Glacier Grown

Why Bison??

Taste
People are rapidly discovering the deliciously healthy taste of bison. Bison meat tastes similar to fine beef, with just a slightly sweeter and richer flavor. Bison is naturally flavorful and tender and can be prepared much the same as beef. Publications ranging from Gourmet Magazine to the Old Farmers Almanac are heralding bison as the meat of the future.

Value
Bison falls into the gourmet or specialty meat category. The value of bison is not what you pay, but what you get in return. Nutritionally you are getting more protein and nutrients with fewer calories and less fat. Buffalo is a dense meat that tends to satisfy you more while eating less.

Health
Bison are handled as little as possible. They spend their lives on grass, much as they always have. They are not subjected to questionable drugs, chemicals or hormones.

Nutrition

Research by Dr. M. Marchello at North Dakota State University has shown that the meat from Bison is a highly nutrient dense food because of the proportion of protein, fat, mineral, and fatty acids to its caloric value. Bison is a natural product that is raised without growth hormones. Bison has less fat than boneless chicken. Comparisons to other meat sources have also shown that Bison has a greater concentration of iron as well as some of the essential fatty acids necessary for human well being. Readers’ Digest magazine has even listed bison as one of the five foods women should eat because of the high iron content.

Nutritional Comparisons

The Omega Connection

Grass-fed bison has a healthy Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acid ratio of 4:1 or less. For grain-fed bison that ratio can climb to a very unhealthy 20:1, or sometimes even higher. High Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios have been linked to heart disease, inflammatory diseases, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and behavioral disorders. 

In hunter-gather times, there was no grain consumption to speak of. The Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio in those times was closer to 2:1 or 1:1. Our bodies haven’t changed all that much, but unfortunately our eating habits as a society, especially in the last 40 years or so, have changed dramatically, and for the worse. High Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios can be directly linked to excessive consumption of grains and an ever expanding range of derivative products.

When compared to grain-fed bison, grass-fed bison is:

• lower in total fat, especially saturated fat
• lower in cholesterol and calories
• considerably higher in beta-carotene and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), both being practically non-existent in grain fed animals.

Beta-carotene is used in the body to make Vitamin A, a powerful anti-oxidant linked to preventing cancer and cardio-vascular disease. It is also what gives grass-fed bison fat its slightly yellow color; something that the grain-driven part of the bison industry will sometimes erroneously play up as a negative factor. Grain-fed bison has white fat, much like you see in most if not all supermarket beef–a fat which has little or no health benefit.  In preliminary studies CLA, a fatty acid, has been linked to reducing the risk of cancer, diabetes and obesity.

Other Things You Need To Know About Our Bison

Our best and most tender tasting bison comes from animals that are approximately 18 to 30 months in age. Animals much older are usually only suitable for ground meat recipes such as burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf. This would be our suggestion if you are looking to purchase a “Trophy” Bull.  Besides age, meat tenderness depends upon feeding practices, intramuscular fat, location of cut, stress factors, and post-slaughter processing.

Feeding Practices That Will Yield The Best Meat

Grass-fed bison are raised in our pastures and are never exposed to management practices which include feedlots or feedlot finishing. The ideal grass-fed bison diet is approximately 93% grass, 5% forbs (wildflowers, weeds, etc.), and 2% browse (leaves from woody plants). Mineral supplements can be part of their diet, especially over the winter months. In addition, our best practices protocol does not allow for the use of antibiotics or growth hormones.  Health benefits from grass-fed bison are best achieved when bison graze on green leafy grasses, or where available, dormant pasture during the winter. The same health benefits are not realized when their diet consists of hay or silage. That’s why it is always best to purchase bison meat coming from an animal that has been harvested coming off pasture.

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