Which meat is safe to buy? Which isn’t? Is organic beef or grass-fed beef better? Buying meat can be tough nowadays. There are so many buzz terms thrown around that can be misconstrued when it comes to the quality of the foods you are eating. In this post I’m going to tell you the terms that matter and those that don’t when buying beef.

Let’s start with what you want to look for.

100% Grass-Fed

In my opinion, this is the most important when it comes to beef. 100% grass-fed means that the cow is fed grass its entire life, up until the moment it is killed. This means there is no grain, soy, or corn in the meat you are eating, which is what cows are typically fed.

X Grass-Fed

Be wary when you don’t see 100% grass-fed or grass-finished. This usually means the cow was fed grass most of its life, up until the last 2 weeks before it was killed. During these last 2 weeks it is fed grain, corn, and soy to fatten it up. These are all ingredients you typically want to avoid.

X Organic

When you see the word organic on a meat label it simply means that the grain, corn, and /or soy the cow was fed was organic. Yes, this is absolutely better than a cow not fed an organic diet. However, it is not the only thing you want to look for. 100% grass-fed or grass-fed/grass-finished is the most important thing. Then, if you want to go a step further, look for organic when possible. If not, it’s not the end of the world since these cows are being fed all grass anyways.

X Natural

This has to be the most misleading marketing term out there. Natural means absolutely nothing in my book. It has nothing to do with the farming practices but simply just the processing of the meat. It means no artificial chemicals or dyes were added to the meat. However, it still can mean the cow was given antibiotics or growth hormones. There is no group that regulates the term “natural” either, meaning nobody is checking to make sure the company is actually following a set of standards.

Regenerative Agriculture

While this isn’t necessary, I highly recommend buying your beef from a local or regenerative farm. These are farms that use their cows to help fight climate change. You can read more about regenerative agriculture and how it works here. These farms are the most humane and are working to rebuild our soil health. And who doesn’t want a better functioning food system and healthier planet?

If you want to learn more about the types of meat you should be eating for optimal health, check out this video I filmed on my Instagram.

And, lastly, if you can’t afford 100% grass-fed beef from a regenerative farm, beef still has a large amount of nutrients for its cost. Choose real meat over processed foods any day!

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