Grass-Fed vs Biodynamic vs Regenerative Farming

Last week, I was super excited to see biodynamic oranges at the local food coop in Santa Fe. We buy oranges by the heap for our cows. Cows love oranges, which are great for their rumen and provide a well-needed antioxidant boost during winter.

Cows need antioxidants, too.

As I was stuffing my cart full of oranges, I overheard a customer ask one of the employees, who was stocking the shelves with endive and ridiculously overpriced bundles of spring onions, “Excuse me, what does biodynamic mean?”

I always find inspiration around my writing when grocerty shopping, eating at a restaurant or strolling the local farmers market. And, for some reason, customers consistently ask me if I know what to do with a certain seemingly exodic vegetable that they’re staring at perplexed like the woman who asked if I knew what to do with poblano peppers. Lady, you have no idea. How much time do you have?

In addition to grocery store food gossip I’ve also had several clients ask me what the difference is between biodynamic and regenerative.

These two farming methods are definitely in right now, and, honestly, they should be. They need to be. This is because both biodynamic and regenerative farming offer much more than a flat iron steak teeming with bioavailable nutrients but also create a symbiosis with the land and ecosystem in which our soils are desperately crying out for like a newborn calf trying to find its mama to suckle for the first time.

More and more grocery stores, farmers markets, and farmers with online stores are starting to offer biodynamic and regeneratively raised food and wine options. This is awesome because it’s incredibly beneficial to our health, to soil health, to the animal’s health and it supports diversified ecosystems while making our land and soil more reslient.

Today, I want to explore this topic not only for the man at the food coop or the woman looking at me with a side eye obviously flabergasted as to how many biodynamic oranges I had in my cart, but to help clarify what these farming practices actually mean so that you can make informed decisions about buying foods raised using these methods.

Preface: Biodynamic and regenerative are very similar—both practices are equally health and land supportive, and you cannot go wrong with either choice so try not to overthink your biodynamic vs regenerative food purchases too much.

Let’s start with grass-fed products…

Grass-fed + Pasture-raised Meat, Dairy & Eggs
Meat, dairy, and poultry products raised on pasture (grass-fed) often carry a weaker nutritional profile than those raised biodynamic or regenerative. This is often due to the many loopholes providing greater room for farmer negligence within the grass-fed model, some of which include:

1. The grass isn’t always greener
   Lienent standards around grass-fed products allow farmers and ranchers to call their products “grass-fed” by simply allowing their animals to live outside in a pasture. This is a fantastic step in the right direction, as nobody wants to eat meat raised indoors or in crowded and confined areas. However, if the animals are not moved to a new, ungrazed area on a regular basis, the grass will stop growing. The animals end up eating nubs of grass or grazing on mineral-deficient grass, which will decrease the nutritional value of the grass-fed meat, eggs, and dairy you buy. Grazing on defiencnt grass also reduces fat content in the meat causing even the quintessential fatty cuts such as the ribeye, to resemble the texture of shoe leather.

2. Soil Health.
   When animals are contained in the same area and aren't rotated to new, fresh grass, soil health is depleted. Overgrazed land has fewer bugs and microbes and is more prone to drought, flood, erosion, and other detrimental weather effects. Over time, the mineral and nutrient content of the soil becomes increasingly depleted, leaving the animals and humans who consume these foods less nourished.

3. Regulation.
   The term grass-fed isn’t well regulated. Much of the grass-fed meat sold at Whole Foods, big box stores, and possibly even your local food coop is often fed some grain (and is very likey to be from Austraila, New Zeland or other country-BIG red flag). Animals raised on grass, particularly ruminants, won’t have as much marbling in their meat when raised solely on grass. If you see a one-and-a-half-inch grass-fed ribeye steak at Whole Foods with hunks of tallow, it’s likely not 100% grass-fed; however, due to lackadaisical regulations, the meat can technically be labeled and marketed as “grass-fed.”

The Nutritional Hierarchy of Meat
Regenerative and biodynamic products encompass more than just meat, including everything from fruits and vegetables to wine, cheese, olive oil, and eggs. However, when it comes to meat products, regenerative and biodynamically raised meat trumps grass-fed meat, and grass-fed meat trumps organic. Organically raised meat trumps conventional.

What is Regenerative?
Unlike grass-fed meat, regeneratively raised meat goes the extra mile and incorporates rotational grazing. Regenerative farmers allow their animals to graze the land until they’ve consumed about 70-80% of the grasses, then move the herd to a new, ungrazed area.

This model mimics how the OG ruminant, buffalo, roamed the land. When bison grazed in this way, stomping and littering the land, the land was lush; nothing was overgrazed, and once the herd moved to a new areas the ground was left untouched for months to years, allowing the dung and urine to replenish the soil. Today, regenerative farmers mimic the grazing practices of bison, and when animals are raised in this way, carbon is sequestered in the soil, and the land is able to heal and regenerate.

Contrary to misinformed organizations such as Greenpeace and other pseudoscience institutions that blame global climate change on cow methane (for the love of God make it stop) while driving around in their Tesla and Hyrid vehicles thinking they’re making a difference (which is actually much more detrimental to the environment than cow belching), when cows are grazed in alignment with the regenerative model, the earth benefits and carbon emissions are greatly reduced. Not only that, the cows (or other grazing ruminants such as sheep and water buffalo) constantly have access to nutrient-rich grass, which is good for them and a huge nutritional benefit for those who consume animal products.

What is Biodynamic?
Biodynamic farming is a subculture of regenerative farming. Both focus on soil health, ecosystem diversity, the use of cover crops (an amazing way to replenish soil health), and rotational grazing practices, but biodynamic farming practices take farming one step further…

Biodynamic farmers also plant and harvest based on lunar cycles (when the moon waxes and wanes, determines when certain crops are planted). They also use a combination of manure and herbal and mineral preparations (i.e., herbs steeped in water) to enhance soil health. This farming method was founded by Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, and many farmers still practice it today. This way of farming isn’t limited to animal husbandry but also applies to growing fruits, veggies, and grapes for winemaking. Unlike organic and standard wine, biodynamic wine doesn’t have added sulfur or sulfites, which is a much healthier option with fewer of the common sulfite side effects such as headache, fatigue, and rapid heart rate.

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.
Regarding farming practices and how your food is raised, you cannot go wrong by choosing biodynamic or regenerative-raised food. While regenerative encompasses carnage, dairy, and eggs, biodynamic includes all of those elements plus fruits, veggies, herbs, and wine (which we of course know is produced from grapes).

I hope this helps you make more informed food choices. I sense we will begin to see more of these choices available at farmer’s markets and organic grocers. As always, please post your comments below, and keep an eye out for my next post, which will teach you how to make an amazing, flourless chocolate torte!

~Heathar

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While Heathar is a chef and homesteader, she’s also a homeopathic practitioner. You can study homeopathy with Heathar and learn about her homeopathic practice on her Study Homeopathy Substack.