The subject of fat content – actually, the differences in the kind and level of fat – between organically produced meat and conventionally produced meat has been going on worldwide for a long time. I wish I could tell you that meat produced using organic methods was really lower in fat than meat produced using traditional ranching methods (the use of antibiotics and growth hormones). Unfortunately, I can’t make that claim, and neither can anybody else.

Meat produced using organic methods has virtually the same fat content as meat produced using traditional methods. That finding is the same for beef, chicken, lamb, pork, etc. There is just simply no measurable difference. Fat, it seems, is just fat, and there isn’t much you can do about it except to trim the visible fat from meat before it is cooked.

Now, just because organic meat isn’t lower in fat, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t choose organically produced meats rather than meats produced using traditional ranching methods. Fat content just isn’t all there is to it. The fat in organically produced meat isn’t “good” for you. Animal fat isn’t “good” for you. But the fact remains that organically produced meat does not contain antibiotics or growth hormones.

It’s a known fact that eating large quantities of meat – particularly red meat – increases the risk of many different cancers, including colorectal cancer and possibly pancreatic, breast, prostate, and kidney cancers.

The bottom line here is that eating less meat, and eating less red meat in particular, is a good healthy eating choice. Choosing to eat meat that has been produced using organic ranching methods is a good health choice as well. You won’t be eating less fat, and you certainly can’t eat all of the organic red meat you want, but you won’t be eating antibiotics and growth hormones that are found in traditionally produced meats.