Grassfed Beef
Lower in E. Coli
 E.
Coli is a serious health threat. As a matter of fact, you
are 1,000 times more likely to die of E. Coli than mad cow
disease. Grassfed animals have far fewer E. Coli than grain
fed animals (20,000 cells/g. vs. 6,300,000 cells/g.)
Therefore you are far less likely to become infected with
the bacteria when you eat grassfed beef. Also, the few
bacteria they do have are not likely to survive the natural
acidity of our digestive tract. This is because they have
not become acid-resistant like the E. coli found in grainfed
beef. Feeding grain to cattle, even a small amount, makes
their digestive tracts abnormally acidic. The E. coli in
their system becomes acclimated to this environment and
therefore unaffected by our body's natural defense system.
E. coli
contamination takes place in the slaughterhouse when manure
from an animal comes in contact with meat. The less manure
on an animal when it enters the slaughter house, the less
likely the meat will become contaminated.
It is
difficult to remove all the fecal contamination from feedlot
cattle because they stand all day long in dirt and manure.
In a recent article in the magazine Meat Marketing and
Technology, the associate editor stated that pasture-raised
animals were much easier to clean "because they come from
small herds raised in relatively clean pastures." Most U.S.
cattle, he said, "are raised in far larger numbers in
congested and typically less sanitary feed lots.
The Main Source
of Contamination is the Slaugherhouse
Contamination
from E. Coli occurs when cattle are processed at the
slaughterhouse and the manure from that cattle comes in
contact with the meat. Feedlot cattle are covered with
their own manure, because they are continually exposed to it
in the feedlot. It is almost impossible to remove all the
fecal contamination from feedlot cattle.
In contrast,
contamination from a pastured animal is far less likely.
Cattle raised in a clean pasture will undoubtedly have
smaller amounts of manure on the them.
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