- Mar 21, 2009
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I once knew a lady (an instructor actually) that said that she never ate anything that she couldn't have eaten 100 years ago. Probably a good philosophy to live by.
Food, Inc.
- Thread starter michickenwrangler
- Start date
Just go back half that.... 50 years.
Can't wait to see this film!
Quote:
Ah! But chickens are omnivores and can live their entire lives on grain and protein. Cattle can't. They are ruminants and only eat grain when it is forced on them.
And the reason cattle are only kept in a grain fed operation for a limited time is because their stomachs would explode if they are fed corn longer than a few months. As it is the poor things are riddled with ulcers by the time they are slaughtered, anyway.
A cow's stomachs aren't built for corn. They are built for grass.
I will take your word that in your area not all cattle are sent to CAFOs at a young age. All I can go by is what I read and what the company president said at a particular CAFO in Colorado in the film *King Corn. According to the fella, in order for farmers to make a profit, they have to send them there. It is actually cheaper to feed cattle on corn than it is to feed them on their natural diet of grass.
Because corn is heavily subsidized by the government and therefore cheap.
*Another great one, by the way. If folks enjoyed Food, Inc., they will probably like this one as well.
My cows are on pasture and free choice hay at all times, grain is not forced upon them. But they will take it in a heartbeat, they love it. And even though they are built for grass, they can have too much of it, such as with grass bloat. It's always nice to offer a variety of foods to your animals. Grain can make a nice supplement to hay and grass.
Yup! One of the easiest ways to catch a cow is with grain... they LOVE it.
Feedlot cows are fed a mixture of grain, (corn, wheat, milo, feed, sorghum, etc.) alfalfa hay, and protein. Thats the gross part, blood and bone meal, along with soybeans, which by the way are not a healthy food for anyone IMO.
ANYWAY.... it is not straight grain, and I dont believe the ulcer thing, you would have to show me an autopsey or let me visit a slaughter house to believe all of that.
Now, I have one more thing to say- Who decided cows should never have grain, and who decided that grain wasnt a part of a GRASS diet? I always thought grain WAS GRASS! Grass seed....
In actuallity I think our food system should be changed, and I desire to raise (and hunt) most of our meat ourselves. But I just hate to see the exagerations and some outright lies that are perpetuated in movies and books. AND I havent seen this move, I am just generalizing. i do want to, and I will probably agree with most of what it has to say.
Ah! But chickens are omnivores and can live their entire lives on grain and protein. Cattle can't. They are ruminants and only eat grain when it is forced on them.
And the reason cattle are only kept in a grain fed operation for a limited time is because their stomachs would explode if they are fed corn longer than a few months. As it is the poor things are riddled with ulcers by the time they are slaughtered, anyway.
A cow's stomachs aren't built for corn. They are built for grass.
I will take your word that in your area not all cattle are sent to CAFOs at a young age. All I can go by is what I read and what the company president said at a particular CAFO in Colorado in the film *King Corn. According to the fella, in order for farmers to make a profit, they have to send them there. It is actually cheaper to feed cattle on corn than it is to feed them on their natural diet of grass.
Because corn is heavily subsidized by the government and therefore cheap.
*Another great one, by the way. If folks enjoyed Food, Inc., they will probably like this one as well.
My cows are on pasture and free choice hay at all times, grain is not forced upon them. But they will take it in a heartbeat, they love it. And even though they are built for grass, they can have too much of it, such as with grass bloat. It's always nice to offer a variety of foods to your animals. Grain can make a nice supplement to hay and grass.
Yup! One of the easiest ways to catch a cow is with grain... they LOVE it.
Feedlot cows are fed a mixture of grain, (corn, wheat, milo, feed, sorghum, etc.) alfalfa hay, and protein. Thats the gross part, blood and bone meal, along with soybeans, which by the way are not a healthy food for anyone IMO.
ANYWAY.... it is not straight grain, and I dont believe the ulcer thing, you would have to show me an autopsey or let me visit a slaughter house to believe all of that.
Now, I have one more thing to say- Who decided cows should never have grain, and who decided that grain wasnt a part of a GRASS diet? I always thought grain WAS GRASS! Grass seed....
In actuallity I think our food system should be changed, and I desire to raise (and hunt) most of our meat ourselves. But I just hate to see the exagerations and some outright lies that are perpetuated in movies and books. AND I havent seen this move, I am just generalizing. i do want to, and I will probably agree with most of what it has to say.
Eat more possum, it's good for you
And the reason cattle are only kept in a grain fed operation for a limited time is because their stomachs would explode if they are fed corn longer than a few months.
Hmmmmm. I actually have my doubts about this, since they are fed a diet with a lot of other stuff in it other then just grain... I am still thinking abou tthis. Interesting, though. But how would it fatten them if it never leaves the stomachs?
