As a frequent Walmart shopper, I often browse the meat section looking for good deals on quality cuts. Recently I noticed they’ve expanded their grass-fed beef offerings under the Marketside Butcher brand This piqued my curiosity – where exactly does Walmart’s grass-fed beef come from?
Understanding the supply chain of our food provides insight into the practices used to produce it. In this article, I’ll explore the roots of Walmart’s grass-fed beef program and what their sourcing means for customers.
Why Choose Grass-Fed Beef?
Before getting into the origins, let’s quickly recap the appeal of grass-fed beef for consumers:
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Nutrition: More omega-3s and antioxidants than grain-fed beef. Also more CLA, vitamin E, and beta-carotene.
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Animal welfare Cattle get to graze on open pastures instead of being confined to crowded feedlots
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Sustainability Pasture grazing promotes soil health without needing vast grain crops to feed cattle.
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Taste: Some people argue the flavor of grass-fed beef is more complex and “beefy” (though tenderness can vary).
For these reasons, grass-fed beef has taken off as shoppers seek out more natural, ethical meats. Now let’s see how Walmart tapped into this trend.
Introducing Marketside Butcher Grass-Fed Beef
In 2020, Walmart launched their Marketside Butcher grass-fed beef line to offer customers an accessible grass-fed option. Here are a few key details:
- Sold as steaks, roasts, ground beef, and burgers
- Cattle are 100% grass-fed and pasture-raised their entire lives
- No antibiotics or added hormones
- Meat is minimally processed
- Displays American Grassfed Association (AGA) certification
This line gave Walmart shoppers an alternative to commodity grain-finished beef. But where is this premium grass-fed beef sourced from?
Sourced from Ranches in Utah and Wyoming
According to Walmart, their Marketside Butcher grass-fed beef is sourced from two multi-generational family ranches located in Utah and Wyoming.
These ranches have long histories of raising cattle in the Western U.S. Their cattle graze on open grasslands and are finished exclusively on pasture grasses.
Walmart has not disclosed the exact ranch names or locations. However, just knowing the beef comes from established grass-fed ranchers in those states provides helpful insight into its origins and production practices.
Verified by American Grassfed Association
One way Walmart provides transparency into their grass-fed program is through American Grassfed Association (AGA) certification.
To carry the AGA logo, beef must meet the following criteria:
- Cattle eat only grass and forage from weaning to harvest
- No confinement in feedlots or use of antibiotics or hormones
- Pasture access and humane animal treatment verified
Having the AGA stamp of approval gives customers confidence in the grass-fed claims and standards behind Walmart’s beef.
Processed at Creekstone Farms
After cattle are raised on the Utah and Wyoming ranches, Walmart’s grass-fed beef is sent to Creekstone Farms for processing.
Located in Arkansas City, Kansas, Creekstone is a family-owned company focused on premium Angus beef. They have Rigorous humane handling procedures and boast about doing minimally invasive processing to avoid damaging muscles.
Creekstone also ages the beef to enhance tenderness and flavor. They’re an established, trusted beef supplier for major retailers nationwide.
Packaged by FPL Food
The final stop for Walmart’s grass-fed beef is the FPL Food case-ready plant in Georgia. This state-of-the-art facility packages the fresh meat into consumer portions.
FPL Food is a company that specializes in packaging goods for grocery stores and other retailers. Their technology maximizes freshness and shelf life.
Once packaged, the Marketside Butcher grass-fed beef ships out to Walmart locations across the Eastern U.S.
Why Marketside Butcher vs Walmart Branding?
An interesting question is why Walmart sells their grass-fed beef under the Marketside Butcher brand instead of just labeling it “Walmart Grass-Fed Beef”.
The Marketside Butcher logo implies small-scale butchers handcrafting premium meats, even though it’s produced on an industrial system.
This branding possibly helps attract customers who equate Walmart with large-scale commodity food. Positioning it as coming from artisanal butchers adds legitimacy among the grass-fed crowd.
How Walmart Compares to Other Grass-Fed Programs
The grass-fed beef world has varying levels of integrity when it comes to practices and transparency. Here’s how Walmart’s Marketside Butcher beef stacks up:
Better than conventional feedlot beef – A definite upgrade over typical grain-finished commodity beef in terms of nutrition, ethics, and sustainability.
Not 100% grass-finished – Walmart follows USDA minimums for grass-fed. Cattle may get supplemental grains, whereas some stricter programs are 100% grass-only.
Good verifications – AGA logo ensures integrity. More strict than generic “grass-fed” claims lacking third-party certification.
Decent transparency – More info on supply chain than many major grocers, but not full farm/ranch traceability.
Affordable pricing – Much cheaper than small farmer-direct programs. But more expensive than regular grain-fed beef from Walmart.
Considering Walmart’s massive scale, they’ve created a reasonably well-verified grass-fed program with real transparency advantages versus conventional beef. There are higher tiers of grass-fed integrity, but Marketside Butcher delivers an accessible option.
Is Walmart’s Grass-Fed Beef Right for You?
Walmart’s Marketside Butcher grass-fed beef line offers customers an opportunity to incorporate grass-fed meat into their diet without the high cost of niche suppliers.
While not perfect, Walmart hits many markers for verified grass-fed standards and transparency. Sourcing from established Western U.S. ranches and processing through trusted facilities adds legitimacy.
Compared to regular feedlot beef, Marketside Butcher provides a clear step up in ethics, sustainability, and nutrition without breaking the bank. The American Grassfed Association certification provides external validation.
For shoppers looking for an occasional grass-fed treat on a budget, Walmart grass-fed fits the bill. Foodies demanding the highest grass-fed purity can investigate regional ranches and specialty sellers for their regular supply. But for Adding grass-fed into the rotation
No matter where you source it from, the important thing is incorporating those health and ethical grass-fed benefits into your lifestyle when you can. Having major retailers like Walmart expand the accessibility of grass-fed beef makes that goal more achievable for the masses.
Grass Fed Beef – Everything You Need To Know And Where To Buy It
FAQ
Who does Walmart get their beef from?
Does Walmart buy beef from China?
Where does most grass-fed beef come from?
Where does Whole Foods get its grass-fed beef?
Does Walmart sell grass-fed beef?
Back in 2018, Walmart made a similar move by partnering with a collective of family-owned ranching operations in Utah and Wyoming to produce a line of grass-fed beef for Walmart’s changing consumer base. Beef produced by the Crandall family and sold by Walmart is available widely in Walmart stores across the country and on Walmart.com.
What kind of meat does Walmart sell?
In response to rising popularity, Walmart continues expanding offerings of certified organic and grass-fed meat: Organic beef and chicken – Typically limited to ground and whole bird forms, and pricier than conventional. Grass-fed beef – Small selection including ground beef and some steaks.
Where does grass-fed beef come from?
But if you look carefully at the labels on grass-fed beef, especially in mainstream supermarkets like Safeway and Stop & Shop, you’ll notice something peculiar. Quite a lot of this beef is coming to the U.S. from half a world away, in Australia. Patricia Whisnant knows about this through personal experience.
Does Walmart sell imported meat?
Imported meat from outside North America must be clearly labeled as such. Walmart confirms no meat from China, Brazil, etc. ends up in the regular “product of USA” meat cases. Now that you‘ve got the big picture, let‘s zoom in on some meat department specifics… Just How Much Meat Does Walmart Sell?