4 ms·

That depends where you live. Some areas (ie New Zealand) have a a much higher percentage of cows spending time outside and getting their feed from grass.

• ncmncm 5y ago
  Right. Sorry for assuming U.S. circumstances. We actually have milk sold in supermarkets labeled "grass-fed" and costing up to twice as much as the "regular" milk. I sometimes forget how weird the U.S. is. In normal places, grass is the cheapest thing to feed cows on. So, I buy all my cheese and butter from Europe and New Zealand. In the US, in order to compete with dairies feeding cows massively federally subsidized corn, they have to label normal milk as "grass-fed". The cows fed corn have to also be fed antibiotics, because eating just corn makes them sick. And, of course, the corn is grown with copious pesticides. Cows are also fed cottonseed meal, which also makes them sick. Cotton is grown with pesticides not allowed on food crops, for reasons. U.S. corn production is so heavily subsidized, they had to start turning it into sugar, and then pumping that into practically all food, to try to use it up. The Feds further subsidize turning it into alcohol, and require refiners to add that to all the gasoline. Archer Daniels Midland is the main beneficiary of the alcohol subsidy.
  • entropyie 5y ago
    Yep, all cow milk in Ireland is grass fed, they don't even bother putting it on the label as it's assumed... Just wish pork and chicken were the same story... (They're not free range as a rule here)