!

Belinda

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/12/02 10:16:08 AM Central Daylight Time,

ChrisMasterjohn@... writes:

> I've seen pictures of pigs biting each others' tails off. " Pork production

> engineers " often snip pigs' tails the way chickens' beaks are clipped.

>

> I think it only happens when they are kept in cramped conditions.

>

> Chris

Our hogs will snap at each other, sorta the way dogs and cats will get mad

and fight but the chickens are really something else. If one gets a bloody

spot on it from something the rest will zero right in and start pecking at

it. If it weren't for eggs and dumpling those yard buzzards would be history!

Belinda

[Guest guest]

I've seen pictures of pigs biting each others' tails off. " Pork production

engineers " often snip pigs' tails the way chickens' beaks are clipped.

I think it only happens when they are kept in cramped conditions.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I just thought it might interest you to know what my farmer told me yesterday

regarding pasture fed animals. He raises Devon ilkers on pasture all year

round in accordance to biodynamci methods. New research has just come in

stating that is only takes 15 pounds of grain to change the CLA levels.

Thought that would be of interest.

piimaman

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 9/12/02 3:21:57 PM Central Daylight Time, zumicat@...

writes:

> Hi everyone,

> I just thought it might interest you to know what my farmer told me

> yesterday

> regarding pasture fed animals. He raises Devon ilkers on pasture all year

> round in accordance to biodynamci methods. New research has just come in

> stating that is only takes 15 pounds of grain to change the CLA levels.

> Thought that would be of interest.

> piimaman

>

15 pounds in what period of time?

Belinda

[Guest guest]

That is a good question, I'll have to ask them. I think it was 15 pounds was

all it took perhaps at once to change the ration , but I can see that say

over a period of time like a year or so how 15 pounds might just lower the

CLA slightly.

Like I said I'll ask, these people are experts at 100% grassfarming in a cold

environment too.

piimaman

[Guest guest]

At 08:17 AM 9/12/2002 -0400, you wrote:

>Mice, snakes, each other. We have a fellow here does work for us and will

>not eat pork because pigs are scavengers. Told him he'd best stop eating

>chicken as they often eat each other while I've never seen the pigs doing

>that!

>

>Belinda

After I got chickens, I started believing they are based

on dinosaurs. Little vicious predators! Good thing they

are little.

Heidi