How green is grass-fed beef?
Consumers tend to mix and blend the terms “grass-fed” and “organic.” The perception is that grass-fed is enviro-friendly and healthful, so it is assumed that it is organic. However, most governmental and independent organizations that deal with these issues do not equate grass-fed and organic. Neither the Canadian government nor the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) organic labels mean that the beef is grass-fed. Their published standards explain that organic beef may be either grass-fed or grain-fed. How can a grass-fed product fail to be organic? Sometimes herbicides like Grazon P&D and Redeem R&P are sprayed on the hayfield or on the pasture itself. Some weeds are poisonous for cattle and must be eradicated. Herbicides are also used to control broadleaf weeds that crowd out the grasses. The herbicide toxins will eventually travel up into the flesh of the cattle as they eat and also down into the groundwater and eventually into our wells, streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans. Many
