Classic American beef is corn-fed or grain-fed beef. It takes about seven pounds of corn to add one pound of cattle weight. It takes about 1600 calories of fossil fuels to produce 100 calories of conventional beef. In the long run, this is a losing proposition.
And it is not natural. Cattle, with their rumen, are designed to graze. When fed corn, their stomachs can become ten to 100 times more acidic, welcoming bacteria such as E coli O157:H7. An estimated 25% of the nation’s baking soda is used as antacid for livestock. And the amount of antibiotics used to promote growth in livestock dwarfs the total amount used to treat diseases in people…(more)
Originally posted December 24, 2008
