CLAIMS grain-fed beef is better than grass-fed beef have been slammed by a prominent Melbourne chef.
A Texas study released last week claimed meat from grain-fed animals was "more healthful" than beef from grass-fed animals.
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But chef Adrian Richardson is a champion of grass-fed beef simply because it tastes so much better.
Mr Richardson runs the La Luna restaurant in Carlton North and uses only grass-fed beef, as well as rare-breed pigs on his menu.
"Breeding animals is not like buying furniture at Ikea, it will not be the same every time," Mr Richardson said.
"The most important thing to me is that the beef is grass-fed - the texture and flavour are far, far superior."
The Texas A&M University study, funded by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, found that grass-fed beef contained more unhealthy saturated trans-fats than grain-fed beef.
"The longer cattle are fed a corn or grain-based diet, the healthier the product will be," T&M researcher Stephen Smith said.
However, Mr Richardson dismissed the claim as "just bulls**t".
"If I am selling grain-fed beef (like most of the beef produced in the US) of course I will find a study like that to confirm what I want to hear," he said.
"The more we see supermarkets - and increasingly budget supermarkets (selling meat) - the more we will see lower quality, factory-produced meat."
He said he didn't want to see beef farmers go down the path of chicken producers who raise animals in "factory-like" conditions.
Unlike many chefs who buy beef that has already been broken down, Mr Richardson sources the beef from Westside Meats, buying part of a carcass and breaking it down in his restaurant kitchen to suit his requirements.
