Is sustainable ground beef safer? Not really. Here's why

A Consumer Reports investigation considered the merits of ground beef. (Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times)There’s nothing like the phrase “fecal contamination” to get your attention. And most of the reporting on an investigation by Consumer Reports magazine into the safety of ground beef from sustainably vs. conventionally raised animals published this week certainly took advantage of that.

As the New York Daily News so eloquently phrased it: “Here's some crappy news: There's poop in your beef.”

But that kind of response undercuts the seriousness of the magazine’s effort. The 50-page full report is worth reading in its entirety. There are many reasons to consider buying more sustainably raised…