California State University Chico, where there has long been focused attention on grass fed beef, has published a new paper comparing grass fed and grain fed beef. It has been getting some legacy media attention.

Beef from grass-fed animals has lower levels of unhealthy fats and higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which are better for cardiovascular health. Grass-fed beef also has lower levels of dietary cholesterol and offers more vitamins A and E as well as antioxidants. The study found that meat from animals raised entirely on grass also had about twice the levels of conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, isomers, which may have cancer fighting properties and lower the risk of diabetes and other health problems.

No news here, but we wouldn't expect news since the report is a survey of existing literature.

While the analysis is favorable to grass-fed beef, it’s not clear whether the nutritional differences in the two types of meat have any meaningful impact on human health. For instance, the levels of healthful omega-3s are still far lower than those found in fatty fish like salmon. And as the study authors note, consumers of grain-fed beef can increase their levels of healthful CLAs by eating slightly fattier cuts.

Better yet, for mega doses of omega-3s eat dairy products from grass fed cows, especially cheese, and have some mercy on the dwindling salmon population. There simply aren't enough fish to go around, so this is an empty option. Supplements squeezed from krill or algae make more sense since they are more abundant and aren't the necessarily rare top predators of the seas like salmon.

But this still misses the point: grass fed beef has a balanced fat profile of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. The objective isn't to get all the omega-3s you can get, it is to get a proper ratio of fatty acids in your natural diet so that you don't need supplements. With grain fed beef - which is usually fatter than grass fed beef - you can get as much omega-3 and CLA but you get far, far more omega-6 and so are out of balance.

Grass-fed beef has a distinctly different and “grassy” flavor compared with feed-lot beef and also costs more. A recent comparison in The Village Voice cooked up one-pound grass-fed and grain-fed steaks. The grass-fed meat tasted better, according to the article, but at $26 a pound, also cost about three times more.

Rubbish. My beef doesn't have a grassy flavor and you can buy my burger for $6 a pound in fancy vacuum bags that will keep for a very long time. The packaging costs almost as much as the beef, but in order to get USDA approval to sell at farmer's markets I have to do it.

in the 1950s, cattle raisers hoping to cut costs and improve efficiency of beef production began to ship the animals to feed lots, where they could be fattened more quickly on inexpensive and high-calorie grains. Grain feeding also increased intramuscular fat in the animals. The result was a marbling effect that made meat more flavorful and tender but also raised fat and cholesterol levels.

Nonsense. Grass fed beef can have just as much marbling when it is raised right. It takes more skill but it costs less due to needing fewer bought inputs. What grass fed beef doesn't have is the thick layer of back fat, so called bark, that has little commercial value. A diet of good grass in ample quantities can easily support the 1.7 pounds a day rate of gain needed for marbling. A steady gain at this rate is good for the animal's health and finishes them young and still tender. In a feed lot on a twinky diet they may gain twice as much a day, but a lot of that is just bark.

Advocates of pasture-raised beef say the reasons to switch go beyond nutrition. The animal is raised in a more humane fashion that is also better for the environment.

This is often the case, but there is no reason that animals could not have humane treatment while being fed a variety or forages that are not food for humans and so be even better for the environment. In my area there are a lot of packing houses that supply fruits, veggies and flowers to the nation. A lot of perfectly good food doesn't make the cut for human consumption since it isn't pretty enough. Most of it is fed to dairy cattle since it is cheaper than grain and has high food value. It would make sense in many ways to feed such food to grazing animals on pasture in those times in mid summer and mid winter when there's a slump in grass growth. This would violate the spirit if not the absolute letter of the grass fed law (it depends on which grass fed standard you are using, there are 3 or 4).

IMV the issue is good agronomics. The whole integrated food system must be considered to select production systems that do the most good and the least harm while providing superior nutrition for a large and growing population. Use lab testing to prove the quality of the food rather than trying to infer quality from the production system. Full Monty. Show the numbers. Consumers don't have the expertise to make informed decisions based on production methods, but they can read a label.