Grass Fed Beef v.s. Corn Fed Beef

  Today, cows, sheep and other grazing animals diets have only consisted of corn and grain instead of grass. This causes many problems in the animal digestive system and bad consequences for both the grazer and us. The reasons factory farms have started doing this was because it’s much cheaper, faster and more profitable. In the United States, cows would be slaughtered after four or five years. Today, they are slaughtered after fourteen or sixteen months. This is done with large amounts of corn, protein supplements, antibiotics and growth hormones. Feeding a cow corn instead of grass is extremely disturbing to their digestive systems and it can possibly kill the animal if it is not done as gradually as possible and with massive amounts of antibiotics. The beef that we eat has caused waste runoff into rivers and ocean and pollutes the water and the environment. Infectious E. coli is found in many beef products because of the poor diets of cows which we consume, which makes us sick, and can possibly kill you. Feeding cows grass can have many positive effects on our bodies with the nutrients it provides us. Feeding cows corn and grain instead of grass can produce bad effects to both ours and the cows digestive systems and can really harm the environment and feeding them grass is much more positive because it produces high quality meat with less bacteria and infections that can potentially make us sick. 

  Cows are known as ruminant animals. Ruminant animals are mammals that have a complex stomach that digests plant based foods in a number of steps. First, the cow chews the food and it passes through its first stomach. It then regurgitates the partly digested food known as the cud, and it begins to chew the food again. This process in re-chewing  the cud to further break down plant matter is known as “rumination.” Humans do not posses this type of digestive system to ruminate, but if they did it would be caused by some kind of trauma and can become a chronic disorder which would be called rumination syndrome. Since these cows are ruminants, they are made to digest plants, but what they are being fed now is corn and grain and their digestive systems are not made for this. The pH levels in a healthy cow would be a 6 or 7. A cattle with a pH level lower than 5.5 is susceptible to become ill because of innumerable amounts of bacteria in their stomachs. The pH level in their guts are normal when they are consuming forage, but when they eat corn and grain it changes the level and their guts become extremely acidic. A common illness cows suffer from is called acidosis. It is caused by a diet too high in carbohydrates, low fiber content, and forage that is too finely chopped which all produce a high number of lactic acid in the stomach. Symptoms are ulcers in the rumen which can cause liver abscesses, laminitis (sore hooves), decreased appetite and milk production, depression, dehydration and can even lead to death if not treated properly. This also causes “feedlot bloat” which is when they develop lactic acid from not eating enough roughage, which is so severe that their is a chance that an animal can suffocate from it. The reason these cows can live like this because they are given a small dosage of antibiotics daily. “Putting cattle on a corn based diet is like putting humans on a diet of candy bars-you can live on it for a while, but eventually you are going to get sick” (Singer 61.) The beef producer doesn’t care about how the animal feels. They think that as long as they can get the cow to the slaughterhouse in time before it dies of all these problems, then its fine because it will generate a profit. Feeding corn and grain to cows causes many problems to their bodies and to the meat that we are consuming. The harm to their bodies causes harm to our bodies too. 

  The way the animals are fed and treated in unnatural and dangerous for the cows but also has a huge impact on us. Due to the diets of the cows on feedlots in the beef packing industry, their stomachs and intestinal tracts become highly acidic, which welcomes the growth of the bacteria E. coli O157:H7. This has been known as an extremely dangerous pathogen that comes from the buildup of bacteria in the cows bodies. The meat is then consumed by us and we contract a food borne illness that can possibly be deadly. Over the years, their have been many recalls of beef in the United States as this pathogen traveled from stomach to stomach. Each year, 200 people die from E. coli 0157:H7 in the United States and 25,000 people are diagnosed, which converts to about 2 people every hour being declared positive for the food borne illness. These are all people who are simply eating a hamburger for dinner. The causes of this illness impacts children and the elderly much more aggressively because of their weaker immune systems. The reason that people contract E. coli is because of the bad conditions on the feedlots  that the cows live in and the acidity in their stomachs. The E. coli can survive the acidity of the human stomach because it has built up a  high resistance to the acidity. "Grain does not specifically promote the growth of E. coli O157:H7, but it increases the chance that at least some E. coli could pass through the gastric stomach of humans," Russell said. "The carbohydrates of hay are not so easily fermented, and hay does not promote either the growth or acid resistance of E. coli,” said James B. Russell, a USDA microbiologist and faculty member of the Cornell Section of Microbiology. A very useful study done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Cornell microbiologists have led to the conclusion that changing a cows diet from grain to hay just five days before it was to be slaughtered, could dramatically reduce the number of acid-resistant E. coli in their bodies. "In the meantime, now that we know where the acid-resistant E. coli are coming from, we can control them with a relatively inexpensive change in diet," Russell said. The effects of feeding corn and grain to a cattle has immeasurable effects on our bodies and the actual cows, but it also has huge impacts on the environment. 

