Fake meat that's better at being meat than real meat!

Don't know if you've seen the beef farms in Sth Gippsland, but if you haven't you should.

More greenery than a Pot convention.

Can I grow my own meat under the same LED’s ?

You could try, … but I’m pretty sure they have pumps & pills for that …that do a better, quicker job.

You get those emails too, huh?

Pretty sure it's to increase fat content and hence flavour profile.

Mmmmmmmmm… Mmmmmm
Just had an image of a carnivorous alien slavering over grain-fed-beef-fed-human…

Don't know if you've seen the beef farms in Sth Gippsland, but if you haven't you should.

More greenery than a Pot convention.

It’s not just space for the cattle. Most beef is grain fed on feed lots. Even grass fed may only be actually fed grass for a short time. It’s not a regulated term.
Most of the farmland and water usage for cattle is to grow crops to feed the cattle.

10.6 lbs feed per pound of edible beef.
8 gallons of water per pound of edible beef.

That’s not a very economical use of resources.

Not quite the same in Aus as it is in the US.

98% of Aussie beef is from grass fed cattle properties. Around 34% of all Aussie cattle are finished in feedlots and would spend only around 10-15% of their life in that feedlot, about 95 days. (Around 90% of all US cattle are finished in feedlots and the cattle spend around 20-25% of their life in that feedlot, 120-180 days.) At the moment in Aus it is shorter than the 95 days due to the high demands for beef and as a result cattle farmers are seeing high prices they haven’t had for a long time.

We do add grain to the diet in the feedlot and this can include wheat, barley or sorghum. Grain in the US feedlot diet is predominantly corn.

Thanks WP! Enlightening. The question then is, why do supermarkets and fast food joints proclaim the greatness of “grain fed beef”?

I’m guessing it is because they find it ore convenient to buy the feedlot cattle, so are trying to establish a fake marketing edge.

Grass fed beef is better and healthier for you, inho and I would be interested in WP’s thoughts.

More fat, fat tastes better.

Then if it’s dry aged, wowee that’s the next level

I’ve had acorn beef. The cows were only ever fed acorns. The beef really had a bit of a nutty flavour.

1 Like
Don't know if you've seen the beef farms in Sth Gippsland, but if you haven't you should.

More greenery than a Pot convention.

It’s not just space for the cattle. Most beef is grain fed on feed lots. Even grass fed may only be actually fed grass for a short time. It’s not a regulated term.
Most of the farmland and water usage for cattle is to grow crops to feed the cattle.

10.6 lbs feed per pound of edible beef.
8 gallons of water per pound of edible beef.

That’s not a very economical use of resources.

Not quite the same in Aus as it is in the US.

98% of Aussie beef is from grass fed cattle properties. Around 34% of all Aussie cattle are finished in feedlots and would spend only around 10-15% of their life in that feedlot, about 95 days. (Around 90% of all US cattle are finished in feedlots and the cattle spend around 20-25% of their life in that feedlot, 120-180 days.) At the moment in Aus it is shorter than the 95 days due to the high demands for beef and as a result cattle farmers are seeing high prices they haven’t had for a long time.

We do add grain to the diet in the feedlot and this can include wheat, barley or sorghum. Grain in the US feedlot diet is predominantly corn.

Thanks WP! Enlightening. The question then is, why do supermarkets and fast food joints proclaim the greatness of “grain fed beef”?

Wow, are they really or is it grass fed they are banging on about? If it is grain fed beef then I would say that it is a marketing ploy! When you have a lot of something and you want to get rid of it you advertise it as being the best.

A bit like the Maccas banging on about Angus beef! Whoopdedoo. 99.9999% of people couldn’t tell the diff between Angus, Brangus, Charolais, Shorthorn, Square Meaters, Poll Hereford, Murray Grey, Galloway or Santa Gertrudis. The breed of the cattle is well down the list of what makes a tasty steak. What the animal had been eating, its age and condition and how little stress it experienced in the lead up to slaughter all count a great deal more.

Grass fed beef may contain slightly less total fat than grain fed beef, but it has a lot more Omega-3 fatty acids and CLA, which are both very beneficial for health. Grass fed also has higher Vit A and E and micronutrients like iron, zinc, potassium.

Just on Maccas… Their "Prime Australian Beef“, isnt actually defined as anything by MLA. It doesn’t necessarily mean cattle in their prime, just Aussie mince which, depending on the season, can mean a whole pile of old cows as well as the usual off cuts and other bits no one else wants from trade steers (read lips and a***holes). You guys know that it is minced for a reason, right?

3 Likes

Uh huh. Just what I said.

If consumers actually saw one of those feedlots - or even worse, smelt one - there would be a lot more vegetarians around.

But even sausage manufacturers shudder when they find out what goes into the making of Bomber Blitz. :wink:

Grain fed beef is supposed to have the fat marbled through out it as opposed to being deposited around the outside.
Now I don’t know enough about meat now becasue I am a vegetarian, (despite have sons who are chefs) but that is what I learned at school.

Grain fed beef is supposed to have the fat marbled through out it as opposed to being deposited around the outside. Now I don't know enough about meat now becasue I am a vegetarian, (despite have sons who are chefs) but that is what I learned at school.

Yeah, grain fed beef will normally have a higher marbling score than grass fed beef, however it does depend also on the breed of cattle. Angus will not marble up that well on a grass only diet, but Wagyu Fullblood 100% will develop good marbling just on grass. With grain added to the diet Wagyu will excel as most people know. Because the buying public want a higher marbling score they are fed longer with added grains up to 2 years old.

