Opposing Views of Cattle Nutrition When eating anything, most people check the labels to see what the food all consists of. Just like when eating hamburger, some people may want to know if the hamburger came from grass-fed or grain-fed cattle. Depending on the person, they might prefer one over the other. Some people may think that one tastes better than the other or they may just think it is healthier. Not only might the meat coming from the cattle be affected, but also the milk coming from a cow. Either way, further explanations for grass-fed vs. grain-fed cattle will be discussed in this paper.
To start this paper off right, it is important to know the definitions of both grass-fed and grain-fed. According to IGrow a Service of SDSU Extension:
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Additionally, differences in other vitamins and minerals, such as iron and zinc, have not been shown to be significantly difference in between grain-fed and grass-fed cattle. (Prosch 1) Though there are differences, even if it may only be slight differences, it all comes down to the buyer and what they prefer. Not only does grass-fed or grain-fed apply to the consumers but also to the ranchers/farmers raising the cattle. The reasoning for this is because of the milk being produced by the cow. Though the differences between grass-fed and grain-fed meat may not be extremely different, the difference between milk productions is. More and more cattle are being put into feedlots so they can be fed grain. This is happening because feeding them grain helps the cows produce more milk. The article, Super Natural Milk, states that on average, cows raised in confinement produce more than three times as much milk as the family cow of days gone by and fifteen times the amount required to raise a healthy calf. (Super Natural …show more content…
Cows who are on grass tend to not produce nearly as much but it is proven that the less milk a cow produces, the more vitamins in her milk. This is because a cow has a set amount of vitamins to transfer to her milk, and if she’s bred, fed, and injected to be a Super Producer, her milk has fewer vitamins per glass. It is a watered down version of the real thing. (Super Natural 1) Depending on the person, whoever it may be, might like a more watered down milk. Even if the milk has fewer vitamins, the taste could be the ticket for certain people. Others may like thicker milk with more vitamins although that would mean a slower milk production. It all comes down to the consumer and what they want. Just like earlier in this paper when discussing the differences about grass-fed vs. grain-fed beef. Slight differences have the ability to make or break a person’s opinions and thoughts. Some people may also be pickier than others when it comes to their food and
which results in healthy cattle. We use our cattle for milk and meat, and you wouldn’t want
In the second section of Michael Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, pastoral grass and “organic foods” are the main focus and many agree that grass is a far better choice for animals that graze. By switching a cows diet back to normal food, will impact the market of food prices because the supply would not be able to keep up with the demand, thus making the food market a disaster, or at least that’s what I picture when I think of the outcome. The demand for beef now is so great that these cattle are being slaughtered at roughly 12 months, that’s not even half of the total life-span they’re supposed to live. A grass fed cow takes about 4-5 years to be ready for some great steaks, but thanks to our wonder crop, “corn”, we can slice that
For many years now humans have been deceived that cow’s milk will provide many health benefits.
When it comes to feeding show cattle many raisers have certain feeding strategies that they follow, ensuring they can maintain their goal on winning. Along with feeding it takes exercise so that one’s show calf will not become stout nor stubborn. Certain aspects are necessary to show an animal
Grass fed beef won't look and doesn’t taste exactly the same every time you buy it. Grass-fed beef also has a reputation for being tough and lacking tenderness, but is said to be more juicier and true beefy flavor. Some studies show there isn't a real clear-cut, consistent taste differences between grass fed and corn fed beef. Corn fed beef has more fat than grass fed beef so the cook, chef would have more room for error with some corn fed beef rather than some grass fed because that fat adds flavor that you can lose if you overcook leaner grass fed beef. But like the organic free range chicken and regular grocery store chicken we had in contemparary class, being raised on corn fed beef, the texture and flavor of grass fed beef can taste a bit off and we may think it doesn’t taste how true beef should taste. The styrofoam containers of corn and grain fed convential beef that are at the Shop and Save’s, Schnucks will be more cheaper than a pack of grass fed beef at Whole foods or any other local markets that sell grass fed beef. You probably could get grass fed beef for the same price as your corn beef a Diebergs or other grocery stores if you where to buy directly from a farmer of livestock.
