Does the diet of the animals we eat affect the quality of their meat?

Question

For example, some turkeys are fed only corn, and some pigs are fed only oats. Does what they eat affect the taste, texture, and quality of their meat? And if so, how? Any resourses would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Hmmm. I found some interesting articles just because of your question. Here is one: They say grass fed is better than corn fed.

Going Grass-fed


The vast majority of American cattle today finish their lives away from pasture, confined to crowded feedlots and fed a steady diet of grain -- namely, corn.

While the term "corn-fed" traditionally connotes a certain wholesomeness, the ramifications of the practice are, in fact, somewhat darker.

As the writer Michael Pollan has pointed out, cattle evolved to eat grass, not grain. "A corn diet," he writes, "wreaks havoc on their digestive system, making it necessary to feed them antibiotics to stave off illness and infection."

Indeed, as readers of Eric Schlosser's best-seller, Fast Food Nation, are aware, the beef industry has become just that: Industry. Administered hormones, stuck in CAFOs and fattened on a steady diet of maize and antibiotic pabulum (often mixed with other things cattle didn't evolve to eat -- namely, other cattle), most livestock today live a life far removed from the bucolic idylls of yore.

Corn, too, has its dark side. For one thing, it's heavily subsidized and, thus, grossly overproduced. For another, it demands vast doses of pesticides (more than any other food crop) as well as steady applications of nitrogen fertilizers, which in turn require large quantities of oil and natural gas to produce. Thus, as Pollan persuasively argues, we've managed to trade a wonderfully efficient solar-powered system of protein production for a hugely inefficient one largely dependent upon fossil fuels.

Bad for the environment, corn-fed beef is also bad for you. For starters, it's higher in saturated fats than its pasture-raised counterpart. Add to that the aforementioned hormones and antibiotic residues - not to mention the specter of E-coli bacteria and Mad Cow disease - and you may be inclined to reconsider that burger on your plate.

Luckily, there is an alternative; that is, going back to old-fashioned beef. Although far from abundant, some small-scale ranchers are still finishing their cattle the traditional way -- at pasture.

The product may surprise you. Not only is it leaner, the flavor is also more complex. As with wine, grass-fed beef varies by region, rather than having the industrialized uniformity we've become accustomed to. And, while some argue that corn-fed beef has the better flavor, it's worth noting that the famed steaks of Argentina come from grass-fed cattle.

Spared of the necessity of antibiotics and pesticides, grass-fed beef is also friendlier to the environment. Ranchers in the grass-fed market tend to be keen stewards of the land, concerned with proper grazing techniques and the nurturing of native grasses. Indeed, many such ranchers think of themselves as grass farmers first, cattle ranchers second.

Not surprisingly, grass-fed beef is more expensive than the typical supermarket product. It's also seasonal, available only in the late spring or early summer. Still, the price and inconvenience are a small price to pay in comparison with the detrimental aspects of industrial meat. What's more, with a little planning -- i.e., by buying in bulk and freezing the meat in parcels -- grass-fed beef can be made both economical and available year-round.

If you can't find grass-fed beef, consider organic beef as a next best choice. While organically raised animals may still be confined in feeding operations and finished on grain rather than natural forage, they should at least be free of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides.

Of course, none of this is to suggest that you should be eating more beef. Rather, the point is simply that, by buying beef conscientiously, you can enjoy a fine steak and help steer modern agriculture in the right direction.

Answer 2

When I was studying and working at Cornell, They were working on making pork better for you. They fed the pigs peanuts and unsaturated fats only. The pork chops turned out to have liquid fat on the outside when left on the counter. The housewives did not like that and they did not sell.

There really does seem to be a difference in free range poultry. It is tougher and gamier.

I did work on minipigs. They were bred to grow only to 200 pounds, so their nutrition was very like human. We did a number of nutritional experiments including collecting colosterum after the birth of a litter to check its nutritiion. I was a lab tech and student.

Answer 3

gordon ramsey covered this in his "f word" programme when he reared 2 pigs fed one of them exotic stuff like cherry ale and whatnot and the other basic pig diet. When the pigs were up for the chop and had been cooked he and other testers could not tell the difference.Although from personal experience wholly organic foodstuffs(not the fake kinds from supermarkets) do taste a lot better (and look it to)

Answer 4

It affects their nuritional value. The foods they are fed contain certain vitamins & Minerals. Those vitamins and minerals are stored in the animal's body. So when people eat the animals, they are getting some of the nutrients that the animal ate. Also, you are getting a lot of the animal's meat as well.

Answer 5

oh yes, give me corn fed anything and i will eat it fast.

Answer 6

stocked trout do not taste as good as native trout. ive always attributed this to their diet, but i cant be sure.