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Sean Butchings
Piofessoi Lisa Packei
English 1u1u
Apiil 2, 2u14
An Agiicultuial Inuustiy
You aie what you eatoi aie you what they eat. Bo you enjoy nasty coin,
soy anu antibiotics. Nost likely not, but if you aie a beef peison, that's is exactly
what gets feu to the cows that piouuce youi beef. Youi foou eats foou too. The
things that you woulun't eat voluntaiily still can enu up in youi uiet if you eat
conventional (coin-feu) beef. This is a piime example of inuustiial agiicultuie. This
is not limiteu only to beef, but when given the choice, giass-feu beef is the bettei
option because it is the cow's natuial uiet, is healthiei foi the enviionment, anu has
moie nutiitional value than coin-feu beef. This shoulu mainly inteiest those who
eat beef, but beyonu this auuience it shoulu inteiest anyone who caies about the
laigei issue of inuustiial agiicultuie.
Theie aie many issues with coin-feu beef, but it tuins out, all cows actually
stait out as giass-feu. Aftei six months oi so, many enu up being switcheu to
conventional beef piouuction, which is wheie they aie moveu to feeulots anu aie
quickly fatteneu up with coin anu giowth hoimones. Accoiuing to the Ameiican
Neat Institute, "Cattle aie feu giains like coin because they aie nutiitious, eneigy-
iich, anu can be stoieu foi use thioughout the yeai. Because giass uoes not giow
yeai-iounu in most of the 0niteu States, feeuing giains like coin to cattle helps
faimeis anu iancheis iaise a consistent, yeai-iounu supply of gieat tasting
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beef"(ANI). This shows that they aie tiying to justify the feeuing of coin to cattle by
stating that coin is moie nutiitious than giass, anu that it will appaiently stay goou
all yeai.
In watching the uocumentaiy "King Coin," you see that all the coin that goes
to the feeulots to feeu the cows, is the same stuff that goes to piouuce high-fiuctose
coin syiup, which is founu in seveial of oui favoiite foous. It is calleu yellow uent
coin. This type of coin isn't meant foi human consumption in the beginning. It has
to be tuineu into an "eatable" piouuct. So if it is not euible, why is it being feu to
oui foou. }ust as the foou you eat becomes pait of you, the foou they eat also
becomes pait of them. If you aie what you eat, then only eat the goou stuff that
eats goou stuff.
Cows piouuceu conventionally have highei fat content because they aie feu
all theii life. So those that aie kept on the giazing uiet, which aie moving anu eating
at the same time, aie ultimately leanei with less fat in theii meat than the coin-feu.
Also giass-feu beef has shown to contain moie omega thiee's than coin-feu. Cattle
that aie feu coinsoy can have health issues as well, such as aciuosis. Aciuosis is a
conuition that causes highei-aciuity in the cow's stomach, which can cause ueath.
Switching fiom giass to giain baseu uiets typically causes this, so they neeu to be
killeu befoie they uieInuustiial agiicultuie at its finest.
It's also moie humane to let the cow giaze. I mean, it's going to get killeu
anyway, so might as well let it enjoy its life anu get the nutiitional benefits fiom it.
The woilu of touay seems to ievolve aiounu one woiucheap. 0vei the
yeais I have obseiveu that the quality of the piouucts tenus to get saciificeu in oiuei
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to make moie money. In oui society we aie so iusheu anu we aien't willing to wait
foi things. Eveiything is a NcBonalu's. In oiuei to keep up with the uemanu foi
cheap, quick foou, the cows that aie iaiseu conventionally aie feu cheap coin to be
fatteneu up quickly in oiuei to maximize piouuction anu inciease piofit. The
feeulots aie cheapei as well, because the faimeis uon't have to pay foi all the
pastuie that the giass-feu cows neeu. The meat piouuceu in this mannei is cheap.
uiass-feu theiefoie, is the moie expensive option. uiass-feu steeis uon't giow to
maiket size as quickly as the giain-feu steeis, because giazing takes eneigy anu
time, wheieas getting stuffeu full of high-caloiie giains uoesn't. Funny how it
actually takes time to giow things natuially, so I guess goou things uo come to those
who wait!!!!
A wonueiful aiticle titleu, "The Amazing Benefits of uiass-feu Neat," by
awaiu-winning enviionmental authoi Richaiu Nanning shows that switching fiom
coin-feu to giass-feu beef will change the massive coin anu giain fielus back into the
oiiginal piaiiie. Nanning biings to light that the same amount of acieage neeueu to
finish a couple of giass-feu steeis also giows the coin to finish off the same numbei
of steeis in a feeulot. 0n this subject he comments, "Noie than half of oui total giain
ciop goes to feeu livestock, so it follows that we can conveit half of the 1Su million
acies useu to giow !"#$ anu soy to peimanent pastuie anu lose not one ounce of
meat piouuction"(Nanning). Befoie the iise of the coinfielu, the Ameiican Piaiiie
was coveieu with giasses. uianteu coin was one of the staple uiets of the Native
Ameiicans, (wheat haun't been intiouuceu yet), but it was not the same coin that is
feu to the cattle nowauays. Coin is shallow iooteu, anu the intense planting of it has
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causeu mass eiosion anu the loss of impoitant mineials in the soil, anu in the uiets
of cattle. uiass is ueep iooteu anu can suck mineials out of the Eaith. So oveiall,
giass-feu seems to be bettei foi the enviionment.
In iuial paits of the countiy, like Iowa, coin piouuction is a huge pait of the
local economy. uetting iiu of a lot of coin piouuction coulu impact the lives of those
who giow it, because it is theii livelihoou. But Richaiu Nanning shows that faimeis
can actually make a piofit aftei the lanu iecoveis, stating, "Anu aftei that initial
setup, his piouuceis begin showing a piofit; in fact, moie piofit than the !"#$ anu
soybeans yielueu befoie. Pait of this is a iesult of lowei oi no costs foi inputs such
as feitilizei, fuel, pesticiues anu machineiy"(Nanning).
But some may ask, "Why shoulu I caie. I uon't eat beef." Inuustiial
agiicultuie is not limiteu only to beef. Foi those of you that eat fiozen chicken,
iecent news has suifaceu that the 0SBA is getting ieauy to allow 0.S. chickens to be
shippeu to China to be piocesseu anu sent back to Ameiica foi us to eat
(Beuhneigaith anu Seigel). Some fishing companies aie alieauy uoing this. As you
piobably alieauy know, China has a hoiiible safety iecoiu when it comes to foou
piouuction. Foi example the 2uu8 Chinese milk scanual wheie milk was founu to
contain melamine. I uon't know about you but I uon't enjoy plastic in my milk.
Some people became sick anu some uieu. It just goes to show that when companies
think only about how much money they can make, people can get huit.
The othei scaiy pait with the chicken is that they aie not iequiieu to label
wheie it came fiom. Youi chicken coulu be fiom the 0.S. oi fiom China, anu you'u
be none the wisei. Why is this happening. To save money of couise! Why spenu
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moie on Ameiican employees when a Chinese employee gets paiu significantly less.
I finu the mentality of these coipoiations veiy uistuibing.
In conclusion on the subject of giass-feu beef vs. coingiain-feu beef, giass-
feu beef is bettei because of its nutiitional value, it helps the enviionment, anu it is
not piouuceu inuustiially. Inuustiial agiicultuie has become an issue now moie
then it has been. The coipoiate mentality has infecteu Ameiica's faimeis to wheie
it isn't about the quality so much as it is about the money. But money shoulun't be
the only uiiving foice in this woilu. I am not saying money is a "bau thing", it just
has the tenuency to biing out the gieeu in people to wheie they will saciifice quality
foi quantity. Abiaham Lincoln once saiu, "Neaily all men can stanu auveisity, but if
you want to test a man's chaiactei, give him powei." It also seems that once a man
has all the powei anu wealth he is still nevei satisfieu. Choosing giass-feu beef ovei
coin-feu beef won't suppoit the coipoiate mentality anu is ultimately bettei foi you
anu the enviionment.



