Benefits of grass fed beef over grain fed beef

[MatthewD]

My biggest "beefs" are still the use of antibiotics, especially types like cipro, which has ruined peoples bodies, and the not so strict management of mad cow disease. I've read that there are many times certain suspect cattle that shouldn't be making into the food supply are. But, even more lining these poor things up to be routinely murdered is way creepy. Killing a cow never makes normal people hungry it seems.

I agree, it's a bit gruesome! The whole idea of an electric shock, or slitting of the throat doesn't appeal to me. Can't they at least be peacefully Cyanided or something? I'm partially serious with that one; surely there's a chemical that wont contaminate the meat, but at the same time will swiftly put the Cow into unconsciousness, resulting in a more peaceful death. I could be wrong, and those methods could apply to Pigs and Goats only. I saw it on a series of Jaimie Oliver documentaries, which by the way, are quite 'Moo'ving.

Edit: Forgot to mention, that was a nice pun!
Edit: And that's absolutely scary to think that those suspicious Cattle are allowed to be processed.

 

[modern buddha]

Side story that kind of relates: There's a man who owns a calf and a cow about a mile from where I live. The one time while walking my dog, I stopped to get a good look at the cows (for once they were close enough to the road). They were significantly thinner than the pictures of cows I've seen, and thinner still than the cows at the farm where my brother worked about a decade ago. However, they did not look sickly--They looked, I'm guessing, how a cow is supposed to look. Plump, but nowhere near obese.

These cows, I'm assuming, are grass-fed as they roam in an open field the majority of the day. The field is approximately three acres.

/sunuprambling

... I hope the thinner cows are out when we walk by them, next. Makes me wonder how pigs are supposed to look.

 

[MyFinalRest]

Also about the antibiotics, they simply take them off for 2 days before slaughter and the cattle or meat is supposed "tested" to be clean. I think some antibiotics like cipro can hang around in body tissue long after they stop showing up in urine and blood. Also meat and dairy eating exposes you to more pesticides due to biomagnification. Even organic milk has some DDE in it. DDE is in the air and can even be found in antarctic snows! Banned most places for over 30 years and still not totally broken down. I would like to thank Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation (who are now old farts or dead) for contaminating the whole planet with chemicals.

 

[addictivepersona]

Can't they at least be peacefully Cyanided or something? I'm partially serious with that one; surely there's a chemical that wont contaminate the meat, but at the same time will swiftly put the Cow into unconsciousness, resulting in a more peaceful death.

No, animals meant for human consumption cannot "be peacefully Cyanided or something." Basic metabolism reason: You give the animal Drug X that kills it quickly. In order for the drug to have killed it, the drug had to be injected into its blood stream. The blood stream then carries it from the injection site to its vital organs which the drug shuts down. However: The blood stream also carries it from the injection site to organs such as the skin, muscles, and pretty much everywhere. When we eat animals, which part do we mainly eat? The muscle.

And even if the animal ate/drank Drug X, the drug would still be metabolized in the same fashion, only with the stomach being the entry point instead of an injection site.

 

[Mehm]

I've heard that the best way to kill a cow is to blast it in the dome with a slug from a 12 gauge....

 

[MatthewD]

No, animals meant for human consumption cannot "be peacefully Cyanided or something." Basic metabolism reason: You give the animal Drug X that kills it quickly. In order for the drug to have killed it, the drug had to be injected into its blood stream. The blood stream then carries it from the injection site to its vital organs which the drug shuts down. However: The blood stream also carries it from the injection site to organs such as the skin, muscles, and pretty much everywhere. When we eat animals, which part do we mainly eat? The muscle.

And even if the animal ate/drank Drug X, the drug would still be metabolized in the same fashion, only with the stomach being the entry point instead of an injection site.

Hmm, that sucks, I sort of had the idea in my head that there would be something, or some way for it to go directly into the brain and shut it down (assuming we don't eat the brain). Stupid idea then I guess...