Describe and Copmare Grass-Fed Diet vs Grain-Fed Diet (Essay Sample)

GRASS-FED DIET VS GRAIN-FED DIET
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Introduction
Various cattle feeding production systems have their advantages and disadvantages. The cattle can either be grain or grass fed. A lot of research has been carried out to analyse which form of feed supersedes the other. Furthermore, the issue of whether cattle should be fed primarily on grass or grain has been a subject of debate for many years. This paper will focus on analysing the advantages and disadvantages of each. It will also focus on the beef cattle breed.
Grass-fed diet
The cattle that feeds primarily on grass are described as either grass-fed beef or pasture-fed dairy. Nevertheless, the term grass-fed is commonly confused with the free-range cattle
Advantages of a Grass-fed Diet.
* Fewer digestive disturbances are encountered.
* Dairy cattle have a decreased need for antibiotic administration. This is because this breed of cattle they are less productive.
* The grass is a more natural and grass-fed cattle tend to produce leaner carcasses.
* Cattle carcass has more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), omega-3 fatty acids, β-carotene and vitamin A and E as compared to carcass from grain-fed cattle.
* There is an increasing demand for grass-fed cattle and milk.
Disadvantages of a Grass-fed Diet
• Such cattle are more prone to internal parasites.
• The rate of growth is slow, and they require an extended period to reach their genetically optimum potential growth.
• Sometimes the grass-fed cattle are supplemented with grains to attain the slaughterhouse requirements for some markets.
Corn-fed diet
The cattle that are corn-fed, corn finished, or grain-fed are raised on maize and soy among others. The grain feeds are characterized to contain: high starch, high energy, it increases the carcass yield and hastens the process of fattening. In dairy cattle, the grains improve the quantity of milk production and lessens the need for adding extra energy supplements. Additionally, in the US beef cattle are usually fed on grains.
Advantages of a Corn-fed diet
• It hastens the growth of the animal allowing it to attain the market weight more quickly. Grains are more digestible and ferment faster. Thus the animals have a quick accesses nutrients quickening their growth.
• Most European consumers prefer grain-fed cattle.
• In dry lot feeding areas, internal parasites are not an issue.
• It is usually economical in regions where the land and fencing prices are high.
Disadvantages of a Corn-fed diet
• Cattle fed on this type of feed are prone to bacterial infections (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2001). This is because the feed increases the productivity of the cattle and results in fibre deficiency. Therefore, stimulating physiological stress. Fibre deficiency encourages the accumulation of fermentation acids within the rumen. The fibre-degrading micro-organismsgb6 facilitates the breakdown of fibre into short-chain organic acids and vitamins. In the absence of fibre, this acid will be inefficiently absorbed due to physiological stress. The acid build-up might result in the formation of ulcers whereby the infectious bacteria might use it as a leeway to invade the liver after that causing abscesses. Additionally, the lack of starch-digesting enzymes stimulates the overgrowth of bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens.
• Grain-fed cattle produce more fatty carcasses.
Reasons why the grain-fed form of feeding is the best way
These two feeding systems ultimately affect the quality of the meat from the beef cattle. Therefore, by discussing the final product, that is, meat or carcass produced, it will be easier to know which of the two feeding systems is the best. Most studies have suggested that grass-fed beef is the best meat. However, according to (Muir, 2010), there is little scientific justification available to prove that grain-fed cattle have the highest quality beef. Grain-fed beef has several advantages over the grass- fed beef. They include: it has more pleasant flavours, appearance, tenderness and a lesser retail cost. These advantageous aspects are discussed in detail below.
a) Appearance
Lean colour - The primary meat pigment is known as myoglobin. The meat is purple because of the presence of the anaerobic muscle. Once exposed to air, myoglobin is oxidized into oxymyoglobin which is bright-red in colour. The red colour is usually attractive to the consumers as it is associated with freshness. There is little evidence on the impact of feeding type on the colour of beef. However, it is noted that increase in lean tone is linked to increased meat fatness. Thus grain-fed meat was increasingly purple as compared to the grass-fed.
Fat colour – most consumer dislike yellow fat as they associate it with old or diseased cattle. Fat colour is a product of the cattle’s diet. Carotenoids are absorbed from the food and deposited in the adipose tissue. Because grains have a comparatively lower carotenoid value than grass, grain-fed cattle have a more inferior yellow fat concentration. The increase of the grain ration or duration of grain feeding leads to a decline in the amount of yellow fat and improves white fat.
b) Flavour
The meat contains volatile components of lipids and fatty acids that significantly influence taste. Beef age and fatness are known to affect the fatty acid composition. (Muir, 2010) notes that there is a big difference in flavour between cattle finished directly on grass and those finished on corn. These differences in diet were related to the differences in fatness. Research carried out in (Calkins, 2003) suggests that the flavour of derived from grain-fed cattle is tastier as compared to that obtained from grass-fed cattle. The acceptability and palatability of grain-fed cattle were higher. Furthermore, the US consumers show strong pr...