A publication from the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and the USDA Agricultural Research Service sheds additional light on the health benefits of grass-fed meat and milk.
As meat and milk are often not considered as sources of phytochemicals, their presence has remained largely underappreciated in discussions of nutritional differences between feedlot-fed (grain-fed) and pasture-finished (grass-fed) meat and dairy, which have predominantly centered around the ω-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid. Emerging data indicate that when livestock are eating a diverse array of plants on pasture, additional health-promoting phytonutrients—terpenoids, phenols, carotenoids, and anti-oxidants—become concentrated in their meat and milk. Grazing livestock on plant-species diverse pastures concentrates a wider variety and higher amounts of phytochemicals in meat and milk compared to grazing monoculture pastures, while phytochemicals are further reduced or absent in meat and milk of grain-fed animals.
Our pastures consist of a diverse mix of grasses, legumes and forbs so are ideal for providing our livestock with the variety of nutrients they need to produce optimally healthy meat.
Here is a copy of the report: