Young, tender grass, isn’t available year round much of the world. And it doesn’t always contain everything a cow needs to be healthy. Pastured cattle will frequently eat small animals (mice and birds) to (we think) supplement things like calcium, iron and protein. They’ll also naturally seek out grains and what have if left to forage. Including breaking into feed bins. Cows are optimized for the bulk of their diet to be young grass. But doesn’t mean it’s the only thing they eat or should eat. Likewise fresh grass wants for protein. And hay isn’t calorically or nutrient dense enough to feed in the off season. And cows are not great at eating older grass. Proper husbandry requires a supplement or other source. A portion of grain is not a problem or even majority grain for short times. Though it’s traditionally done with silage. A fermented plant product. It can be made from grass, grain stalks and other products. It’s sealed, while wet, into an air free environment. And the fermentation ups the protein and calories while generating micro nutrients that don’t exist in grass alone.
Additional many modern breeds, especially wagyu, have caloric needs that just can’t be met by a pure grass diet, even with silage. Breeds like Angus will starve on grass alone. And premium meat breeds like wagyu can’t even make due with silage as supplemental feed. Grass fed beef from improperly selected breeds. And even with proper breeds but no silage. Is dry, tough and critically lacking in fat. And thus lacking in quality. More of a problem a decade ago before all the new pastured meat operations learned to handle their jobs properly. But critically those cows are/were also often in just as poor health as feedlot grain fed cattle. Malnourished and improperly kept.
Best practice is grass, hay and silage. Supplimental grain for breeds that need more protein and calories than grass and silage can provide. For quality beef grain to finish. A few months (typically 3 months max iirc) of significant grain supplement, or even majority grain feed (without removing grass/hay/silage) does little harm to the cow. And packs in delicious fat just before slaughter.
It’s extended, exclusive or majority grain feeding as typical of the feed lot model that’s an issue. But exclusively grass feeding in pasture has issues as well.
Blue is one of the better dry foods. Dog really shouldn’t eat grain so it’s good they are making foods that are grain free. Odd about the seizures, can’t imagine what is in the raw food the does that. But definitely reason to stay away from it. My vet was always worried about our dogs getting e. coli but we purchased from a local company that uses human quality ingredients and is frozen as soon as it is made. I wish we’d had it for our previous golden retriever who had terrible skin allergies that were food related.
Simply it means that feeding farmed animals foods they didn’t evolve to eat makes them shitty food. Compare the Omega 3/6 levels of purely grass fed (and “finished”) beef with the corn fed kind.
[quote=“1vw2go, post:27, topic:93037”]
Simply it means that feeding farmed animals foods they didn’t evolve to eat makes them shitty food.[/quote]
I assume this is true for humans too, which is why our lifespans are so much shorter today than they were back when we were living on the veldt.
How about Grape Nuts? I’m a sloppy breakfast eater, one of my dog’s main jobs is cleaning up after me. (That, and keeping the yard free of cat poop.)
You’re safe, there’s no grapes or nuts in them, though my dog thinks they’re gross. (They were named for ‘grape sugar’, the old timey name for glucose)
A friend of mine discovered his dog was eating out of the cat’s litter box because the dog would dote on and lick his infant daughter, and he’d pick her up and immediately notice the smell. I figure the dog was just trying to give her a very strong immune system.
There isn’t much that Human’s didn’t evolve to eat. We’re generalist omnivores of the broadest sort. Its our superpower really. The ability to eat just about anything. Including things that would kill most other creatures.
Last trip to Japan had a few slices of various nice cuts of beef Nabeyaki style (Kobe, Wagyu, and they looked proper as well). Don’t get it. Must be better as a properly grilled and crusted steak, which I can sort of squint and see with all the fat content and such. But, probably too rich for my blood (and tastes). Honestly, organic cuts of ribeye gets me sufficiently close to the most succulent cuts of dry aged steak I’ve ever had that I don’t see any reason to search further.
From what I hear not so much. This stuff is insanely rich. So a full, large, steak is considered a bit much. And from what I’ve heard its best eaten in small pieces very quickly grilled. Or that larger steak split a hell of a lot of ways. I can’t imagine it’d be best served by a hot pot presentation. American hybrid Wagyu, properly raised is often described as a better eating steak. The lower level of fat (relative to top grade Japanese) makes it more palatable in volume.
But there’s also multiple grades, breeds and type of Wagyu.
In Japan you’ll apparently find all grades of Wagyu. While the US only imports the top grades, which is pretty damn hard to find. So its possible you simply had a lower graded variety, which would still be good/great/more than prime.
I’ve not ever had the top graded, real Japanese stuff. Though I did see it. Once. Most of the American/Australian/South American etc Wagyu or Wagyu hybrid stuff I’ve had wasn’t worth the cost. At best it was indeed better than prime quality. But bland from the all grain diet. At worst is nowhere near as good as top quality grass fed, grain finished American beef. Or good quality grass/silage raised beef that comes in near or at prime grade. So even goes special steaks I don’t really see the point. And seriously a good quality choice steak from a decent, well sourced, butcher or even from a decent supermarket or wholesale club gets you like 90% there.
For that matter, I’ve had farmed raised deer and elk (plenty), and lots of fancy beef from a few continents.
And not even joking, my father who is a terrible cook, and a similarly bad shot managed to cook me one of the top 5 steaks of my life with some whitetail that one of my uncles killed in Michigan.
So, totally agree. Some people seem to dislike the “gamey” flavor, but I suspect those people don’t love food as much.
I don’t know what exactly makes venison and elk and bear taste so good… Maybe the varied diets and free lifestyle? Maybe the suffering? I don’t know. But I like it.
