Pasture-Raised Meat: For Health, Taste, Animal Welfare, and Our Connection to Food

Choosing meat from local, pasture-raised farms supports your health, enhances the flavors in your meals, respects animal welfare, encourages more sustainable practices, and helps us reconnect with the sense of gratitude and reverence for food that was once an essential part of our lives. Here’s why opting for pasture-raised meat is about much more than what’s on your plate—it’s a decision that reflects respect for your health, the animals, the environment, and the traditions of our ancestors.

The Rich Nutritional Profile of Pasture-Raised Meat

When animals graze freely on pastures, their meat has a more favorable nutrient profile. Cows, chickens, and pigs raised on pasture consume natural diets that support a healthy balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Grass-fed cows, for example, produce meat rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce inflammation, protect heart health, and support cognitive function.1 In contrast, animals in industrial feedlots are usually fed corn and soy, which can throw off the natural fatty acid balance by raising omega-6 levels.2 When we eat this meat often, it may contribute to chronic inflammation.3

Moreover, pasture-raised meat is packed with bioavailable vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, D, and E, and minerals such as zinc and iron, essential for immune function, energy production, and brain health.4 These nutrients are present in forms easily absorbed by the human body, offering greater health benefits than those from animals raised in confinement on unnatural diets.

How Grazing Practices and Stress Impact Taste

One of the most striking benefits of pasture-raised meat is its superior taste and texture. Animals allowed to roam freely and engage in natural grazing behaviors produce meat that is often juicier, more tender, and flavorful. Why? When animals are under constant stress—such as in the cramped, unnatural conditions of factory farms—they release stress hormones like cortisol, which impacts their muscle tissue. This stress changes how the meat holds water, making it tougher and giving it a less appealing flavor.5

Stress hormones harden the muscle fibers, producing chewy and dry meat. On pasture-based farms, animals live in low-stress environments where they can graze, roam freely, and act naturally. They experience far less stress than animals in factory farms, leading to healthier, more content animals and better quality meat.6 Pasture-raised animals can interact with their surroundings, which includes a fascinating symbiotic relationship between cows and chickens that isn’t possible in industrial settings.

Grazing Practices That Support Soil Health and Biodiversity

Pasture-based farms often adopt regenerative grazing practices that benefit not just the animals but also the health of the land. For example, on many pasture-raised farms, cows are rotated through fields in a way that mimics natural herd migration, which allows grasses to recover and grow more robustly. After the cows graze, chickens are often allowed to roam the same fields. The chickens scratch around in the soil, munch on pests, and leave behind droppings that naturally fertilize the land. This enriches the soil, helps the grass grow back strong, and keeps pest numbers down.7

This cycle—rotational or regenerative grazing—builds soil health and promotes biodiversity, creating a self-sustaining system that naturally supports the ecosystem. Healthier soils mean more nutrient-dense grass for the animals to eat, which ultimately translates to more nutrient-rich meat for us to consume.In contrast, factory farms keep animals in confined spaces and feed them grain-based diets, which drain the land’s resources without adding anything back to the surrounding ecosystem.

Animal Welfare: The Ethical Choice of Pasture-Raised Farms

Choosing pasture-raised meat means supporting farms that put animal welfare first. Unlike factory farms, where animals are often packed into tight spaces with hardly any room to move, pasture-raised farms give animals space, sunlight, and the ability to interact naturally. Factory-farmed animals endure both physical and mental stress from these cramped conditions, living without sunlight or freedom to act as they would naturally—creating lives that are not only unhealthy but also inhumane.8

On the other hand, animals raised on pasture have the freedom to graze, roam, and socialize as they would in the wild. This leads to healthier animals and reduces the need for antibiotics commonly administered in factory farms to control disease outbreaks caused by overcrowded conditions.9 By supporting pasture-raised farms, you’re choosing a path that respects the animals and supports farming practices that are in harmony with nature.

Hormones and Antibiotics: Choosing Healthier, Cleaner Meat

Hormones are commonly administered to animals in conventional factory farms to speed up growth and increase yield. These practices ultimately benefit profit margins but may pose health risks to consumers. Hormone residues in meat can potentially disrupt our own hormonal balance, with research suggesting links to reproductive health issues and even certain types of cancer.10 

Choosing pasture-raised meat means reducing your exposure to these added hormones. Similarly, because pasture-raised animals live in healthier conditions with less crowding and lower stress, they have less need for antibiotics. In factory farms, animals are often given antibiotics to prevent disease in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, which has fueled the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria—a major public health risk. By choosing pasture-raised meat, you’re opting for a cleaner, healthier product without added hormones or unnecessary antibiotics.

