New research from the Riddet Institute indicates there are differences in meat quality relating to health and digestion, depending on how the animal is raised.

A research team led by Dr Lovedeep Kaur and Dr Mike Boland from Massey University compared pasture-raised New Zealand beef to grain finished beef, and a plant-based alternative.

They found differences in the fat content of the beef, potentially leading to better health outcomes.

The team examined how the human digestive system responds to the differing food compositions and how the nutritious proteins and lipids (fats) are released for the body to use.

The researchers found the protein from both the pasture-raised and grain-finished cuts of beef digested in a similar way, whereas significant differences were observed for fat or lipid digestion.

Digestion of meat from pasture-raised animals released greater levels of good fats, relative to the generally considered “bad” fats.

Meat digested from pasture-raised New Zealand beef, showed higher total amounts of free long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and lower amounts of free, long chain saturated fatty acids (SFAs), than meat from grain-finished cattle.

The role of long chain SFAs in increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and conversely that of omega-3 PUFAs in providing health benefits is well established in food science research¹.

This suggests potential health benefits of consuming pasture-raised beef. The plant-based alternative tested in this study had no long chain omega-3 PUFAs.   

Dr Kaur says the research highlights that meat protein is generally highly digestible and meat with higher digestibility is better for your body.

As plant proteins are generally known to be less digestible than meat proteins, the plant-based meat substitute showed relatively lower protein digestibility.

“Scientists generally agree that higher rates of release of amino acids [protein building blocks] during the digestion of meat leads to beneficial effects in muscle, such as maintenance or gain in muscle mass. This is particularly important for the elderly in managing sarcopenia [muscle wasting] and for athletes who want to increase muscle mass.

“What was interesting to see in our research was that whilst an animal’s protein composition is largely determined by its genetics, and the samples we tested contained highly digestible proteins, the composition of the fat in an animal, particularly the long-chain PUFAs, is largely affected by what it has been eating,” Dr Kaur says.

This research forms part of a larger programme currently underway examining the nutritional value of New Zealand pasture-raised beef, as compared with grain-finished beef and with a plant-based substitute.

The research is funded by the Meat Industry Association of New Zealand, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the High-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.