Consumer demand for grass-fed beef is on the rise, and some of the drivers of the grass-fed beef trend are consumer perceptions that, first, the practices of the grass-fed industry mean that the meat poses fewer health and safety risks than conventionally raised grain- fed beef, and second, the handling of the animals is more humane. However, the practices and processing methodologies of the grass- fed industry are not free from food safety and humane handling issues. In recent years, a pair of companies in the grass-fed beef industry, Rain Crow Ranch (RCR) and Fruitland American Meat (Fruitland), was cited for several violations of federal regulations. These incidents serve as reminders to the grass-fed industry that its products are subject to serious food safety and humane handling risks, just as conventional meat products are. The grass-fed meat industry can draw lessons from these case studies that will help the industry continue to grow and thrive.
Over the past decade, the demand for grass-fed beef has grown at an annual rate of twenty-five to thirty percent. During 2013, retail sales of grass-fed beef products exceeded 400 million dollars, representing a dramatic increase over the five million dollars of retail sales reported in 1998. Other studies have shown that grass- fed beef purchases represent three to six percent of the total beef market share in a number of major U.S. markets. Among the drivers for this increase are studies suggesting that, compared to conventionally raised grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef has fewer calories, less fat, and higher levels of so-called “healthy fats” like Omega-3 fatty acids.
Some consumers may opt for grass-fed products based on a belief that the practices and processing methodologies used pose less of a health and safety risk compared to conventionally raised beef. Yet, a recent study completed in collaboration between Purdue University and Zhejiang University, a Chinese university, concluded, “there are no clear food safety advantages to grass-fed beef products over conventional beef products.” Some grass-fed products are marketed as posing less of a safety risk, noting that forage-based diets improve the microbial environment in the livestock’s rumen, enhancing its ability to thwart off pathogens. Other factors, however, may have a larger part to play in food safety for grass-fed products, including how and where the meat is processed and whether the livestock receive preventative or sub-therapeutic antibiotics. But not everyone agrees with Purdue and Zhejiang’s joint study. While describing the report’s conclusions as “intriguing,” at least one expert raised concerns regarding whether the small sample sizes used to perform the study limit the validity of extrapolating its results across the entire beef industry.