4 ms·

This basically means that US beef industry is 1 disease away from being obliterated. Genetic diversity is still a requirement for the survival of a species.

mc32 7y ago
For beef they don’t use milk cows (dairy cows) they use beef cattle such as angus and herford. Also there are other dairy cows like guernsey, jersey, etc.
- teh_klev 7y ago
  That isn't strictly true (not in the UK anyway). I was out for a beer tonight and serendipitously bumped into the secretary for the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society[0] and proceeded to have a discussion about the Society, cattle, beef production etc. You'd (and I was) be surprised to know that Aberdeen Angus sires impregnate dairy cattle for offspring that end up as prime steak. And this isn't just for burgers, it's for premium supermarket cuts such as fillets. Also (in the UK anyway), most beef that is labelled as Aberdeen Angus only need to be 50% Angus (i.e. be sired from an AA bull)...check the small print on the packaging. It's actually rarer (pardon the pun) to see 100% Angus steaks on the shelves (say as cuts of fillets or sirloin) because their muscle structure is somewhat less appealing to consumers. Anyway, he's still in the village at the moment and can ask any questions anyone has tomorrow. [0]: https://www.aberdeen-angus.co.uk/ https://www.aberdeen-angus.co.uk/
  - dboreham 7y ago
    One of the best "I met a bloke down the pub" stories.
    - teh_klev 7y ago
      Why, thank you :) My village pub is quite amazing, you meet all sorts of interesting people there. A couple of months ago I met a fund manager and author of "China, Trade and Power: Why the West's Economic Engagement Has Failed": https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1907994815 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1907994815 ...which is well worth a read. That too was an interesting chat.
  - arethuza 7y ago
    I was in Spain recently (in the Picos de Europa) and had probably the best steak I've ever had - from an Asturian Mountain beastie - we had seen (and heard) a lot of them walking in the Picos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asturian_Mountain_cattle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asturian_Mountain_cattle
    - teh_klev 7y ago
      checks to see if Aden Films[0] has tried one of these ...but sadly not yet. What cut did you have? [0]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9g5OmzcCpcJnmSYyHnIVw/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9g5OmzcCpcJnmSYyHnIVw/vid...
- dehrmann 7y ago
  Spent dairy cows tend to end up as ground beef.
scoot 7y ago
Here's hoping! Glib comments aside, the beef industry (particularly, but not exclusively, in the US) seem to have a death-wish for our planet.
dehrmann 7y ago
See the other comment about beef vs. dairy. And not really, unless they're inbred to the point that most dairy cows are clones (save for a chromosome) of that bull. And there's smaller herds of other breeds, so there's plenty of genetic diversity out there.

mc32 7y ago

For beef they don’t use milk cows (dairy cows) they use beef cattle such as angus and herford. Also there are other dairy cows like guernsey, jersey, etc.

teh_klev 7y ago
That isn't strictly true (not in the UK anyway). I was out for a beer tonight and serendipitously bumped into the secretary for the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society[0] and proceeded to have a discussion about the Society, cattle, beef production etc. You'd (and I was) be surprised to know that Aberdeen Angus sires impregnate dairy cattle for offspring that end up as prime steak. And this isn't just for burgers, it's for premium supermarket cuts such as fillets. Also (in the UK anyway), most beef that is labelled as Aberdeen Angus only need to be 50% Angus (i.e. be sired from an AA bull)...check the small print on the packaging. It's actually rarer (pardon the pun) to see 100% Angus steaks on the shelves (say as cuts of fillets or sirloin) because their muscle structure is somewhat less appealing to consumers. Anyway, he's still in the village at the moment and can ask any questions anyone has tomorrow. [0]: https://www.aberdeen-angus.co.uk/ https://www.aberdeen-angus.co.uk/
- dboreham 7y ago
  One of the best "I met a bloke down the pub" stories.
  - teh_klev 7y ago
    Why, thank you :) My village pub is quite amazing, you meet all sorts of interesting people there. A couple of months ago I met a fund manager and author of "China, Trade and Power: Why the West's Economic Engagement Has Failed": https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1907994815 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1907994815 ...which is well worth a read. That too was an interesting chat.
- arethuza 7y ago
  I was in Spain recently (in the Picos de Europa) and had probably the best steak I've ever had - from an Asturian Mountain beastie - we had seen (and heard) a lot of them walking in the Picos: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asturian_Mountain_cattle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asturian_Mountain_cattle
  - teh_klev 7y ago
    checks to see if Aden Films[0] has tried one of these ...but sadly not yet. What cut did you have? [0]: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9g5OmzcCpcJnmSYyHnIVw/videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu9g5OmzcCpcJnmSYyHnIVw/vid...
dehrmann 7y ago
Spent dairy cows tend to end up as ground beef.

scoot 7y ago

Here's hoping! Glib comments aside, the beef industry (particularly, but not exclusively, in the US) seem to have a death-wish for our planet.

dehrmann 7y ago

See the other comment about beef vs. dairy. And not really, unless they're inbred to the point that most dairy cows are clones (save for a chromosome) of that bull. And there's smaller herds of other breeds, so there's plenty of genetic diversity out there.