“Beef gets a bad health rap, despite the fact that humans by nature are designed to eat meat – and have been eating it longer than most grains and other modern cultivated foods.  But the real problem may not be the beef itself but rather our beef. The fat in the industrial or feedlot beef – what the industry calls conventional beef, because this modern laboratory experiment has become the norm – is much less healthful than it should be. Tue grass-fed and not grain-finished beef is higher in vitamins in A, E, and antioxidants, but most important, it’s higher in “good” omega-3 fats and lower in “bad” omega-6 fats.”

“The problem with grain-finished is that it is off base in a few different ways.  While the grain will drive up the USDA marbling scores, this ranking is not nearly as related to flavor as most people think but instead is based on appearance.  Whereas the Japanese graders rate the quality of fat, we consider only quantity. The steak I got from Causland tasted better than most USDA prime beef I have eaten.

“Causland got married in Scotland in 2000 and, while on his honeymoon, first laid eyes on the odd-looking beasts, a traditional fixture of the rugged Scottish countryside for hundreds of years.  Having only been exposed to American breeds, he was curious, as they are one of the few varieties where both male and females sport matching horns. An amiable, outgoing son of the Old West, he approached local farmers, made inquiries, and liked what he heard.

“I guarantee no other rancher is going to open the gate and let you pet his bulls”, said Leo Causland.

“We started with four animals, and all the attributes they told me were true.  They are just perfectly suited to this environment. We are at about 9000 feet here and get a lot of snow, and all the other people who raise cattle have to move them in the winter, but not us.  These guys stay here all year round. Because they have such thick, warm coats, they don’t grow the thick outer band of insulating fat most cattle do, so while they’re only 8% fat, which is low, it is all found in the internal marbling.” Said Leo Causland. “

The result?

“It’s not like dry bison, and it’s different from other beef, almost sweet. They are delicious.”

“Causland now raises the breed exclusively.  He is a member of the Mountain States Highland Cattle Association as well as the American Highland Cattle Association, and has sold breeding stock to farmers all over the country, but these friendly creatures remain very much a niche specialty, and he can’t understand why.”