  Not only do cows promote pollution caused by methane-emitting flatulence, but feeding them corn causes many other negative effects to our environment. Large amounts of greenhouses gases are being produced from the large feedlots of thousands of cows. Growing the corn to feed these cows nationwide, takes a lot of energy into the machinery being used in the fields. This also includes chemical fertilizers which are added to the soil to improve the soil quality. A single acre of corn requires 14 energy inputs and the U.S. produces about 1.5 bushels every year, just to feed the cows. “We have succeeded in industrializing the beef calf, transforming what was once a solar-powered ruminant into the very last thing we need: another fossil-fuel machine,” said David Pimentel, a Cornell ecologist who specializes in agriculture and energy. Grass is much more efficient and produces less greenhouse gases. A field of grass gets its energy from the sun, which is a renewable source. Cows drop their waste onto the grass, which creates instant fertilizer and nutrients for the next cycle of crops to grow. Run-off waste that pollutes our air and water is another issue. The feces and pee from cows build up on large feedlots and are usually put into one area. If its rains, this waste will ultimately get into a nearby body of water. The feces contain steroids that the cows were given to make them grower faster and in a shorter time. Alan Kolok, a professor of biology at the University of Nebraska, is studying the effects of runoff from feedlots in the the Elkhorn River. He explains how the fish are showing signs of altered sexual features. Males have less masculine features and females have less feminine features. This is known as “Endocrine Disruption,” and the Nebraska Department of Game and Parks is concerned about what would happen to recreational fishing. The bottom line is that cows should be fed grass because it produces less pollution to the environment. Feeding grass to cows has many benefits to us and the quality of the meat is overall much better. 

  Grain and corn fed beef promote the growth of E. coli in their stomachs because of high acidity levels. The Journal of Dairy Science has stated that levels of E. coli are usually higher in feedlot cows, so, grass fed cows are obviously healthier. Grass fed beef is natural for cows because they are ruminants and they digest forage much easier. Grass fed beef is lower in fat and saturated fat and provides us with a lot of omega-3. These fats are very important for our nutrition and are also found in flaxseeds and fish, walnuts, soybeans and from animals who has grazed on omega-3 rich fields. Grass fed beef contains a third less fat per serving compared to feedlot beef and a three-ounce serving contains 35 milligrams of brain and heart protecting omega 3’s compared to 18 milligrams of the same serving for feedlot beed.  When cows are sent to feedlots and taken off a grass diet, they lose the omega-3’s that they had stored in their tissues and this meat only contains 15-50 percent of omega-3’s as grass fed beef. Grass fed beef is also higher in vitamin E and higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which is a nutrient linked with lowering the risk of cancer. Kate Clancy, Ph.D., a senior fellow at the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, reported that research in rats has associated higher CLA levels with easier weight loss and a reduced risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer. Grass fed beef is healthier and promotes better nutrition compared to feedlot cows. 

  In conclusion, cows who are fed grass rather than corn and grain are much healthier. They are not filled with antibiotics, have healthier digestive systems, and overall, have a better quality of life. The beef that we eat from feedlot cows have a high chance of being contaminated with E. coli and contain pathogens, bacteria, hormones and feces. When we consume these dirty products, they make us really sick and can possibly be fatal. Not only does the effects of feed cows grain and corn effect us, but it also effects the environment. Growing the corn to feed the cows, transmitting the food and then transmitting the beef promotes the use of a lot of greenhouse gases. Waste run-off in the waters cause many problems to nearby ecosystems and can permanently damage the them. Grass is overall much better because of the health boosts it gives us including the omega 3’s and good fatty acids. Grass fed beef also contains linoleic acid (CLA), which is associated with lowering the risk of cancer. Overall, grass fed beef has much better results and can really help us, the environment and the well being of the cows.



Works Cited: 



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