A while back i saw it written that lamb is almost always grass fed meat and i put that in my head along with the assumption that most other meat was probably grain fed. Then while sitting at Black Stump i also notice that you pay MORE for a grain fed steak than you do for a grass fed one. Something didn't make sense... surely if most beef is grain fed then it would cost more for grass fed... it being the healthier and less common alternative. A bit of online googling about Australian Beef and Meat ( with a strict safesearch on
) leads me to believe that we in Australia are eating predominately grass fed beef and meat anyway. It seems that corn fed thing is largely an American issue. I couldn't find a whole heap of concrete evidence though mainly farmers from Australia chipping in on American forums saying how grass fed beef was awesome. Alos stuf like this from Wikipaedia:The cow's diet affects the flavor of the resultant meat and milk. A 2003 Colorado State University study[36] found that 80% of consumers in the Denver-Colorado area preferred the taste of United States corn-fed beef to Australian grass-fed beef, and negligible difference in taste preference compared to Canadian barley-fed beef.
It is also apparent that Argentina and some other South American Countries have Grass Fed Beef. It is interesting to note that even in the states cows are on pastures for 7-9mths before being sold into feed lots where not only are they fed high energy corn but they are kept basically sedentary increasing the fat content of the meat significantly.
So is it true... could it be that we are lucky enough that for now most Australian Meat is grass fed? If anyone has any firsthand knowledge of the Australian Meat Industry and can confirm this please chip in. Anyone know anything else on this issue please add.
