The Circles Of Life.

       I wasn't going to write anything until the new year kicks in, but then I read this story in Mother Jones this morning. It's about what they feed cows. Well, no, it's about what they feed chickens. No, actually it's about what they feed cows. Maybe I'd better explain. Mixed in with the feed for cows is the sweepings from the floors of chicken pens and chicken houses. Ya know what's on the floor of a chicken house after the chickens eat? Yes! And all that goes into cow feed.
       Now, I'm old enough to remember back when farms grew what we all called cow corn. It wasn't tasty like sweet corn, but cows liked it.  The farmers chopped up even the corn stalks and put it into the silo for feed for the cows over the winter along with hay. Well, nowadays they don't use that stuff it seems. Instead companies mix together a variety of products to make up a good nutritional feed for our beef and milk. It's another layer of profit for somebody. The sweepings from the chicken pens and the sweepings from the cow barn used to go onto the corn fields with the first plowing.
       So what's in that mix? Well, as I've said, the sweepings from under the chickens, which includes things like some of the chickenfeed that fell on the floor, maybe parts of dead rodents, feathers and the bi-product of processed chicken feed. Oh, and chicken feed is made partially from cow parts. So in a way, cows are eating some cows. Now, let me see, did I leave anything out?
        I can tell you this much, the makers of feed for livestock certainly haven't left much out. So the next time you sit down to enjoy a big juicy steak, perhaps with eggs, it would be best if you just forgot about this information, for obvious reasons.
        The article goes on to say that the practice of cows eating feed that contains other cows is dangerous because it could lead to an outbreak of Mad Cow disease. Yeah, that's right. Which is something we should avoid wherever possible. So what's my point? Well, I just wonder how much we can or should trust the folks who make feed for the meat we eat? Kinda makes you want to be a vegetarian. Unless you look into the seed companies.