| Feeding method or production system |
Cattle eat from pasture and are not
finished on grains and supplements (USDA-AMS, 2009) |
Cattle graze on pasture for the first 6
months to a year and finishes at a feedlot of a concentrated mix of
corn, soy, grains, and other supplements like hormones and
antibiotics (Chung et al.,
2018; Drouillard,
2018; MFAFF,
2007) |
| Growth period |
Reach the market weight slower than cattle
fed on grain due to lesser efficiency of feed conversion ratios of
grass (Pethick et al.,
2001) |
Grows to target slaughter weight a year
faster than grass-fed beef cattle (Chung et al., 2018; Drouillard, 2018; MFAFF,
2007) |
| Environment impact |
Grass-feeding could increase nitrogen
oxidation from manure and leguminous forages (Hayek and Garrett, 2018) |
Requires significantly less land and
produces less methane per unit of meat produced (Nijdam et al., 2012; Poore and Nemecek, 2018) |
| Animal welfare |
Beef cattle are primarily provided with
grass and forages that are not supplemented with growth hormones and
are raised in their natural environment (USDA-AMS, 2009) |
Require the use of frequent antibiotic and
growth hormone, located in areas that are prone to heat exhaustion,
do not allow the beef cattle to perform natural activities such as
grazing or pasturing in rangeland or open pasture (Grandin, 2016) |
| Price |
Prices for grass-fed beef are 47%
greater by weight than conventional beef or cattle finished on grain
diets (Hayek and Garrett,
2018) |
Less expensive than grass-fed beef due to
larger scale of production (Hayek
and Garrett, 2018) |
| Sensory |
Steaks from grass-fed cattle are less
tender (Sitz et al., 2005);
lack beef flavor, and presents off-flavor than grain-fed beef (Duckett et al., 2013) |
Similar juiciness between grass-fed and
grain-fed beef (Duckett et al.,
2013) |
