Grass-finished beef here! Get your grass-finished beef!

China Millman, the Post-Gazette's resident restaurant critic (I'm not sure what the heck to call that "Munch" guy), dishes on some options for local grass-finished beef. Grass-fed, I presume, should be reserved for cow's that truly do eat nothing but grass their entire lives. Grass-finished are those that aren't sent to CAFOs to be "finished" for the last part of their lives on grain-based feed (and to get all hopped up on antibiotics and growth hormones -- partaaaay at the CAFO!).

In addition to helping consumers find local options for grass-fed/finished beef, there is something else I found particularly welcome about this article: the reserved way she describes the potential health benefits of grass-fed/finished beef.

Preliminary research suggests that grass-finished beef may be more healthful than grain-finished beef. It's leaner and lower in calories. It also contains higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and conjugated linoleic acid, which health professionals believe may have cancer-fighting properties.

Terms/phrases like "preliminary" research and "may be more healthful" are important. Although you will often see proponents of grass-fed/finished beef (of which I consider myself one) tout its health benefits, as far as I know, there have been no studies that have directly compared health outcomes between people who consume primarily corn-fed beef (which probably represents 99% of the meat-eating population, in the U.S. at least) and grass-fed/finished beef (nor are there likely to be any, for a number of reasons). Those overstatements always bother me and I don't think they help the "cause" any.

Second, I find it curious that Ms. Millman didn't explicity state where she stands on the taste issue. Although she cites others' feelings, she doesn't offer her own preference. She's a food critic, after all. I would have liked to have seen something in that regard, even if, for the purposes of this article, she was playing the role of straight-news journalist.

My own opinion is that grass-fed beef can be better than grain-fed. The problem, if you want to call it that, is that the taste actually does vary from farm to farm. I have had some grass-fed beef that was fantastic, and some that was quite disappointing.

If it's something you're into, I would recommend finding a grass-fed/finished producer whose product you enjoy and getting as much of it as possible. And telling everybody you know about it. Demand begets popularity, and popularity begets a bigger marketplace for these products. Although it's not something that can happen overnight. It definitely takes time. But hopefully it will start to happen.