Grass-fed, grass-finished beef in Arlington?

[Anonymous]

Have only found grass-fed, grain-finished so far;I know I can order grass-fed, grass-finished but would prefer to buy local if possible.

[Anonymous]

At the Courthouse farmer's market on Saturday mornings, several vendors sell all-grass-fed beef. My favorite is Smith Meadows Farm, but Eco-Friendly Foods (distributor for Polyface of Omnivore's Dilemma fame) also sells, as well as Cibola Farms. It's all great!

[Anonymous]

What do grain-finished/grass-finished mean?

[Anonymous]

It's what the cattle eat at the end of their lives, right before slaughter. Grain-finished means they ate corn to fatten them up. Grass finished means they were left in the meadow to graze grass, then loaded on the truck and taken to the slaughterhouse and killed.

Grass-finished beef has a different taste, is leaner, and most cuts are tougher. Corn-fed beef tends to be more marbled.

[Anonymous]

"Grass-fed grain-finished" is a marketing gimmick.
In my mind, if cattle are fed grain at any point, it should not be called grass anything.

When I buy grass-fed beef I expect it to have had a grass only diet. /vent

[Anonymous]

Yes, like all the purportedly "free-range" broiler chickens and egg laying hens who get 5 minutes a day out of their pens instead of zero minutes a day out of their pens.