Ordering Up Beef That Roamed The Range

For some steak lovers, their dinner menu is determined by their dinner's menu.

Pasture-raised, or grass-fed beef is an increasing alternative to grain-fed beef sold in supermarkets and in most restaurants. While all beef cattle eat a grass-based diet for part of their lives, most beef sold in the U.S. comes from animals that spend their last months in feedlots where they are fattened on corn or other grains. The term "grass-fed" beef has come to mean animals that spend their entire lives foraging and eating grass.

Proponents say grass-fed beef is healthier because it is leaner, and better tasting because the cattle eat a more natural diet. About 3% of the beef sold in the U.S. is from grass-fed cattle, according to John Comerford, associate professor of dairy and animal science at Penn State University.

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