One of the goals of True Food is to reconnect individuals with their food. We want to create a healthy relationship and offer nutritious food that is accessible for the individual and restorative for the environment. Unfortunately, humans have grown more and more disconnected from their food and the environments in which they are grown or raised. This disconnect has led to food choices that play a huge part in the development of chronic health symptoms affecting all systems of the body. By reconnecting with our food and how it is grown or raised we can start to seek out a diet that is right for our individual needs. We can work to restore balance in the body and reduce symptoms that negatively impact our everyday life.
This week we would like to highlight one of our partners, Oxbow Cattle Company. Since 2014, Bart and Wendy Morris have created a conservation-minded cattle ranch with the goals of improving ecological integrity of the land in their care, contributing meaningfully to their community and producing healthy, happy cows and the highest-quality beef. So, what does it take to raise high quality meat?
There are a lot of terms now used in the marketplace to describe how specific animals or foods are raised and it can be difficult to know what’s what. Grass-fed, grass-finished, organic, all natural…what exactly does it all mean? Well, it seems that some of these terms don’t have the most strict guidelines or tight regulations! It’s hard to know who we can trust, or to know exactly what we are being sold on.
When animals like beef, lamb, buffalo, bison, and goat are labeled “grass-fed,” it can simply mean that they have been fed grass for at least some of their lives, or even just a small part of their lives. This is in stark contrast to animals raised exclusively on feedlots, where they are raised on corn, grains, and commercial feed, none of which cows are evolved to eat (1).
Thankfully, this is not the case for the cows at Oxbow Cattle Company! Their cows spend their entire lives on pasture, living the best life a cow could have. They are not given growth hormones or sub-therapeutic/preventative antibiotics. Antibiotics are usually fed to feedlot cows because the conditions in these facilities are often unsanitary and can promote disease and infections. Oxbow Cattle spend their entire lives having never eaten a grain, they are given the freedom to graze on diverse pastures of grasses, legumes and forbs and are fed high-quality hay throughout the winter months (2). Oxbow beef is also better for your health than its grain-fed counterpart!
Why is grass-fed beef healthier?
Grass-fed beef is leaner, with significantly lower levels of total and saturated fat, and has a better balanced ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids. Grain-fed beef typically has an omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of 4:1, this doesn’t seem too bad at first glance but our ideal ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 is 1:1 or 2:1 to maintain optimal health and limit inflammation in the body. With grain-fed beef already at a 4:1 ratio, there is no room for any other grains on our plate. An excess of these grains in addition to eating meat that is high in omega 6 can create a cascade of unhealthy side effects we often hear simply associated with eating meat (3). So, it's important for us to be made aware of the integrity of the meat we eat! Grass-fed beef also contains higher levels of beta-carotene, B-Vitamins, and essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium (2). It also tastes better!
This week we are featuring Oxbow beef in a Vietnamese inspired beef soup. Their rib lion will be simmered in a rich umami stock with carrots, fennel, onion, lemongrass, ginger and star anise served over rice noodles. It is delicious!
Have you checked out the Oxbow Farm-2-Market location? This place is amazing! Located up Miller Creek at 6215 Haugan Drive, F2M is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! They operate on the honor system so you can show up at their location with cash, check, or a venmo account. It’s as simple as picking out the Oxbow items you would like, writing down what you are taking, totalling them up, and paying with your preferred payment method.They even carry some seasonal items such as pasture raised pork, eggs, and homemade bone broth.
Oxbow Cattle Company is the real deal. We are so lucky as a community to have individuals devoted to the health of their animals and stewards of the land, strengthening the biodiversity for all inhabitants.
(2018, September 7). Grass vs. grain: How it affects the cow. Grant Creek Ranch. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://grantcreekranch.com/2018/09/07/grass-vs-grain-how-it-affects-the-cow/
Why Grass-Finished? (n.d.). Oxbow Cattle Company. Retrieved March 24, 2023, from https://www.oxbowcattleco.com/why-grass-finished/
Lieberman, D. (2014). The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease