4 ms·

Hmmm, why don't they feed them grass? Isn't that what they are supposed to be eating? I'm no farmer, honest question.

zinssmeister 14y ago
that wouldn't make them fat enough.
TGJ 14y ago
Animals do not grow as fast on grass. Also, they do not taste the way Americans like their animals to taste. Land availability also plays a factor as it takes more acre per animal using grass vs corn/sugar.
ipince 14y ago
I'm no farmer either, but I assume grass doesn't have the effect they're looking for (weight gain), and they'd probably need much more of it.
TGJ 14y ago
Also, check Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan for an in depth look at America, corn and other food.
ggasp 14y ago
What about "Because drought affects all living plants not only corn"?
knieveltech 14y ago
You've got ranchers in places like Wyoming where the forage is barely sufficient to keep livestock alive. Cattle raised under these conditions have to be fattened up before they can be sent to a slaughterhouse. Typically these cows will be shipped to another ranch that specializes in this before then being shipped to market. It sounds like the guy quoted in the article is running one of these secondary "fattening" ranches. Since grain (or in this case candy) has a much higher energy content than grass, cattle can be raised to market weight much faster than if they were fed a grass diet. Edit: I accidentally a word.
- juniorplenty 14y ago
  "Ranch" isn't really what we're talking about here; cattle are sent from ranches to feed lots for fattening (which is what this guy is running, hence the ability to gin up new chemi-food on site.) Feed lots are very highly concentrated populations of cattle that are fed a regulated diet of grain (corn) mixed with concentrated antibiotics and, in this case, rotten chocolate. Another commenter already referenced Pollan's work, which exposes the tradeoffs of this industrialized approach. Among these are increased e.coli outbreaks (as e.coli concentrate in the rumen of the cow when it tries to digest grain,) and the increased likelihood of antibiotic-resistent bacteria developing because of the tremendous amount of antibiotics used to keep animals living in these conditions from getting sick: http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2010/07/media/00359_cattle-feedlot-002.jpg http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2010/07/media/00... (That ankle-deep black stuff is poo, which also runs and collects in giant sewer pools that generate toxic runoff.)
  - knieveltech 14y ago
    Just so. Feed lot was the term I was looking for but couldn't remember. Thanks for providing clarification.
ChuckMcM 14y ago
Main reason is 'speed to fatness' the second reason is that he doesn't have corn because of a drought, which also affects not having grass (or more typically hay/alfalfa)
harrylove 14y ago
Yes, cows are supposed to eat grass. That is a part of their natural diet. There are farms in America that focus on sustainable agriculture and ethical animal husbandry. This article is talking about a factory farm, which focuses on profit.
tocomment 14y ago
I've always wondered if you could combine a sod farm and cattle ranch? You've got to cut the grass anyway. I'm sure there would be problems such as trampling the grass, over-grazing, but maybe they're solvable??
eeeeaaii 14y ago
Yes that is what they are supposed to be eating. Their digestive systems have evolved over millions of years to eat grass, and if they eat grass they will be healthier animals, and their meat will taste like real beef and not like tasteless cardboard. I pretty much stick exclusively to grass-fed beef. There are all these complex chemical compounds in grass that flavor the meat and give it rich and distinctive notes -- as the other commenter said, read Omnivore's Dilemma. The cattle are supposed to be able to walk around, too. The reason it's not done is cost. Grass fed beef is easily twice as expensive as corn-fed beef. The cheapest way to raise cattle is to raise them in a CAFO, and feed them the cheapest possible feed, which has been corn for quite a long time. The farmer who is feeding his cattle candy is really just feeding them yesterday's corn, as most American candy is made from high fructose corn syrup. Walk into a supermarket sometime and count the number of products that use HFCS -- it's staggering. The price of corn going up is actually really big news -- if it's a sustained trend it's going to have a far-reaching impact on American agriculture.
- slurgfest 14y ago
  I don't find that beef ever tastes like tasteless cardboard, unless it is cooked completely incorrectly. Without arguing about whether grass-fed beef is tastier in general, I wonder if anyone has ever done a blind test to discover if the grass (you know, the complex compounds flavoring the meat) can actually be tasted in the beef by an ordinary person. As you observe, not everyone can afford grass-fed beef.
  - eeeeaaii 14y ago
    I probably sound like a food snob, but when I'm thinking of beef that tastes like cardboard, I'm thinking of a Big Mac, for example. If you take all the condiments and just eat the beef only, it's pretty tasteless, IMO. A lot of people say there is a taste difference, not just me. It's subtle though, your ordinary person may not notice or care. But I'm passionate about it because I'm big into food and I think the taste of grass fed is much better.
    - slurgfest 14y ago
joshcrews 14y ago
America ought to think about that question deeply. Corn fed ground beef in the supermarket is $3-4 per pound while grass raised ground beef is $7-$9 per pound. We (Americans) are making ourselves very sick with degenerative diseases (cancer, heart, alzeimer's, dementia, arthritis) at rates orders of magnitude larger than our ancestors. I believe the race to make cheap food (corn feed beef in this example) is causing health suffering on the backend (degenerative disease)
- beothorn 14y ago
  The rate of those types of disease being higher are maybe also a consequence of a longer lifespan.
  - jack-r-abbit 14y ago
    and a less active lifestyle. and more consumption of processed foods in general. Even if McDonalds started using 100% grass-fed beef, I don't think that would make much difference in the overall health value of a Quarter Pounder & Fries.

that wouldn't make them fat enough.