Hmmmmm. I actually have my doubts about this, since they are fed a diet with a lot of other stuff in it other then just grain... I am still thinking abou tthis. Interesting, though. But how would it fatten them if it never leaves the stomachs?
I will take your word that in your area not all cattle are sent to CAFOs at a young age. All I can go by is what I read and what the company president said at a particular CAFO in Colorado in the film *King Corn. According to the fella, in order for farmers to make a profit, they have to send them there. It is actually cheaper to feed cattle on corn than it is to feed them on their natural diet of grass.
Actually most ranchers have no control over whether they animals go to a feed lot or not. They sell them at auction, to people who send them to the feedlot, a lot of the slaughter houses buy their cows directly from the auctions. So I guess, the slaughter houses may be the culprits. But I still dont think it is cheaper to feed them corn. Corn is not that cheap, but pasture you already own is.
But again, for the slaughter houses, it may be cheaper to feed them grain for those last few months.
Actually most ranchers have no control over whether they animals go to a feed lot or not. They sell them at auction, to people who send them to the feedlot, a lot of the slaughter houses buy their cows directly from the auctions. So I guess, the slaughter houses may be the culprits. But I still dont think it is cheaper to feed them corn. Corn is not that cheap, but pasture you already own is.
But again, for the slaughter houses, it may be cheaper to feed them grain for those last few months.
From what I understand, high corn diets are somewhat corrosive to the linings of the digestive tract, causing ulcerations in that lining. Corn is not easily digestible to cattle, or us, for that matter...think of corn in feces...can't digest the whole kernel.
These ulcerations are a source of gastrointestinal discomfort in the animals, as they would be in ourselves. These ulcerations can also cause e.coli bacteria~ which are naturally occuring in the bowel~ to enter the bloodstream, causing a systemic infection. Therefore, the animals need some pretty steady antibiotics to keep them healthy enough to "finish" on grain. During this process, a more lethal strain of e.coli is produced that is resistant to broad spectrum antibiotics....hence people getting sick from and dying from e.coli tainted beef.
Grain is more expensive than finishing on grass, but its a quicker return on your investment, so one can move more stock through and finish them faster on high grain diets than one can on grass. So, in effect, it is more profitable to finish on grain. Grass is a slower, but more natural and healthy way to finish cattle.
These ulcerations are a source of gastrointestinal discomfort in the animals, as they would be in ourselves. These ulcerations can also cause e.coli bacteria~ which are naturally occuring in the bowel~ to enter the bloodstream, causing a systemic infection. Therefore, the animals need some pretty steady antibiotics to keep them healthy enough to "finish" on grain. During this process, a more lethal strain of e.coli is produced that is resistant to broad spectrum antibiotics....hence people getting sick from and dying from e.coli tainted beef.
Grain is more expensive than finishing on grass, but its a quicker return on your investment, so one can move more stock through and finish them faster on high grain diets than one can on grass. So, in effect, it is more profitable to finish on grain. Grass is a slower, but more natural and healthy way to finish cattle.
Feed lots do not just feed corn.
"Junk Food in, Junk Food Out
American feedlot operators are nothing if not inventive. Faced with soaring corn prices, large-scale beef producers have fortified cattle fodder with cheaper high-energy alternatives like potato chips, M&Ms, and waste products from Mars and Hersheys, and other confectioners, according to a video released earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal.
Related links
If that sounds appalling, consider this: Corn is no more natural to a cows diet than chips or candy. Their guts are admirably suited to digesting grass. Anything else tends to make them sick, so feedlot cattle receive massive doses of antibiotics along with their corn, and, now, snack foods.
And cows arent alone among agribusiness animals dining on junk food. For some time now, hog farmers have been giving their charges cake, frosted breakfast cereals, and Tater Tots, among other foods of questionable nutritive value."
http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2008/08/politics-of-the-plate-junk-food-and-irradiation
There used to be a video attached, but I guess it got moved behind a pay wall.
"Junk Food in, Junk Food Out
American feedlot operators are nothing if not inventive. Faced with soaring corn prices, large-scale beef producers have fortified cattle fodder with cheaper high-energy alternatives like potato chips, M&Ms, and waste products from Mars and Hersheys, and other confectioners, according to a video released earlier this month by The Wall Street Journal.
Related links
If that sounds appalling, consider this: Corn is no more natural to a cows diet than chips or candy. Their guts are admirably suited to digesting grass. Anything else tends to make them sick, so feedlot cattle receive massive doses of antibiotics along with their corn, and, now, snack foods.
And cows arent alone among agribusiness animals dining on junk food. For some time now, hog farmers have been giving their charges cake, frosted breakfast cereals, and Tater Tots, among other foods of questionable nutritive value."
http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2008/08/politics-of-the-plate-junk-food-and-irradiation
There used to be a video attached, but I guess it got moved behind a pay wall.
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