Congratulations! Grass-fed beef is the way to go. If you are already aware of all of the benefits of eating grass-fed beef, and are anxious to find a great company that will sell it to you, please click on one of the links on this page. Here is some basic information about the health issues involved. Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's) are thus named because, like vitamins, our body needs them but cannot make them. We must obtain them from our diet. There are two types of EFA's; omega-6 and omega-3. To be in optimum health we need to be consuming the two in a ratio of roughly 2:1, omega-6 to omega-3. Sadly, most of us are hovering between 15:1 and 50:1. This has disastrous effects on our health. Omega-3 EFA’s from vegetable sources - plants and nuts - exist in a form that is not usable by humans. These omega-3 precursors must first be converted before they can be beneficial. Humans are unable to perform this conversion. Vegetable sources of omega-6 EFA’s - grains and nuts - however, are fully formed, and do not need further conversion before our bodies can use them. Humans obtain omega-3 fatty acids through eating the meat of other animals, because unlike us, most other animals are able to perform the conversion. In today’s meat industry, profits are maximized and yields are improved through grossly inhumane assembly line systems that liken animals to objects. Weight is money and animals are fed an unnatural diet of grains, protein, antibiotics, and hormones in order to reach maximum size in minimum time. The omega-6 content of all of these grains results in a grotesque 6:3 ratio which is then passed on to us, as consumers. Through eating the meat of animals left to forage on their own (for example, cows that eat their natural grass diet), and not force-fed an unnatural diet, we can obtain the perfect ratio. The emphasis being on “can”, because it is not just conventional meat that is getting us. The source of our unbalanced EFA ratio is two headed. The animals we eat have high omega-6 levels due to the enormous amount of grain we feed them. We have high omega-6 levels because we eat their meat, and because of the enormous amount of grain that we feed ourselves. You've heard the saying, "You are what you eat"? Well... Omega-6 EFA's are involved in the immune response. Omega-3's are involved in the proper functioning of the heart and the brain. High omega-6 levels lead to an overactive immune system. This leads to trigger happy inflammatory responses which aggravate autoimmune responses and inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis. High 6 has also been recently linked with heart disease. Low 3 has been correlated with a bevy of mental inefficiencies such as, vaguely, inability to concentrate and focus, and memory problems. Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity have also been linked to low omega-3 levels. Skin problems such as dry skin and dandruff, as well as high cholesterol have been shown to be greatly helped through an increase in dietary omega-3 and a decrease in omega-6 intake. If you would like to learn more there are two recent New York Times articles that you should read. The first one appeared March 31, 2002, titled "Discover How Your Beef Is Really Raised", and was written by Michael Pollan. It's title should be, "Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Conventional Beef." It follows the life of a cow from beginning to end and it is the story of our conventional beef. I haven't eaten conventional beef since. The second story concerns diet. The article appeared on July 7, 2002, was written by Gary Taubes, and is titled, "What If It's All Been A Big Fat Lie?". Again, both articles appeared in the New York TImes, and I will try and get them posted on this site as soon as I can.