What supermarket beef really costs us

The most expensive beef is also the cheapest. How so?

How does supermarket beef cost you MORE?

When you shop for beef, you have a powerful choice to make. Do you add pastured beef to your cart, or something from an industrial farm? If you choose industrial farm beef at the supermarket, is it to save a few pennies?

For someone looking to feed a family quick, the decision is easy. The cheaper product gets the job done. It's an understandable choice. But few people know what this choice means. Most assume they're stretching their dollar. It is an expensive decision.

You may have heard people say, the most expensive product is a cheap one. It's true. In the case of beef, industrially raised beef can be costly in many ways.

Industrial ranchers produce cheap beef by packing as many cattle as possible on the land. The cattle live in filth. Insects swarm over them. Ranchers give them injections to slow or stop disease and promote growth. They force them to consume grain instead of grasses, then rush them to slaughter. Ranchers transport these cattle live, crammed into trucks, sometimes for hundreds of miles. They suffer without food or water. The experience can last for days. The slaughterhouse is only interested in rapid processing. The experience is stressful for the animals. Finally, we pick up this beef at the market and eat it. We save only a few cents on the pound. Few ask, what effect does this have on our bodies?

Even if this beef has little or no impact on our health, what about the issue of sustainability? What do these operations to do the land? How about our water supplies? Feedlots scar the land, their runoff enters our water supplies. The lots give off a stench that carries for miles.

This is expensive!

Pastured beef is better for all. Cattle do better in natural environments. Your beef isn't raised in filth. They fatten slower, in a natural environment. Processing takes place at the ranch, or close by, so the process isn't so stressful for the animals.

By raising cattle sustainably, we preserve the land. In fact, the cattle aerate the land and fertilize it. This improves marginal land and can heal damaged land. The water runoff from these pastures isn't contaminated beyond use. And the air is clean and fresh. Happier cows produce better products, including milk, cheese, and meats. And it's just the right way to be.

This means our cattle take longer to grow and go to market. Our profit margins are lower but two important things matter more: the land, and our business are sustainable and regenerative. It means you get a much better product.

When you want to enjoy a memorable dining experience, the cheap stuff just won't do. Choose Montana Ranch and Cattle beef instead and savor 'The Greatest Meat in the World'.