What Is Regenerative Beef? Is It Really Better?

“Regenerative beef” sounds like a burger so good it restores your faith in humanity and gets your parents undivorced. However, there’s a different definition that’s more real, less ridiculous, and won’t prompt your friends to peek at your phone just to make sure you put your therapy appointment(s) into your Google calendar.

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What is regenerative beef?

To understand regenerative beef, one must first understand regenerative agriculture, a farming method based around the belief that we should work with the land, instead of making the land work for us. Practices promote healthy soil, plant biodiversity, rejecting excessive or harmful chemicals, rebalancing ecosystems, and minimizing animal discomfort.

A big part of that minimization has to do with grazing. Rotational grazing encourages animals to graze similarly to how they would with natural herd behavior, and means healthier pastures and less overgrazing. 

What are the benefits of regenerative beef?

Aside from zen cows, regeneratively raising beef contributes to reduced carbon emissions, since healthier grass and soil means more roots and microbes that can draw carbon from the atmosphere and combat that pesky cattle methane.

You can feel good about minimizing your beef-loving butt’s impact on the Earth and let that be its own reward. After all, there’s that age-old adage that moral superiority is the best sauce. But, the beef actually tastes pretty darn good even if you don’t give a flying frankfurter about cow farts. 

Regeneratively raised animals’ access to diverse, natural diets contribute to meat that’s rich in vitamins, minerals, and beneficial fats, often with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. 

Sounds expensive! Is it?

We won’t sugarcoat it: Regenerative beef costs more than the regular stuff. The methods are more labor intensive, since humans perform the roles that have been mostly done by machines in recent years. 

Grocery stores charge starting around the $5/lb range for the most inexpensive, standard ground beef, but high quality, regenerative beef might run closer to $15/lb for comparable size and fat content.