Why I Eat Only Grass-Fed Beef

Nancy’s personal food journey, in her own words.

How did you hear about our farm?

We met at the Plainwell Indoor Farmers Market. I was there with my best friend. I remember you said, “We feed our cows grass from our farm, which is not chemically fertilized.” I thought, “I would call that God’s food. You are speaking my language.” You also said you don’t feed them any corn, and that was really speaking my language.

I try to stay away from unclean meat, which is hard because most animals are fed corn at some point. Even beef that is advertised as grass-fed is often finished on corn. I have to be very careful about where my food comes from and what is in it.

Nancy

What has your food journey been like, and when did you find out you had a corn intolerance?

It’s been a long journey. Two years ago, when my father passed, I was so devastated by the circumstances of his death that I didn’t eat for 10 days. I drank lots of water and coffee, but I didn’t eat. During those 10 days I felt really good, and I noticed I wasn’t having the problems with my hands that I usually have. I usually get skin issues and sores on my hands, but they all cleared up.

On our way home, we were stuck on the runway at the Chicago airport for four hours with no food. No restaurants were open because it was during COVID, and by then I was starving. They gave us little packages of pretzel trail mix on the plane, and within hours I was a mess. My hands broke out and my mood changed drastically. I was angry and grumpy. I thought it had to be gluten.

I reached out to a friend whose children have many food intolerances to ask what she thought, and she said right away, “It’s the corn.” I’m not sure why I called her, but I know now that God was leading me in that direction so I could get a clear answer about what was going on with my body. She told me to eat some corn chips and see what happened. My body went crazy again.

That began my journey of learning that my body can’t tolerate anything with corn in it, and that includes eating animals that have eaten corn.

What did you do next?

I spent a lot of time on trial and error with food. I learned that corn is in most processed foods, even when “corn” isn’t on the ingredient list. Many ingredients are derived from corn and nobody knows it. Citric acid, xanthan gum, and natural flavors can all come from corn, and I can’t eat them without having a reaction.

I started calling companies to ask how their ingredients are made, and found out that most of them don’t know what their distributors use. Some companies are very helpful and honest when they don’t know.

Even a trace of corn makes my body react. I’ve used this example before: if I made cookies and greased the cookie sheet with something you would never eat, like cat poop, then wiped it off and baked the cookies on it, would you eat them? Even if someone said it was such a small amount it shouldn’t affect you, you still wouldn’t eat those cookies. That’s how sensitive I am to corn.

How did you find out you couldn’t eat corn-fed meat?

My husband loves steak, and so do I. When I cooked us a steak, I would usually eat a little corner of it, a few bites, and he would eat the rest. That’s all I could tolerate.

Now I know I can eat grass-fed, grass-finished beef with no corn at all. It’s the only kind of meat I buy, and my body is fine with it. That was very exciting for me, and it’s why I’m so glad we connected at the farmers market. It’s nice to eat something and not feel sick, and I felt great after eating your beef.