Grass Fed Beef (The Omnivore's Dilemma)

Have any of you who really know the livestock business read this book and what are your thoughts?

Thanks,
Bill

My wife is really upset about the feedlots. I thought cattle were there for a short time to be finished, and not a year plus. (a) is this true and (b) is the process as 'unnatural' (to the point of timing slaughter to be just before a poisoned death) as described?

Is this standard practice or a bias on the part of the author?

Bill

I can not speek about feed lot cattle so I will let others do that. I also have not read the book so I do not know what points the author has made.

But if you look at veal calves; then yes they are raised in such a way that they are ready to fall over and die. A calf can not live on milk alone and will die if not given grass. But we demand white veal as a consumer and that can only be done on a all milk diet. So a veal operation is in a race with every calf in the barn. Pump it full with as much milk as you can to put on weight and just before it is ready to die send it off to slaughter.

Chickens are in the same boat. Every chicken we eat is of a cross breed that is a eating machine. In fact there feed has to be limited so there legs have time to grow enough to hold there fat a$$ off the ground. If fed free choice they will eat so much and grow so fast that there legs will give out under their body weight.

If you don't mind my reply though, I must say it should be required reading for the younger generations that have no idea where our food comes from. Actually, it would be an eye opener for anyone not familiar with modern agribusiness.

I feel the book's strength comes from his accurate description of how we live and eat industrially, while not trying to force his opinions down anyone's throat.

....Just the facts presented in an unbiased way.

I especially like his solution to the growing controversy over slaughterhouse conditions. For the benefit of those haven't read it yet, I'll pass on what he said.

Yes that is the part my wife is unhappy with. When she was a kid in the late 60's she summered next door to a small dairy farm where she knew the names of the cows and they were bred naturally outdooors so industrial farming is a shock. (I have not read it yet either)

But I may end up with someone happy to cook game.

Bill

There was a book that came out about 10 years ago about the health implications of grass fed beef and I believe there is a website ( google grass fed beef). Grass fed beef is higher in linoleic acid and I beleive beta carotene than grain fed beef and is proported to be "healthier". I am skeptical of all these health claims because, like "organic food" claims, there have been no scienticially proved health advantages to them yet so as far as I"m concerned, they are no more than marketing claims.
I raise grass fed beef because I like it, it"s a sustainable practice (I consider myself a grass rancher who utilizes the cows to harvest the crop and turn it into valuable protein for human consumption), and some people are willing to pay me fairly for what we produce, unlike commodity beef.