American Grass Fed Beef Newsletter
February, 2003

Welcome to the latest issue of the American Grass Fed Beef Newsletter. In this issue, you will find the following:

* Test Your Grass Fed Beef Like A Cattle Rancher
* Common Beef Marketing Phrases Which Cost You Money and Your Health
* Have You Considered Our Buyer's Club?
* Do You Ever Treat Cattle With Antibiotics?
* Mark's Favorite Pot Roast Recipe

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TEST YOUR GRASS FED BEEF
LIKE A CATTLE RANCHER
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Last month, our article on the Grass Fed Beef Hoax caused quite a stir.  If you didn't catch the article, you can read it here:

http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/grass-fed-hoax.asp

We heard from many of you who now recognize the word games played by beef suppliers to add marketing value to feedlot beef. 

Since so many of you enjoyed investigating marketing materials of beef suppliers, we decided to provide you with a Grass Fed Beef Test so you can quiz your beef suppliers just like a cattle rancher:

http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/grass-fed-test.asp

Ask the questions 99% of the beef suppliers NEVER want you to ask.

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COMMON BEEF MARKETING PHRASES WHICH 
COST YOU MONEY AND YOUR HEALTH
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Irradiated Beef

Irradiated beef has a beautiful benign radura emblem on the package.  It is often marketed at a premium price because marketers claim it is more safe.  

Even though the FDA, Surebeam and many beef suppliers consider irradiated beef safe, Dr. Patricia Whisnant and our family at www.AmericanGrassFedBeef.com consider irradiated beef VERY UNSAFE.  

Do you really want to feed your family and friends beef that has been blasted with electon beams or gamma rays?

In Dr. Whisnant's opinion . . . irradiated beef is the scariest premium priced beef that will cost you more money and quite possibly your health.

Pasteurized Beef

This phrase was formerly used by grass farmers to mean cows raised in a pasture eating fresh grass every day. 

NOW beef marketers are using this positive phrase and to sell irradiated beef.  

Why? Americans weren't buying irradiated beef with its cute marketing radura symbol so the "spin doctors" have now turned to phrases like "electronically pasteurized beef" to change buyers' perceptions.  

Buyer beware . . . beef marketers estimate that irradiated beef will become as common place as pasteurized milk in this decade.

Save your money and your health.

Grass Fed and Corn Finished Beef

99.99999% of the cattle in this country are grass fed at some point in their lives. Raising on grass and finishing in a feedlot on corn and grain destroys the health benefits of grass fed beef.

Save your money and your health.

Free Range Beef

99.99999% of the cattle in this country are free range at some point in their lives.  Raising free range cattle and finishing in a cattle feedlot destroys the health benefits of grass fed beef.  

According to Dr. Whisnant, optimal cattle nutrition occurs when cattle are rotated frequently to fresh green pastures their entire lives without supplementing with grain, corn, animal  by-products, antibiotics, steroids or hormones. If your cattle are not raised this way . . . save your money and your health.

Organically Certified 
(In Fine Print . . . By Our Sister Company)

Dr. Whisnant was shocked to discover a large beef supplier who certified their organic beef via their sister company.  The fine print had so many loopholes to true organic status like "we try to provide organic feed whenever possible" or we buy from hundreds of ranches who sign a document saying their cattle are raised organically.  

Save your money and your health.

Cows Fed a Vegetarian Diet

Isn't a vegetarian diet of grain and corn the best diet for cattle?  

According to Dr. Whisnant, "Cattle are anatomically and physiologically engineered to consume forage.  Abnormal consumption of corn and other grains creates a less healthy animal which is in a perpetual state of indigestion. A vegetarian diet of grain and corn is fed to quickly bring cattle to slaughter weight for financial gain.  Giving cattle a species inappropriate diet results in unhealthy beef for consumers."

Save your money and your health.

No Unnecessary Antibiotics OR 
Only Therapeutic Antibiotics Administered

Ask yourself, "When are therapeutic antibiotics administered?" 

Dr. Whisnant says, "Therapeutic antibiotics are needed when an animal is sick.  Cattle placed in a cramped feedlot and fed a vegetarian diet of corn and grain are fed prophylactic antibiotics to keep them from crashing due to chronic, sub-clinical disease.  They often require therapeutic medications to combat active disease.   Do you really want to feed your family a cow that has exhibited either chronic, sub-clinical or acute clinical disease?"

Save your money and your health.

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HAVE YOU CONSIDERED OUR BUYER'S CLUB?
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We have noticed that a lot of our buyers purchase monthly but are not members of our Monthly Buyer's Club.  You may want to consider joining if you are a regular purchaser.

There really isn't any "fine print" for club members.  Our Monthly Buyer's Club is super flexible:

** There is no membership fee or obligation to continue receiving beef

** We contact you before sending your order each month

** You can revise your purchase items and amounts

** You can put your order on hold for months

** You can change shipping addresses and recipients

To express our appreciation for your patronage, we will ship your regular monthly favorite for free in the 12th month.   If you have not chosen a consistent monthly order for 11 months, we will even average your order totals and give you that average applied to whatever you want to purchase.

Why do we offer such a deal to our customers? The grass fed beef you purchase today took  2 years to develop including 3 months in special lush finishing fields and 2 weeks dry aging.  Monthly buyer's club members help us pre-plan for their requirements.

To join . . . just tell us to add your current order to our monthly buyer's club in the comments section of our order form or mention that you want an order placed in the monthly buyer's club when phoning in your order.

Check here for all the details: 

http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/monthly-grass-fed-beef.asp

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DO YOU EVER TREAT CATTLE WITH ANTIBIOTICS?
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QUESTION:  Since you don't use antibiotics, what can you use to treat a sick animal? Maybe it's okay to do it, in that case, just not to feed it to them, routinely.

Just curious,
JD

ANSWER:  This is a great question to ask of any beef supplier.  

However, make sure when checking with beef suppliers that you NEVER allow the "loophole" of only treating cattle with "therapeutic antibiotics".  

As far as our cattle at American Grass Fed Beef,  I am not opposed to the use of therapeutic antibiotics to treat a sick animal.  However, we have maintained a closed herd (not introducing any new animals to our herd except quarantined bulls) for many years.  

Since we don't have an open herd and our cattle are fed only nutritious forage and grass, our stock remains extremely healthy.  If we ever have to treat a sick animal with antibiotics then I would know about it since I am the veterinarian for the herd.  Each animal is tagged and I keep records of any treatments given.  

Our policy is what you should demand from any beef supplier . . . cows given antibiotics of any kind will be taken out of our grass fed beef program with ZERO exceptions and loopholes.

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MARK'S FAVORITE POT ROAST RECIPE
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3 lb Arm or Chuck Roast
1/2 C Flour
3 T Grapeseed Oil
3 C Water
2 Beef Bouillon
3 C Sliced Carrots
1 C Onions
2 C Red New Potatoes
Celtic sea salt and pepper to taste

Place roast in plastic zipper bag with flour, salt and pepper.  Shake to coat.  Heat large Dutch oven with oil and place coated chuck roast in pan to sear.   

After searing beef . . . add water and beef bouillon to Dutch oven.  

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees.  Bake covered for 3 hours.  After 3 hours add carrots, onions and red new potatoes.  Cover and bake another hour.  




Patricia Whisnant, DVM
Grass Farmer and Veterinarian
AmericanGrassFedBeef.com

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