Mad Cow USA book and the failure of capitalism

[midnight armadillo]

The book: Mad Cow USA

A quote on practices that began in the 70s:
According to Consumers Research food editor Beatrice Trum Hunter, rendered
animal parts were only one of the unlikely new materials introduced into
the animal feed supply:

It has taken us from grass and hay feeding to such non-traditional
ingredients in animal feed as sewage sludge and treated manure. The search
for alternative substances in animal feed suited the new conditions that
arose from agricultural changes... A plethora of substances found their
way into animal feed. They included agricultural wastes... They included
retail food wastes...Slaughterhouses and tanneries provided blood,
entrails, hoofs, bristles, and feathers for use in animal feed. Some
alternative substances were ...industrial wastes such as sawdust, wood
chips, twigs, and even ground-up newspapers, and cardboard boxes. Others
were cement dust from kilns, sludge from municipal composting plants,
water from electric generating plants that used fluidized bed combustion
of coal, and waste water from nuclear power stations.....The Four
Ds..dead, dying, disabled, and diseased animals ... moisture damaged or
maggot-infested grains; foods contaminated by rodents, roaches, or bird
excreta.


I must conclude from this paragraph that any economic system that sees value in feeding cement dust to cows is morally corrupt and decrepit to the core. The style of capitalism we practice is fantastically destructive and respects nothing but the dollar.

I've found a local source of pastured, organic lamb. I don't plan on ever eating industrial beef again.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

1. wow

wowow. i think i'll be having something else for the rest of my life as well.

[kayell]

2. Pretty amazing isn't it

I remember a decade or so at least when the local college was doing tests with feeding beef cattle on newpaper. I posted an article http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=28689 over in editorials a few days ago that talked about some of the BSE food safety problems in this country. A poster was incensed that the editorial said that cattle were being fed chicken manure, said it couldn't be true, so I did a search and found this:

Guidelines for Feeding Broiler Litter to Beef Cattle
http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/programs/extension/publicat/wqwm/ag61.html

"Nutritional Characteristics of Broiler Litter
Broiler litter contains bedding material, manure, wasted feed and feathers, and it may be accumulated from one or more flocks of broilers. Table 1 gives estimates of the nutrient content of broiler litter.

snip of table

II. Handling and Processing Broiler Litter
Broiler litter to be used for cattle feed should contain at least 75% dry matter. If litter contains less than 70% dry matter, wet spots and mold can be problems. Since litter may contain scrap metal, the material should be run through a hammermill equipped with a magnet to remove objects that may cause hardware disease. In addition, the material should be screened to remove pieces of wood, glass, etc.

snip

IV. Feeding Recommendations for Litter Treated Corn Silage
Corn silage treated with broiler litter at 30% of the dry matter should provide adequate crude protein, calcium, and phosphorous for most beef cattle. A free choice supplement containing 300,000 IU of Vitamin A per pound of plain slat should be provided with the rations suggested below for several classes of beef cattle.

A. Dry, pregnant cows: Feed 35 to 40 lbs. of the litter-silage mixture per day.
B. Lactating beef cows:

Average milking ability (beef type): Feed 45 to 50 lbs. of litter treated silage per day.

Superior milking ability (dairy x beef): Feed 50 to 60 lbs. of litter treated silage per day. If cows do not consume this level of feed, 2 to 5 lbs. of corn may be fed with 45 to 50 lbs. of litter treated silage per day.
C. Stocker calves: Full feed of the litter treated corn silage. "
-------

Yummy

[Buffler]

3. Regarding cement dust

You know that fine white powder on bubble gum? That is crushed marble. You know, the same stone that counter tops and the US Capitol Building is made of.

Evil capatilists are packaging gum with crushed stone!!!

[OneBlueSky]

4. whatever happened to the old-fashioned notion . . .

of letting cattle eat grass? . . . worked fine for hundreds of years, didn't it? . . . sometimes "progress" baffles me . . .