Pasture Perfect: 100% Free-Ranging Grass-Fed Beef

Not all grass-fed is created equal. With the huge surge in popularity of grass-fed beef it is more important than ever to have certainty about how your beef is raised, its quality and to know that the raising claims are true. That is where Pasture Perfect comes in – we guarantee genuinely free ranging, 100% grass-fed beef that is never confined, never fed antibiotics or GMO feed, and never treated with growth promoting hormones or steroids. In addition, Pasture Perfect beef is graded to USDA Choice equivalent marbling, wet-aged to enhance tenderness, certified Halal and naturally gluten free. Our claims are USDA approved and printed on every pack – what you see is truly what you get. We believe our Paleo and Keto approvals underline this commitment, and we are proud to be certified by the Paleo Foundation.

Great grass-fed beef requires consistent access to great pasture, and beef in the Pasture Perfect program comes from some of the world’s best grasslands in New Zealand. Famous for its spectacular scenery and lush pastures, New Zealand has the perfect environment for raising free ranging grass-fed beef year-round in a natural pastoral environment. These lavish pastures provide the nutrition to support a well marbled, tender grass-fed beef program all year round, and allows us to give our partners the certainty of quality and uninterrupted supply they need.

Even with these ideal conditions, not all grass-fed beef makes the Pasture Perfect standard. We select only well finished British breeds, and then we grade to USDA Choice equivalent marbling. This ensures that, on top of the raising standards in place, only consistently juicy and tender beef goes into the program. Our chilled beef is wet aged for at least 50 days before consumption, further enhancing your grass-fed beef experience.

It’s well known that grass-fed beef is higher in vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene and health benefiting fats such as CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and lower in cholesterol, calories and saturated fats than grain-fed beef. It also has a much healthier ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 essential fatty acids, and it’s this ratio that matters most. Changing the diet of the animals – as some nominally “grass-fed” programs do – affects these benefits. Pasture Perfect grass-fed beef is never fed dubious feeds that may be used in seasonal and confined grass-fed programs, such as dry distiller grains (DDGs), alfalfa pellets, or other manufactured feeds that really look more like chicken feed than pasture.

Pasture Perfect beef is available in a range of fresh retail and foodservice cuts, burgers, and ground beef. Great grass-fed beef comes from great grass, raised and selected with great care. We’re proud to bring you this delicious, free-ranging beef – truly Pasture Perfect.

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Pasture Perfect Certified Products:

Pasture Perfect Grass-fed Burgers & Ground Beef

We know that our grass-fed beef burgers are some of the best around, because people keep telling us so! Made from only 100% grass-fed beef and nothing else, Pasture Perfect burgers are just the right size and blend of cuts for a juicy, steak-like bite and that perfect real beef flavor.

Categories: Certified Paleo, Keto Certified Tags: meats, protein

We were founded way back in 1988 and ever since we’ve been focused on high quality, tender and delicious grass-fed meats. We’re fixated on fabulous grass-fed beef and lamb, and it’s all we do. When healthy & nutritious meats are raised this way, we know it’s better for people, the animal and the planet – and we know it must also be tender and taste great. That’s our drive – to provide you with the best grass-fed beef.

We’re a team of committed, positive and successful people who understand and appreciate the old-fashioned husbandry of well raised meat. Our vision is to influence a revolution in beef production to where authentic free ranging grass-fed meats are better understood and preferred to those which are confined, and factory farmed.

We believe in goodness, nutrition, wholesomeness, excellent presentation and in the overall quality of the food we sell and ourselves eat. We believe in being good to each other, to people in general, to animals, and for the planet. We believe that honesty, hard work and relationships matter, that everyone should be treated fairly, that life should be a balance of work and fun, and at the end of the day that family is the most important thing.

We believe our knowledge should be shared. We teach people about the positive benefits of truly natural and sustainable animal husbandry, and how this in turn benefits their health and the environment. We deliver on our promise through sharing the story and essential goodness of our high quality grass‐fed meats. We want to help people who wish to improve themselves and the world through good nutrition, and we do this ethically through respectful and lasting relationships with good people.

We work on long lasting and meaningful partnerships with those who are stewards of the land, who are respectful of the land and the animals in their charge, and with conscientious partners who don’t take short-cuts just because it is more profitable to do so.

We are passionate about our grass-fed beef, and we love to share our enthusiasm! We have an experienced sales team covering the country, and we’d all love to hear your thoughts, questions and suggestions. We like to be outstanding in our field – wherever we are a real person will get back to you as soon as we can!

Email: info@pilotbrands.com

Phone: 1 (800) 621-5262

Website: pastureperfectmeats.com

What makes beef in the Pasture Perfect program different from other grass-fed beef?

Answer: Part of the challenge in raising grass-fed beef is providing year-round consistent quality. The Pasture Perfect beef program provides consistent quality 365 days of the year. Our cattle are able to graze year-round on pasture. Only cattle that meet our strict standards are selected for the Pasture Perfect program. These include grading based on the condition of the animal (it’s conformation and marbling of the meat produced) and the breed of the animal (some breeds are known to marble at higher levels than others). If the beef isn’t Pasture Perfect quality, it doesn’t get packed.

What types of grasses are the cattle raised on?

Answer: There is a variety of grasses, predominantly rye grass with clover and other broad leaf grasses in spring and summer. If needed in winter when grass growth is reduced, the cattle can be put on leafy feed crops such as chicory or brassicas, or hay harvested during the summer.

What about these “DDGs” and other supplemental feeds that might be used in raising grass-fed beef?

