william wrote:
> Hilary McClure wrote:
>>
>> <I'm raising some pigs with no grain. They're eating nothing but hay, 
>> grass clippings, and <cheese. Lots of cheese, and also some sour 
>> cream and cottage cheese.
>>
>> I thought that grass-fed was just a version of organic, as all the 
>> stories have them (in thewild) eating such as acorns, truffles, 
>> roots, mice and clearing out underbrush in forests.
> Is grass-fed to make them low fat? I ask because I buy beef from a 
> farmer whose customers insist on low fat (except me), whether it's 
> chicken, beef, pork or lamb.
>
> William
Where beef is concerned, the premise behind grass-fed is the same as 
Paleo. That is to say that it is healthier for the animal to eat a diet 
consistent with it's evolutionary heritage. Healthier animals make 
healthier food. One of the ways that grass-fed beef is healthier is that 
it is leaner, but that is only one aspect of the animal's health. Check 
this out: http://www.eatwild.com/

Cattle are ruminants, who will eat primarily grass in the wild. Pigs are 
foragers. Pigs will eat whatever you give to them, including grass. The 
best strategy for any domestic animal is to free-range it in an 
environment similar to its natural habitat and allow it to feed itself. 
So, cows are ideally led to pasture and allowed to eat the grass. Pigs 
are better off in an environment where there are a variety of natural 
food sources so that they can forage as they would in the wild.

It is possible to find pastured beef and free range pork, but in our 
society the economics of running a farm this way make it difficult. So, 
those who do it are the exception.