Comments on: Box-o-Grassfed Lamb!

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Sun, 31 May 2009 23:04:11 +0000

John-
this is new info to me…I’ll need to do a little investigating on this. there is no doubt we have a taste for fattier cuts of meat and a tendency towards sat’d fat.

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:39:26 +0000

Noah-
Honestly, not sure…one of our trainers put our buys together.

By: Noah

Noah — Thu, 28 May 2009 05:08:18 +0000

Robb, where did you get the lamb from? also in the SD area and am interested!

I found these guys too :

http://cameronranch.com/order_grass-fed_beef_lamb.html

they’ll do a 1/2 lamb for 3.90 a lb + shipping if you cant find anything in your area.

By: JohnG

JohnG — Wed, 27 May 2009 16:05:17 +0000

Rob,

I used to be sold on this grassfed idea until I discovered a couple of interesting things.

First, I learned about how indigenous peoples eat and how the scientists think paleolithic people ate (i.e. they supposedly went for the fattiest portions and often discarded muscle meat in favor of visceral fat, marrow, brain, organs, etc).

I then looked at the actual fatty acid profiles of different meats on the http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ site. Here I discovered that grassfed meat definitely has fewer fatty acids but the profiles pain an interesting picture.

For example, Bison (top sirloin) has 1.9g of Saturated fat, 1.7g of Monounsaturated fat, and .215 of Polyunsaturated fat (with the ratio of omega 6 to 3 being 3.4 to 1). For the same size serving, a feedlot cow has 3.6g of Saturated fat, 4g of Monounsaturated fat, and .46g of Polyunsaturated fat (with the ratio being 3 to 1). Granted, the total fat is higher on the feedlot cow, but it appears to me that both the sat/mono and 6/3 ratios are better than on the grassfed Bison.

As an aside, the total fat of tongue, marrow, brain, etc. is far higher than you’ll see on grassfed meat as well.

The only negative I see is that grainfed beef seems to have a somewhat higher proportion of palmitic acid as compared to stearic acid, but we really aren’t talking about that much total fat difference with these it seems.

I know that they test the feedlot meat frequently for hormones and it has to meet many strict standards. Plus, we appear to receive a much worse dose of hormones from plastics and other man-made sources. As far as pesticides go, it looks like vegetables and fruit are much worse offenders of that than any meat source.

So, assuming we’re designed to prefer fat over lean meat, have a good ratio of omega 6 to omega 3, and have a higher percentage of mono over sat, how can feedlot meat be bad?

Thanks for a great blog Rob!

JohnG

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By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:25:29 +0000

Thanks Julie! I suspect that reflects a fall-down on his editors part, not Cordain. They kinda hacked his original manuscript.

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:38:01 +0000

Hi SoCal people!

RangelandBeef.com (in Tehachapi) delivers 100% grass fed beef to CSAs here in San Diego. Maybe other areas in SoCal as well? Jay@rangelandbeef.com hooked me up and now I enjoy my tasty, tasty cow all the time. Picking the next order up tomorrow!

By: Julie

Julie — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:54:27 +0000

Hey Robb,

Here’s a link to a useful article on the different “labeling of meats” http://www.eatingwell.com/news_views/green/green_choice_guide_meat_poultry.html

I was chatting with someone yesterday who pointed out that Cordain’s book seems to be more pro organic meats vs. the grass fed. Interesting to note…

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:20:48 +0000

Danny-
It should be grass finished. If one wants the health/ flavor bennies, then it cannot be grain finished.

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:18:05 +0000

See you soon girl!

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:17:04 +0000

Paul!
I’ll look into this, great tip!

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:13:54 +0000

Chris-
The above piece is pretty funny in that it ascribes any weight at all to caloric density…sounds like this person is trying to be some kind of expert by making everyone else out to be a dolt.

Nuts MIGHT be problematic in 2 ways:1-they typically have a truck-load of n-6 fats. You can balance this out by supplementing with fish oil but it’s just a thing to consider. Point 2 is that nuts and seeds DO have antinutrients which may play some havock in gut health. I do not think this is anywhere near what we see in grains/legumes…but it might be an issue for some. It is certainly an argument for rotating through the nut varieties to minimize this problem.

One thing to keep in mind also: this starts getting out on the oute realm of what most folks are willing to buy into…basic paleo ideas are tough to sell. Taking nuts/seeds out of the equation could cause an uprising…

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:07:16 +0000

Fellows…Totally unsure on this…suspect the research will make my head explode:0)

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:05:56 +0000

wayne-
You will love the grass fed beef! It’ll break you and make conventional meat tough to eat.

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Wed, 20 May 2009 17:03:04 +0000

Thanks Kurt!!

By: Kurt

Kurt — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:30:15 +0000

What a coincidence, I just found a farm out here in IL just 45 mins outside of Chicago where I’m going to buy half a GF cow. My dad has a huge freezer up at his house so I’m going 50/50 with him and storing it up there.

check em out:
http://www.flying-s.com/beef/

By: Wayne

Wayne — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:13:02 +0000

Hey Rob

Been following your site for a while now, really helped me try and nail down my nutrition. When I get the questions at work from the Diabetic cream pie eaters why I don’t eat bread, I just tell them to check your site out. Sadly their IQ is too low to comprehend what they don’t know.

I ordered my self half a grassfed cow about 3 weeks ago which is being hung at the moment! I had to go in with 3 other people cause its about 90kgs of meat . I cant wait to get into it.

By: Justin De Quimly

Justin De Quimly — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:22:51 +0000

Squire as a chemist is there owt you can point us bods ordinaire to that tells us roughly how much Vit D we assimilate from a say 1000iu D3 ?

Or do you have any experience plse ?

Am looking on the net and thus far finding nowt..which i thus far find odd.

