Happy Hobo Grass Fed Beef Jerky

Highlanders in a field at Nectar Hills Farm

Our tag-line says that grass-fed beef jerky is “better for you, the animal, and the planet.” Just what do we mean by that?

The vast majority of the beef on this planet is raised in CAFOs, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. These vast monstrosities of industrial agriculture are environmental disasters. Concentrated manure builds up, animals are forced close together where diseases can spread quickly, and these operations use large amounts of oil, pesticide-ridden feed, and antibiotics, among other horrific things. Grass-fed animals, on the other hand, actually improve the land on which they graze, are solar powered (sun for the grass, less petroleum needed for raising them), release less green-house gases (because they are ruminants–not meant to eat grain, just grass), and their manure is spread over the field (not concentrated) so it’s fertilizer, not a toxic plume.

Grass fed beef generally doesn’t need all the medicines like antibiotics. The cattle move around, thereby getting plenty of exercise, and lowering their fat content. They evolved to eat grass, so their diet is perfect for them, as opposed to grain-fed which creates an acidic stomach, makes them sick, and would eventually kill them. In the fields, they live happy lives wandering around eating the grass they evolved to eat.

Finally, our grass-fed beef jerky is better for you because eating grass-fed beef is much healthier than eating grain-fed. According to Eat Wild, here are the nutritional reasons for eating grass-fed beef.

1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

There you have it. That’s why we like to say, “Grass-fed beef jerky is better for you, the animal, and the planet.”