Grass-Fed Beef is Healthy…Right?

The truth is, it all depends what you’re comparing it to.

Viewed next to a grain-fed, antibiotic and estrogen-pumped-up steer from a CAFO business, grass-fed beef is nothing short of heavenly.

But what if we held the same grass-fed beef next to a wild animal, or the animals our ancestors evolved to eat?

These animals survived the ice age. They coevolved with sabretooth cats, short-nosed bears (which dwarfed modern grizzlies), as well as the American cheetahs and lions. They contended with these other species everyday on the American savannah just to survive. They fought for dominance and status within their herd, and were regularly exercised by the pursuit of predators. They dealt with extreme weather conditions and otherwise harsh environs.

Grass-fed beef and cattle have been bred for their flavor, well-marbled and tender meat, and docile temperament. Beer-drinking and massaged cows are celebrated as the highest quality steaks available. Is this genuinely an animal worthy of being foodstuff for an athlete, martial artist, or anyone living a high-demand lifestyle?

Considering these questions turned me onto bison. And elk. And other game meats. These animals have been selected for their resilience, ability to adapt to their environment, and general toughness. These are athletic animals expressing their animal natures to the fullest everyday. Bison survive winters in Yellowstone—try surviving one hour in Yellowstone in the winter. Elk battle for the rights to mate—at at elevations of 10,000 feet or more, while being pursued by mountain lions, bear, and humans.

Lame Deer Seeker of Visions, a Lakota Medicine Man or Heyoka put it best:

“There’s more to food than just passing through your body….I was brought up to regard food as something sacred….There is power in an antelope, but not in a goat or a sheep, which holds still while your butcher it.

Remember…those six big black bulls [buffalo] we saw…they were so happy over that snow. Gamboling, racing around, playing like kittens. And afterward, we came across the tame cattle, hunched over, miserable, pitiful. ‘Moo, moo, moo - I’m cold.’ The real, natural animals don’t mind the cold; they are happy with the kind of fur coat and galoshes the Great Spirit gave them. White hunters used to call the buffalo stupid because they were easy to shoot, weren’t afraid of the gun. But the buffalo was not designed to cope with modern weapons. He was designed to deal with an Indian’s arrows….”

All that being said—you still wanna eat that steak?