TGJ 14y ago

Animals do not grow as fast on grass. Also, they do not taste the way Americans like their animals to taste. Land availability also plays a factor as it takes more acre per animal using grass vs corn/sugar.

ipince 14y ago

I'm no farmer either, but I assume grass doesn't have the effect they're looking for (weight gain), and they'd probably need much more of it.

TGJ 14y ago

Also, check Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan for an in depth look at America, corn and other food.

ggasp 14y ago

What about "Because drought affects all living plants not only corn"?

knieveltech 14y ago

You've got ranchers in places like Wyoming where the forage is barely sufficient to keep livestock alive. Cattle raised under these conditions have to be fattened up before they can be sent to a slaughterhouse. Typically these cows will be shipped to another ranch that specializes in this before then being shipped to market. It sounds like the guy quoted in the article is running one of these secondary "fattening" ranches. Since grain (or in this case candy) has a much higher energy content than grass, cattle can be raised to market weight much faster than if they were fed a grass diet. Edit: I accidentally a word.

juniorplenty 14y ago
"Ranch" isn't really what we're talking about here; cattle are sent from ranches to feed lots for fattening (which is what this guy is running, hence the ability to gin up new chemi-food on site.) Feed lots are very highly concentrated populations of cattle that are fed a regulated diet of grain (corn) mixed with concentrated antibiotics and, in this case, rotten chocolate. Another commenter already referenced Pollan's work, which exposes the tradeoffs of this industrialized approach. Among these are increased e.coli outbreaks (as e.coli concentrate in the rumen of the cow when it tries to digest grain,) and the increased likelihood of antibiotic-resistent bacteria developing because of the tremendous amount of antibiotics used to keep animals living in these conditions from getting sick: http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2010/07/media/00359_cattle-feedlot-002.jpg http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2010/07/media/00... (That ankle-deep black stuff is poo, which also runs and collects in giant sewer pools that generate toxic runoff.)
- knieveltech 14y ago
  Just so. Feed lot was the term I was looking for but couldn't remember. Thanks for providing clarification.

ChuckMcM 14y ago

Main reason is 'speed to fatness' the second reason is that he doesn't have corn because of a drought, which also affects not having grass (or more typically hay/alfalfa)

harrylove 14y ago

Yes, cows are supposed to eat grass. That is a part of their natural diet. There are farms in America that focus on sustainable agriculture and ethical animal husbandry. This article is talking about a factory farm, which focuses on profit.

tocomment 14y ago

I've always wondered if you could combine a sod farm and cattle ranch? You've got to cut the grass anyway. I'm sure there would be problems such as trampling the grass, over-grazing, but maybe they're solvable??

eeeeaaii 14y ago

Yes that is what they are supposed to be eating. Their digestive systems have evolved over millions of years to eat grass, and if they eat grass they will be healthier animals, and their meat will taste like real beef and not like tasteless cardboard. I pretty much stick exclusively to grass-fed beef. There are all these complex chemical compounds in grass that flavor the meat and give it rich and distinctive notes -- as the other commenter said, read Omnivore's Dilemma. The cattle are supposed to be able to walk around, too. The reason it's not done is cost. Grass fed beef is easily twice as expensive as corn-fed beef. The cheapest way to raise cattle is to raise them in a CAFO, and feed them the cheapest possible feed, which has been corn for quite a long time. The farmer who is feeding his cattle candy is really just feeding them yesterday's corn, as most American candy is made from high fructose corn syrup. Walk into a supermarket sometime and count the number of products that use HFCS -- it's staggering. The price of corn going up is actually really big news -- if it's a sustained trend it's going to have a far-reaching impact on American agriculture.

slurgfest 14y ago
I don't find that beef ever tastes like tasteless cardboard, unless it is cooked completely incorrectly. Without arguing about whether grass-fed beef is tastier in general, I wonder if anyone has ever done a blind test to discover if the grass (you know, the complex compounds flavoring the meat) can actually be tasted in the beef by an ordinary person. As you observe, not everyone can afford grass-fed beef.
- eeeeaaii 14y ago
  I probably sound like a food snob, but when I'm thinking of beef that tastes like cardboard, I'm thinking of a Big Mac, for example. If you take all the condiments and just eat the beef only, it's pretty tasteless, IMO. A lot of people say there is a taste difference, not just me. It's subtle though, your ordinary person may not notice or care. But I'm passionate about it because I'm big into food and I think the taste of grass fed is much better.
  - slurgfest 14y ago

joshcrews 14y ago

America ought to think about that question deeply. Corn fed ground beef in the supermarket is $3-4 per pound while grass raised ground beef is $7-$9 per pound. We (Americans) are making ourselves very sick with degenerative diseases (cancer, heart, alzeimer's, dementia, arthritis) at rates orders of magnitude larger than our ancestors. I believe the race to make cheap food (corn feed beef in this example) is causing health suffering on the backend (degenerative disease)

beothorn 14y ago
The rate of those types of disease being higher are maybe also a consequence of a longer lifespan.
- jack-r-abbit 14y ago
  and a less active lifestyle. and more consumption of processed foods in general. Even if McDonalds started using 100% grass-fed beef, I don't think that would make much difference in the overall health value of a Quarter Pounder & Fries.