haha
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Well, this is a very competitive market. Obviously if "grass fed"is popular, that means demand and therefore prices are higher.Not to be a cynic, but I think your second explanation has more bearing than the first. And I'm sure the marketed expression "grass fed" comes into play........
I used to trade corn and live cattle and feeder cattle, so I studied those relationships pretty thoroughly, and basically although the feed costs may be higher for corn, the working capital cost is quite a bit higher if the rancher is going to market fat cattle straight off grass. When I was a kid, lots of southern farmers marketed straight off grass. But they usually sold a much lighter animal. They called it "baby beef". I think typically a slaughter ready animal maybe weighed only 750 to 800 #. The steaks were smaller. I am sure their reason was that there were no local feedlots, and to get a full weight slaughter animal it would take a lot more time. Also the beef being older would be less tender.
I think almost anyone would prefer a high quality corn finished steak if he were going to cut it thick, and grill it on the barbie.
As far as health, I think if you dont eat much meat, it couldn't matter much. If you eat a lot of it, then one has to depend on his own reading of the literature about O-6 and O-3. Ruminants do some fat conversion in the gut, how much I don't know. For me, I like this hamburger better because it is cleaner and I am willing to pay a little more for that and for what I think is a healthier PUFA ratio. But I don't pay up for grass fed steaks, I really don't enjoy them as much. But I also don't much like the crappy meat from places like Safeway anyway.
Not always but usually I buy a medium quality steak, cut it again to a 3/8 to 1/2" thickness and fry it fast in a very hot iron skillet. I usually fry up some onion and mushroom and maybe hot pepper to go with it. If I were doing grass fed I would also do this, but likely cover it and simmer for another 1/2 hour or so.
Anyway, I just posted the OP not to convert anyone, but to tell people who do want it where they can find it relatively cheaply and conveniently.
Ha