How To Buy Real Grass Fed Protein Powder

In my last blog post I talked about how companies will use marketing tricks to make you think you’re getting grass fed protein when you’re really not.  Here is the summary

  1. There is not a government certification for using the term “grass-fed”, “free-range”, “happy cows”, or “hormone free”.  This creates the opportunity for protein companies to use these terms without being policed.  Essentially they can buy whey protein from caged-up cows and label it as grass fed, sell it to you, and essentially rip you off.
  2. I showed emails from companies offering ABSOLUTELY ZERO proof that their protein was truly from grass fed cows.

Here is my method to ENSURE and guarantee that the protein you buy is truly from grass fed cows.

  1. Buy whey protein with a USDA organic logo AND, and this is a big AND, confirm they are registered with the USDA.  Here is an example and how to do a search
    1. Find an organic whey protein.  For this example I used NOW FOODS
      1. [easyazon_link identifier=”B004AC06FS” locale=”US” tag=”bp025-20″]Now Foods Organic Whey Protein, Natural Unflavored 1 Pound[/easyazon_link]
    2. Go to the USDA database search site. Click here
    3. Type in the company.  For this example, I typed in NOW Foods and got the results.  See pic

Now Food organic whey protein

 

By searching the USDA database you to be 1000% sure that the money spent on organic whey protein is truly organic.  Because organic whey protein is very expensive.  And don’t be naive and think that protein companies do not use the USDA organic logo illegally.  That is why you MUST use the USDA database to be 100% sure that the whey protein is organic.

So what if you cannot afford organic protein and would rather buy protein from grass fed, hormone free cows from companies like mine and a lot of others that claim their proteins are from grass fed cows?  You have to be really careful and ask for documented proof.  That is the only way.

Some examples of documented proof are as follows.

  1. A letter from the manufacturer of the protein stating the where cows are living (what country)
  2. An invoice from a protein manufacturer in New Zealand or Western Europe

What NOT to use for proof

  1. Specification sheet from a protein manufacturer like Fonterra.  If you clicked on this link, you could easily obtain one yourself.  Companies will use this to fool you.
  2. A certificate of analysis from a protein manufacturer like Fonterra.  Again, these can easily be obtained without actually purchasing the using the product.

For example.  Take a look at my NZ 7000.

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, you’ll see that I have documented proof because I posted the “cow feed” statement and the “hormone free” statement.

Of course, in addition, our New Zealand whey protein has

  1. a supplement facts panel, not an inferior nutrition facts panel
  2. a 3rd party lab analysis upon request.

In conclusion, the grass fed protein industry is just as corrupt as the sports nutrition protein industry.  I think the grass fed companies that are not actually selling grass fed protein are actually worse because most of their marketing is based on “WE CARE.”  When in actuality they are really evil.  [clickToTweet tweet=”Don’t be naive, do your research, do not accept ‘TRUST ME’ for an answer, always ask for documented proof” quote=”Don’t be naive, do your research, do not accept ‘TRUST ME’ for an answer, always ask for documented proof”], and never just rely on “reviews” when you want grass fed protein but don’t want to pay the price for USDA certified organic.

That being said, my NZ 7000 and Heliogen casein proteins are both coming from cows that are grass fed.

[easyazon_link identifier=”B00LV0B2P0″ locale=”US” tag=”bp025-20″]100% New Zealand 7000 Whey Protein – 5 LBS[/easyazon_link]

[easyazon_link identifier=”B00KABH4LM” locale=”US” tag=”bp025-20″]Heliogen Casein (2lb) – Vanilla[/easyazon_link]