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Woiks Citeu
ANI. "Coin-Feu veisus uiass-Feu Beef." !"# %&'( )*++(. Ameiican
Neat Institution, n.u. Web.

Aubiey , Allison. "The Tiuth About uiass-Feu Beef." ,-.. NPR, u8 Api 2u1u. Web. 21
Nai 2u14.

"Beef Cattle Nutiitional Bisoiueis." /*+ 0++1 )2(+. N.p., uS Api 2uu9. Web. 21
Nai 2u14.

uunnais, Kiis. "uiass-Feu vs. uiain-Feu Beef- What's The Biffeience.." !3(*452(6
,3(52(247. Authoiity Nutiition, u8 August 2u1S. Web. 21 Nai 2u14

Buehneigaith, Nancy, anu Bettina Seigel. "Chicken Fiom China. Youi Seafoou Is
Alieauy Being Piocesseu Theie.." %448 )&1+(6 ,+9:. Foou Safety News, u4
Naich 2u14. Web. 21 Nai 2u14.

Nanning, Richaiu. "The Amazing Benefits 0f uiass-Feu Neat." "4(*+5 ;&5(* ,+9:
2SS (2uu9): 48. "&:(+5%#<; -5+=2+5. Web. 21 Nai. 2u14.

King corn. Dir. Ian Cheney. Docurama Films :, 2008. .

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ARu0NENT ESSAY
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