This added fat in the Wagyu meat is not all “bad”* fat. It is higher in monounsaturated fats which are actually beneficial fats.

Funnily enough feeding a higher grain diet will also change the fat colouring from yellowish to a whiter shade. That is why grass fed cows produce rich yellow butter, this is the best. A lot of butter from Europe and N. America is very pale and almost white because during the winter they have to put feed out for their milking herds. Here in Aus our milking cows live in some of the greenest and lushest places and because of our generally temperate climate we don’t have to supplement their feed with grains.

  • I say “bad” because that is the general view is that fat is bad and this is … um, bad. “Low fat” milk, for example, is a scam and has no health benefits. Don’t believe me, look it up. Drink full cream milk and make sure it is real milk and not reconstituted powdered milk.

Abso fkn lutely. Only the real McCoy when it comes to moo juice.

Its 96% fat free as it is. The rest of the crap is just marketing spin & con.

From the time I was about 11, until I was 17, I would spend many days & evenings, carting hay for some summer disposable.

One of the farmers we did each year, would pull a huge jug of the stuff straight out of the chill vat, every time we had a break, … no pasteurising no homogenising, direct from cow, to cold, to us.

You really don’t know milk until you’ve done this. Amazing.

NB: Looking at how they’ve put the stop on cheesemakers getting their hands on non pasteurised milk now, … I imagine it might be illegal for farmers to pass it out prior to the process these days??

WP??

Why isn’t butter green then?

Grain fed beef is supposed to have the fat marbled through out it as opposed to being deposited around the outside. Now I don't know enough about meat now becasue I am a vegetarian, (despite have sons who are chefs) but that is what I learned at school.

Yes it is marbled throughout because the feedlot cattle are fed an energy rich diet to bulk up (or euphemistically described as “finishing”) and they don’t get exercise.

If you did a muscle biopsy of lazy people who eat American fast food you would see the same thing - fat distributed throughout the muscle.

This is a major risk factor that leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease etc.

The cows don’t live long enough to get these problems, but IMHO eating grain fed beef with all that muscular fat is not healthy. Even though people think it tastes better, because of, well, the extra fat.

Intramuscular fat is not healthy for humans. Feedlots are not healthy for the cattle so how can eating feedlot beef with intramuscular fat be healthy for humans?

Disclaimer: I am not a vegetarian, but you may have gathered by now I hate bullshi+ from billion dollar corporations.

would you smoke it THT?

would you smoke it THC?

Coincidence?

This thread has been enlightening. Thanks to the beef cow experts on here!

1 Like
would you smoke it THT?

Never thought. But now that you ask, in the spirit of fake meat I’d have to go with this…‘natural’ liquid smoke

Grain fed beef is supposed to have the fat marbled through out it as opposed to being deposited around the outside. Now I don't know enough about meat now becasue I am a vegetarian, (despite have sons who are chefs) but that is what I learned at school.

Yes it is marbled throughout because the feedlot cattle are fed an energy rich diet to bulk up (or euphemistically described as “finishing”) and they don’t get exercise.

If you did a muscle biopsy of lazy people who eat American fast food you would see the same thing - fat distributed throughout the muscle.

This is a major risk factor that leads to insulin resistance, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease etc.

The cows don’t live long enough to get these problems, but IMHO eating grain fed beef with all that muscular fat is not healthy. Even though people think it tastes better, because of, well, the extra fat.

Intramuscular fat is not healthy for humans. Feedlots are not healthy for the cattle so how can eating feedlot beef with intramuscular fat be healthy for humans?

Disclaimer: I am not a vegetarian, but you may have gathered by now I hate bullshi+ from billion dollar corporations.

Yeah, but not quite true. Eating fat does not necessarily make you fat. That is a marketing ploy that was spun by those billion dollar corps that you have such feelings for. So maybe you need to revisit that belief.

From the time I was about 11, until I was 17, I would spend many days & evenings, carting hay for some summer disposable.

One of the farmers we did each year, would pull a huge jug of the stuff straight out of the chill vat, every time we had a break, … no pasteurising no homogenising, direct from cow, to cold, to us.

You really don’t know milk until you’ve done this. Amazing.

NB: Looking at how they’ve put the stop on cheesemakers getting their hands on non pasteurised milk now, … I imagine it might be illegal for farmers to pass it out prior to the process these days??

WP??

Real (raw) milk is the best. Tastes fantastic.

Australia, Scotland and Canada are the only countries where selling raw cow’s milk is illegal. Once again we need the govt to protect us and wrap us all up in cotton wool because we couldn’t possibly make our own decision about what is good or not to put into our own bodies. Farking nanny-state!

If you live near a dairy then you should be able to talk to the farmer and get your own raw milk, but beware that it is illegal. I live near three dairies and so have a choice; Jersey or Freisian. The Jersey milk is much creamier. Yes, there is a taste difference as well and also a difference between summer and winter when the grasses they are eating change quantities.

Just on the illegality of it, there is a farmer in SA who had a novel approach to getting around the laws, but of course has now been charged.
The Tyler family, who farm at Willunga Hill, about an hour out of Adelaide, supply raw milk to about 700 investors in South Australia. People can buy a share “their own cow” and the milk from that cow is theirs. However working within the legislation has not been easy, with authorities charging Mr Tyler for selling raw milk illegally. After an appeal to the Supreme Court a mistrial was declared, and a new trial will begin later this year.

There is a new push for dairy farmers to be able to sell raw milk but who knows how that will go. There is a start up company in NSW, “Made by Cow” selling the closest thing to raw milk that is legal. They have a process that uses high water pressure instead of heat to kill off any bacteria.