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The author misses the point. The problem isn't the corn but rather the quantity of corn that's fed to cows. There weren't antibiotics to give cows to deal with

The author misses the point. The problem isn't the corn but rather the quantity of corn that's fed to cows. There weren't antibiotics to give cows to deal with the side effects of too much corn so they didn't give it to them in the quantities they do today. I'm fine with giving cows some corn because well it does taste better but their feed really shouldn't contain so much corn. Most of the small ranchers I know give their cows some corn but not a huge amount or anything.

klipt 17y ago
Perhaps you miss the author's point: he doesn't say corn fed beef is better, only that the claim that no cows were fed corn until 60 years ago is a lie. Pointing out a hole in X's argument doesn't mean you disagree with X. You could well agree with X, but prefer that it be supported by non-fallacious arguments.
- jswinghammer 17y ago
  Or maybe everyone is just using imprecise language here. When I think of corn fed beef I think of cows being fed feed that's 60-80% corn. When I think of grass fed beef I think of cows that eat enough grass that they at least don't need antibiotics to live longer to go to slaughter.
ajross 17y ago
Um... antibiotics don't treat the "side effects of too much corn" (?!). They're given to animals to prevent (or sometimes treat, but usually just to prevent) bacterial infections that are spread between animals being kept in otherwise infection-prone environments. It's true that in modern farms "grass fed" is usually synomymous with "pasture-kept", where the animals spend time wandering with lots of space instead of crushed against each other at feeding troughs. So to some extent corn-feeding probably correlates with infection rates, I guess. But just to be clear: eating corn doesn't make you sick. It's not true for people and it's not true for cows. :)
- zargon 17y ago
  Corn-fed cows develop acidosis, which causes ulcers in their rumen. The cows are then open to a host of infections. Antibiotics treat that side effect of too much corn.

klipt 17y ago

Perhaps you miss the author's point: he doesn't say corn fed beef is better, only that the claim that no cows were fed corn until 60 years ago is a lie. Pointing out a hole in X's argument doesn't mean you disagree with X. You could well agree with X, but prefer that it be supported by non-fallacious arguments.

jswinghammer 17y ago
Or maybe everyone is just using imprecise language here. When I think of corn fed beef I think of cows being fed feed that's 60-80% corn. When I think of grass fed beef I think of cows that eat enough grass that they at least don't need antibiotics to live longer to go to slaughter.

ajross 17y ago

Um... antibiotics don't treat the "side effects of too much corn" (?!). They're given to animals to prevent (or sometimes treat, but usually just to prevent) bacterial infections that are spread between animals being kept in otherwise infection-prone environments. It's true that in modern farms "grass fed" is usually synomymous with "pasture-kept", where the animals spend time wandering with lots of space instead of crushed against each other at feeding troughs. So to some extent corn-feeding probably correlates with infection rates, I guess. But just to be clear: eating corn doesn't make you sick. It's not true for people and it's not true for cows. :)

zargon 17y ago
Corn-fed cows develop acidosis, which causes ulcers in their rumen. The cows are then open to a host of infections. Antibiotics treat that side effect of too much corn.