How important is this grass-fed thing? page

[Wildapple]

I mean really. The saturated fat from animal products is gonna get you one way or the other, grass-fed or not. Also, grass-fed is expensive. Why don't you just eat supermarket meat? Or better yet just stick to plants. You can get all the protein and fat that you need from plants.

[ryanmercer]

Do what you can afford. There exists an article or two where Mark says as much, as well as many posts on this forum from people. I try to have grass fed at least once a week, with the rest of the time just being grain fed from a local butcher. I just don't have the money for grass fed.

[Paleobird]

The way Mark puts it is, "Don't let the perfect become the enemy of the good". Yes, grass fed is better. But if you can't find and/or afford it, go with what you have.

The "organic" label has been abused and is kind of loosely defined but, if that meat you have there is hormone and antibiotic free, that is a big step in the right direction.

[shep68]

Agreed about the hormone/antibiotic-free beef. If you can at least achieve that you are a step ahead. As for grass fed I can get it at my butcher but it is prohibitively expensive so I buy grain and hay fed, corn finished beef (free of the nasties mentioned above). If you do opt for grain fed beef then be careful eating the fat. Lots of posts around here recommending eating fat, but if weight loss is your goal, eating grain fed beef fat in quantity will not help. Cut and/or drain fat from this type of beef where possible.

[Drumroll]

If you can afford the grass-fed thing, DO it. For sure. It's great.

But not everyone can. If you can't there is still some benefit to eating conventionally raised meets and trying to source the hormone and antibiotic-free stuff when you can.

Don't let "the best" get in the way of "good" if you can't always make optimal choices.

[Wildapple]

Ok, thanks. So what I'm hearing you all say is eat the hormone/antibiotic/steroid free when possible and don't sweat the rest because eating primal and staying away from the potatoes/grains/sugar is the most important thing.
So glad to hear that you eat some grain-fed. I was worried about doing that and was afraid I would have to give up.

[Drumroll]

Ok, thanks. So what I'm hearing you all say is eat the hormone/antibiotic/steroid free when possible and don't sweat the rest because eating primal and staying away from the potatoes/grains/sugar is the most important thing.
So glad to hear that you eat some grain-fed. I was worried about doing that and was afraid I would have to give up.

There's good and there's even better. But not everyone has the ability to go 100% on this and that shouldn't let you be perturbed or stop you from making positive changes where you can.

[fresa]

Ok, thanks. So what I'm hearing you all say is eat the hormone/antibiotic/steroid free when possible and don't sweat the rest because eating primal and staying away from the potatoes/grains/sugar is the most important thing.
So glad to hear that you eat some grain-fed. I was worried about doing that and was afraid I would have to give up.

No, that would not at all be cause for giving up! This whole thing, from what I can see, is about improvements. Not perfection. Any step in the right direction is fantastic! Don't let funds or distance from a decent store deter you, and don't beat yourself up over the small stuff. It's just not worth it

[feren6]

Like everyone else said, you don't need to sweat it if you can't get grass fed.

But as a student in college, I'm on a pretty strict budget, and I'm able to get grass fed by getting involved in cow shares. I bought an eighth of a grass-fed cow a couple of months ago and I still have a couple cuts left. And it only came out to $7/lb, and included everything from ground beef to filets. Awesome deal, I highly recommend you look around for one in your area.

[AshleyL]

Yes, sometimes you can find someone selling a half or quarter etc of a bull/steer that are about to have butchered where you can pick it up at the butcher.