Answer: DDGs are Dry Distillers Grains, the corn that has been processed in a refining process that removes starch, leaving only the dry matter from the corn. As there's no starch, it technically qualifies as a “grass-fed” feeding supplement and its use is quite common practice, especially in places where it’s hard to grow grass. It helps fatten the animal, but has none of the benefits of real grass. We feel this is misleading practice—our cattle are never fed DDGs. Likewise our cattle are never fed alfalfa pellets or other manufactured feeds that look more like chicken feed than pasture.

Does grass-fed beef taste different?

Answer: The flavor profile of beef is influenced by what the animal is fed during its lifetime, and especially in the months just prior to processing. Most beef in the US is raised on grain which has a bland flavor when compared with grass-fed beef. Many connoisseurs of beef consider grass-fed beef to have a richer, “truer” beef flavor.

What is the eating quality of grass-fed beef? Is it chewy?

Answer: The succulence and “bite” of all beef varies depending on the animals “finish” (condition at harvest). Tenderness and juiciness can be closely associated with intramuscular fat (marbling). While some grass-fed beef can be very lean and tough, it doesn’t have to be. Beef selected for the Pasture Perfect grass-fed beef program is graded for marbling under an internationally recognized system to marble scores (MBS) of 2-4, which is USDA Choice to Prime equivalent. Good grass-fed beef is NOT chewy.

Where does the beef come from?

Answer: Grass-fed beef in the Pasture Perfect program comes from New Zealand. Famous for its spectacular scenery and lush pasturelands, New Zealand has the perfect environment for raising grass-fed beef year round in a natural pastoral environment. Pilot Brands works exclusively with one carefully selected producer in New Zealand who shares our focus on a delicious beef eating experience.

Are the animals confined? What about during winter? Isn’t it cruel to leave them outside?

Answer: Our grass-fed cattle are never confined. New Zealand’s mild, temperate climate means that it is not necessary to house the cattle during winter, and they can roam comfortably outside all year round—and they are very happy to do so!

What about BSE?

Answer: New Zealand is a relatively isolated island nation, with famously strict biosecurity and quarantine regulations. There has never ever been a case of BSE in New Zealand.

Are the animals treated with growth hormones?

Answer: No. Grass-fed beef in the Pasture Perfect program has never been treated with growth hormones.

Is grass-fed beef healthier than grain fed beef?

Answer: Grass-fed beef is higher in vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene and health benefiting fats such as CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), and lower in cholesterol, calories and saturated fats than grain-fed beef. Grass-fed beef has much higher proportions of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids than grain fed beef. A higher ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 essential fatty acids is important in a healthy diet and reduces the risk of many diseases (the FDA recognizes the value of Omega-3 in reducing the risk of heart disease).

What about animal welfare? How are the animals treated?

Answer: Grass-fed animals range freely in pastures and are allowed to behave naturally in the way that they evolved, so there are few of the stress factors experienced by confined animals. The free-range lifestyle and diet means there is less requirement for daily intervention and healthcare treatment such as antibiotic regimes. Our ranchers know that their animals thrive on well managed pastures and a low stress environment. New Zealand has strict animal welfare codes under the Animal Welfare (Care and Procedures) Regulations 2018 that are law and enforced by government authority.

What does “Not Fed Antibiotics” really mean?

Answer: Because feedlot grain-fed cattle get sick due to the confined environment, dust, stress, and difficulty digesting grain, they are routinely treated with antibiotics in their feed to prevent illness. This is called subtherapeutic use. There is also a lot of pressure to put weight on feedlot cattle quickly and cost effectively, and because antibiotics have an additional advantage of promoting weight gain there is an extra incentive to feed them to animals. This routine use is a major reason for the growing concern about residues and antibiotic resistant bacteria. In a pasture raised environment, animals are healthier and preventative antibiotic use is unnecessary. They aren’t fed antibiotics—and after all there are no antibiotics in grass!

About Us :

Established in 2010, The Paleo Foundation was first organized for the purpose of improving the tolerability of the paleo diet, and to help adherents easily identify products that met its basic tenets. Since then, thousands of products have been certified through the Certified Paleo, Keto Certified, and lab -tested Grain-Free Gluten-Free certification programs.

Disclosures:

100% of Paleo Foundation revenue is generated through certifications. We do not accept donations, corporate sponsorships, or financially benefit from the sales of any certified products, product giveaways, or partnerships with industry contacts or retailers for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of an impartial certification standard.

Certified Paleo:

Each certification program has a different set of standards. Certified Paleo is the Paleo Foundation’s first, most popular, and highest level of certification for Paleo-compliant products. Certified Paleo Products are products that contain Paleo ingredients, but may have some 21st-century processing or packaging methods allowing for shelf stability.

Grain-Free Gluten-Free:

Grain Free Gluten Free Certified products are gluten-free and do not contain any grains of gliadin competitive residues. All Grain-Free Gluten-Free products have undergone two rounds of audits, including lab tests, and a final review to become approved for the Grain-free Gluten-free Certified Program.

Keto Certified:

The ketogenic diet is a restrictive, demanding diet that can be difficult to maintain, and tolerability of the ketogenic diet is the single most important factor limiting individual acceptance for initiation. Therefore, improving the tolerability of the ketogenic diet is crucial to preventing diet discontinuation, warranting further investigation into methods for improving palatability, improving the availability and convenience of foods that are compliant with the ketogenic diet, as well as addressing cultural and social acceptance.

The Keto Diet product market may be in a unique position to improve tolerability, especially in social and cultural environments that typically feature carbohydrate-rich “special occasion” types of foods. In 2016, the Paleo Foundation launched the world's first Keto Certified program for products with standards that were developed for adherence to a classical ketogenic diet.