Spirituality and Ancestry: Honoring Food as a Sacred Gift

For centuries, food was viewed as a sacred gift, and people deeply respected the animals that nourished them. In many indigenous cultures, eating animals was done with gratitude and reverence, honoring the animal’s sacrifice within the natural cycle. Hunting or farming wasn’t just about getting food—it was a spiritual connection to the earth, a way of honoring life.11

Today, much of that respect has been lost in the industrial food system, where animals are often treated as products. Choosing pasture-raised meat helps us reconnect with that sense of gratitude. By supporting farms that treat animals well, we honor their lives and become part of a more ethical food system. Getting meat from animals raised with care takes us back to how our ancestors saw food—as something meaningful, a gift to be respected, not just a product.

Choosing Better for Health, Taste, Animal Welfare, and Tradition

Eating pasture-raised meat offers a deeper connection with your food. Meat from animals raised in open spaces and natural conditions supports farms that care for both animals and the land. Animals living freely and without constant stress produce meat that’s naturally more tender, rich in flavor, and less chewy. Without confinement or unnecessary antibiotics, this meat is purer and more nutrient-dense, offering higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and healthy fats that nourish the body in ways factory-farmed meat can’t match.

This choice also honors the natural cycles of life. Animals raised with care help create farms that enrich the soil, support diverse plant and animal life, and keep the land healthy. This way of farming is more ethical and also means cleaner, healthier meat without added hormones or antibiotics. It brings us back to a real, meaningful connection with our food.  Eating pasture-raised meat allows meat to be enjoyed as it was meant to be—nutrient-dense, flavorful, and deeply satisfying.

Citations: 

1. Davis, Hannah, et al. ‘Nutritional Benefits from Fatty Acids in Organic and Grass-Fed Beef’. Foods (Basel, Switzerland), vol. 11, no. 5, MDPI AG, Feb. 2022, p. 646, https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11050646.

2. Ponnampalam, Eric N., et al. ‘Effects of Nutritional Factors on Fat Content, Fatty Acid Composition, and Sensorial Properties of Meat and Milk from Domesticated Ruminants: An Overview’. Animals: An Open Access Journal from MDPI, vol. 14, no. 6, MDPI AG, Mar. 2024, p. 840, https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14060840.

3. Mariamenatu, Abeba Haile, and Emebet Mohammed Abdu. ‘Overconsumption of Omega-6 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) versus Deficiency of Omega-3 PUFAs in Modern-Day Diets: The Disturbing Factor for Their “Balanced Antagonistic Metabolic Functions” in the Human Body’. Journal of Lipids, vol. 2021, Hindawi Limited, Mar. 2021, p. 8848161, https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8848161.

4. Fisher, Samantha. ‘Eat Pasture-Raised Meats for Optimal Health’. Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative, 11 Mar. 2019, https://grassrootscoop.com/blogs/impact/eat-pasture-raised-meats-for-optimal-health?srsltid=AfmBOopnWrCpHJ9aB3fhVH0O4JRanP6jfLvzKII8-SMTzB2-WcfY_S49.

5. Provenza, Frederick D., et al. ‘Is Grassfed Meat and Dairy Better for Human and Environmental Health?’ Frontiers in Nutrition, vol. 6, Frontiers Media SA, Mar. 2019, p. 26, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2019.00026.

6. Carrasco-García, Apolo A., et al. ‘Effect of Stress during Slaughter on Carcass Characteristics and Meat Quality in Tropical Beef Cattle’. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences, vol. 33, no. 10, Asian Australasian Association of Animal Production Societies, Oct. 2020, pp. 1656–1665, https://doi.org/10.5713/ajas.19.0804.

7. Hargreaves-Méndez, Matías Javier, and María José Hötzel. ‘A Systematic Review on Whether Regenerative Agriculture Improves Animal Welfare: A Qualitative Analysis with a One Welfare Perspective’. Animal Welfare (South Mimms, England), vol. 32, Apr. 2023, p. e36, https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2023.28.

8. Fisher, Mark W. ‘Pastoral Farming Ethics and Economics–Aligning Grazing Practices and Expectations’. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, vol. 7, Frontiers Media SA, Apr. 2020, https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00209.

9. Karavolias, Joanna, et al. ‘Raised without Antibiotics: Impact on Animal Welfare and Implications for Food Policy’. Translational Animal Science, vol. 2, no. 4, Oxford University Press (OUP), Oct. 2018, pp. 337–348, https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txy016.

10. Handa, Y., et al. "Estrogen Concentrations in Beef and Human Hormone-Dependent Cancers." Annals of Oncology, vol. 20, no. 9, 2009, pp. 1610-1611.

11. McGinnis, Amber, et al. "Strengthening Animal-Human Relationships as a Doorway to Indigenous Holistic Wellness." Ecopsychology, vol. 11, no. 3, 2019, pp. 162-173. PubMed Central, doi:10.1089/eco.2019.0003.