To understand why grass fed beef is so important, and why you should be eating it, one must first understand very generally history
The demand for beef was caused by the expeditious growth of fast food restaurants in a short amount of time. Over the past several decades of the industrialization of food, most Americans have resorted to eating mainly processed foods, including beef and products that are derived from cows’ milk. These products were made to become appealing through countless advertisements, many of which exaggerated their health benefits and tried to bring a shot of sex appeal to their
Stress? Cattle? Do they not just lie around and chew their cud? The stereotype of lazy cows soaking up the sun perhaps is far stretched. Cattle are associated with this stereotype because it is what people see. An average citizen’s only interactions with cattle are seeing them in the field grazing; however a farmer understands to keep his profit and cattle healthy he must reduce stress.
Though at what cost? These animals are biologically engineered to eat pasture grass not corn. They are fed a cocktail of antibiotics, corn, fat supplements, liquid vitamins and synthetic estrogen and whatever the CFO’s decide they should be ingesting. One thing is for sure, it is not a natural diet.
Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) content is higher in grain-fed cattle versus grass-fed, specifically oleic acid, which is the primary MUFA in beef (Daley et al. 2010). The MUFA content increases from 37.7% of total fatty acid (FA) content to 40.8% in grass-fed crossbred steers compared to grain-fed steers (Daley et al.
Abd El-Shaffy and G. A. Abd El-Rahman. El-Nor, Khalif and El-Shaffy are from the Dairy Science Department, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt. Khattab and El-Sayed are from the Animal Production Department Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Shoubra Al-Kheimah, Cairo, Egypt. The last author El-Rahman is from the Animal Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University. All that was just listed was the source of authority that these authors have in their country. These authors or professors are well-prepared to write about this topic because they talk about the whole experiment. They inform the reader about what was done in the experiment and what came out of the experiment. This article came from Revista Veterinaria. The intended readers are possibly Buffalo breeders to see what is the best way to feed the calf and what milk is the most nutritious. Also people that are interested in this topic can read this article as well. There
Instead of buying meat from grass fed cows, they get corn fed cows, which will need antibiotics so that the corn they are not supposed to eat doesn't make them sick, which is way cheaper than grass feeding them, and without avoiding to say that corn is the main source of fat in the meat the consumer is eating. In the article Obesity in America ( Down to Earth) the author points out that "Convenient as they may be, the meals contain practically no nutrients, they are comprised mostly of saturated fats and highly refined carbohydrates and loaded with sodium and sugar", this is interesting because this explains why the prices are so low in the food the consumer buys in a fast food
Throughout our lives we have been told that milk is good for our body and helps to toughen our bones. Drinking milk started when people domesticated animals for food, which happened around 7500 years ago in the central Balkans and central Europe. By that time consuming milk was not as common as it is today. It was only farmers in some specific regions that were using cow’s milk. Milk’s market grew the mass production of meat in the 15th century. Afterwards in the 17th century, the idea of eating out and going to restaurants was born and fast food industries, started using animal’s meat for producing their meals. The rate of milk users grew with the rate of meat users and milk’s market got bigger and bigger every day. Mothers
What does one think of when they see cattle at the local county fair? Do they classify them as a red cow or a black cow, or do they know that each cow is possibly a different breed? In today’s era, most individuals do not understand all the subtitles beneath the title of simply cattle. There are a variety of breeds, and each breed offers different benefits and usages. What lies beneath the title of just cattle is more diverse than black and white.
The cattle industry produces vast amounts of strain in the environment. It is energy inefficient, pollutes water, occupies many acres of land, and deteriorates the health of the people who abuse its consumption. The government subsidizes this industry. Therefore, the price paid for meat doesn’t reflect the environmental hazards involved in the process. In order to protect our health and the health of the environment we should pay close attention to our food choices and make sure we don’t support industries that degrade it.