Why do people choose grass-fed beef over the supermarket alternative?
In some cases it comes down to being a little more sure of the ingredients and the quality. In others, it can be perceived as a matter of life and death.
Pam Stefani, a Kennett Township, Penn., resident chooses the product because she believes in buying locally whenever she can.

"I believe in supporting local farmers," Stefani said. "And because it's local, it's also been handled less. It also has less fillers; with other suppliers, who knows what's in it?"

Stefani, who says she prefers organic food in general, said she's also concerned about how food is produced, particularly on factory farms, which mass-produce beef.

"I try to stay away from things like that," she said. "I don't even use anti-bacterial soap. There's just too much unnatural stuff around."

For Kim Collier, it's an even more important issue. The Kennett Square woman is a cancer survivor and very concerned about her diet.

"Hormones are a real concern," she said. "I think they're a problem. I try to stay away from foods that have hormones injected and use a lot of anti-biotics."

Grass feeding cattle don't need antibiotic injections to counter the problems encountered by feeding cattle grain. GreenWorks photo by Dan Simon.

Both Stefani and Collier feel they're not giving much, if anything, by using the grass fed product, which costs about $4.00 a pound. While this might be a little steep for regular supermarket ground beef, since it includes choicer cuts of the cow, less fillers and is from Black Angus cattle, which command a premium, the price difference isn't as great as it might seem.

More importantly, the women feel the taste is worth it.

"It just tastes better, and it has less fat," Stefani said. "It tastes good. If it doesn't taste good, I wouldn't eat it. We only have access to ground beef, and I'm not a big meat eater to begin with, but when I work with it, there's less fat to it. It's less bland, it stands on its own."