By: Margie Lempert

Margie Lempert — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:12:22 +0000

Suh-weet!! I support lamb-tasticness for all!

By: Gaylord Fellows

Gaylord Fellows — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:31:48 +0000

Goddit…Saw a small one and it suggests being used for 5 mins 3 x per week.
Seems that from what little i could glean that the good (Vit D stim) is ameliorated by the bad.

Thanks Squire

By: robbwolf

robbwolf — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:56:43 +0000

Fellows-
It looks like tanning beds are bad news…not sure if that is still true at really modest doses.

By: RP

RP — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:56:19 +0000

Wolf Man, Good stuff. Let me know when you get that freezer setup, I’ll send you some tasty lean midwest venison from our family farm. Take Care, RP

By: Gaylord Fellows

Gaylord Fellows — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:36:15 +0000

Do you know Lad about sun tanning machines vis safety and Vit D secretion
please ?

Would you if you lived 6 months in the ladn of grey like BC ?

How much Vit D3 do we actually assim. from say a supposed 1000iu of d3 plse ?

Thanks

By: chris

chris — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:39:21 +0000

Hey Coach Wolf,
Quick question on nuts.
Digging through different sources, some are recommending that a limit should be kept on the overall nuts consumed daily. Some say it’s because we can’t count the overall calories during overall daily intake, but with zone this is avoidable, no?
For instance I found this little tid bit. (And now re-reading it, it feels and sounds like bullshit.
“It’s actually pretty easy to undo hours of fasting with an uncontrolled food intake when the feeding phase starts – even with healthy, ‘clean’ foods. For example, nuts, typically consumed by low carbers and the paleo clique (which also tends to be the groups of people often experimenting with IF), is being pushed as the second coming of Christ and an ‘optimal’ snack, yet contains more calories than chocolate on a unit per unit basis. Chocolate is a big no no for many dieters, yet nuts are ok? Sure, nuts have a decent fatty acid profile, but they’re worthless as a protein source and there’s a lot better ways to get your essential fatty acids than snacking on nuts ? especially if you want to lose weight. Rationalizing the consumption of nuts in favor for the exclusion of fruit and dairy is absurd, especially since the latter are less calorie dense and has shown to exert a positive effect on satiety and fat loss”
What’s the pros take? I have been going through the check list 1) clean foods 2) lifestyle 3) Sleep 4) If …..and because nuts are the most easy consumable fat I can deal with. I am nut and I eat a lot of them, kind of a you are what you eat type deal =) and i want to keep it that way.
Thanks

By: Mike S

Mike S — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:18:07 +0000

Cool, I’m lined up with Chaffin Family Orchards for a half beef order, due next month. Their ranch is run similar to Poly-Face farms, as described in the Omnivore’s Dilemma (Pollan). We bought a lil 6 cubic foot freezer for it (~$200), and will share some with relatives. I can’t wait to throw those steaks on the barbee.

We’re in on the co-op idea next year if it catches hold.

By: Strazz

Strazz — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:56:12 +0000

Robb, Count me in for the GF cow!!

By: Paul Polsin

Paul Polsin — Sat, 16 May 2009 10:19:07 +0000

Hey robb, don’t know if any place around chico has this but sonoma county has a meat purchasing club. its essentially like CSA but with various meats. Currently they do 3 tier options with GF beef, pastured chicken, pastured lamb and pork and also the option of goat meat for a very reasonable price. Something to look into for your area but it may be something you recommend for people on your site. Ever since the nutrition cert I have been intent on finding the best quality foods I can find, and this seems to be the best, and super reasonably priced. For about 300 a month I have local, in season vegetables, fruit, pastured meats and eggs, and its a awesome deal. Thanks again for all your info!

By: Chad

Chad — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:40:03 +0000

Co-op’ing bulk food purchases makes a ton of sense. I wonder if there are web apps out there that will allow you to broker payments, etc. I use http://www.billmonk.com right now for shared utilities, etc. – it might work for this too.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:17:29 +0000

Um, try that again – here’s the link (you do edit these things, right?)

http://www.eatwild.com/

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:16:52 +0000

Robb – that is freakin awesome! Maybe NorCal S&C can add a pasture out back? HA!

Here’s a pretty good site for those trying to find local farmers in their area, or if need be, those that ship.

Great meeting you and Nicki in Jax – thanks so much for a phenomenal cert. Looking forward to having you all come visit in the ATL in the fall – I’ll supply the anejo!

By: Matt Beaudreau

Matt Beaudreau — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:48:08 +0000

Good shit right there. My wife and I are in the Sacramento area about an hour from Chico, and just got a ton of GF beef through Open Space Meats. Great quality and great service- you might want to check them out.

By: Cole

Cole — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:35:44 +0000

My family gets 1/4-1/2 of a cow each year and a whole hog, and it is fantastic to have all that good meat on hand, but you are right about the freezer space (we have an entire chest freezer devoted to meat, plus two small ones). We are lucky enough to have a friend that raises grassfed cows, but the hog is nothing special.

By: Scott Kustes - Life Spotlight

Scott Kustes - Life Spotlight — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:48:54 +0000

You lucky bastard! I bought about 30lbs of lamb (half a lamb) last year through my co-op for about $6.50/lb! I also get cows through them for about $4/lb though. Usually split a 1/4 with a friend, which gives us each 60-75 lbs of meat.

Lamb is the greatest meat ever!

Cheers
Scott Kustes
Life Spotlight

By: DannyG

DannyG — Fri, 15 May 2009 14:41:47 +0000

Hi Robb,
I was once told that there is a difference b/w grassfed and grass finished meat. Grassfed means that the animal ate grass for a portion of its life and grass finished means that the animal ate grass for its entire life. Is this true?
Thanks for your time,
Dan