Most bison are raised by private farmers, and only about 74,000 a year are processed to be sold at markets in the United States. Bison meat is a great source of protein, vitamins and minerals.
Definition
The National Bison Association (NBA) manages a "Source Verified" program to guarantee that the label "Certified American Buffalo" stands for meat that was raised without hormones and was never fed antibiotics or animal by-products. Bison are range-raised and grass-fed. Nutritional information comes from the USDA database as provided by NutritionData.com and includes values for one bison patty that weighed 112.7 grams (g) raw and 87 g cooked. The NBA states that bison is tender, juicy and slightly sweeter than beef.
Basic Nutrition
A bison burger has 207 calories, 13.2 g of total fat, 20.7 g of protein and no carbohydrates or dietary fiber. Bison burgers are high in cholesterol (72 mg or 24 percent DV), but bison burgers also supply the heart-healthy essential fatty acids. One burger has 69.6 mg of omega-3 fatty acids and 478 mg of omega-6 fatty acids, which means that men get 4 percent of the recommended adequate intake of omega-3's and 2.8 percent of omega-6's, while women get 6.4 percent of omega-3's and 4 percent of omega-6's.
Vitamins
Bison is a great source of energy-providing B vitamins. It has 2.0 micrograms (mcg) of vitamin B12 (33 percent DV), 4.8 mg of niacin (24 percent DV), 0.3 mg of vitamin B6 (16 percent DV), 0.2 mg of riboflavin (13 percent DV), 1.0 mg of pantothenic acid (10 percent DV), 0.1 mg of thiamin (8 percent DV) and 13 mcg of folate (3 percent DV). You'll also get 0.2 mg of vitamin E (1 percent DV).
Minerals
One bison burger is high in selenium (26.1 mcg or 37 percent DV), zinc (4.5 mg or 30 percent DV), phosphorus (178 mg or 18 percent DV) and iron (2.7 mg or 15 percent DV). It also supplies 297 mg of potassium, 0.1 mg of copper and 19.1 mg of magnesium, which represents 5 to 8 percent DV. Bison has a small amount of calcium (11.3 mg, or 1 percent DV) and also contains 63.5 mg of sodium (3 percent of the recommended daily value for salt).
Comparison
Advertising for bison states that it is a better option than beef because it has fewer calories and fat. This is true if you're comparing steaks. For example, 3 oz. of raw bison rib eye has 135 fewer calories than the same amount of raw beef rib eye, and the bison has 3 g of fat compared to 18 grams in the beef. But when purchasing ground meat for burgers, you can choose the amount of fat in beef. Ground beef that is 80-percent lean is about equal to ground bison in calories, fat and protein.
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