Power Steer – an article about the beef industry in the US is one of the most fascinating articles that I’ve read recently. The article covers the inter-relationships of the environmental and biological consequences tied to the economic realities of the industry (and market demand). Some especially interesting tidbits: Hormones pellets are implanted which cost about $1.50, but add 40-50lbs to a steer at slaughter for a return of at least $25. While there are human health implications, because margins are so low, no one can afford to pass on this while the competition does it. Because of the use of corn as cheap feed, which uses petroleum based fertilizers, a 1,250lb steer will have consumed almost 300 gallons of oil in his lifetime. This same corn wreaks havoc on the bovine digestive and immune systems, forcing the constant use of large amounts of antibiotics (yay superbugs). To make things worse, the feed diet raises the normally neutral pH in the bovine stomachs, which has led to development of strains of E Coli, like E Coli 0157 which can survive our stomach acids. While it has been discovered that switching a cow’s diet from corn to hay in the days before slaughter can reduce the population of E Coli 0157 in its manure by as much as 70%, it’s considered economically infeasible by the cattle industry. To neutralize the feedlot manure, rather than making “impractical” changes such as altering the diet, or keeping the cows from living in their feces or slowing down the line-speeds at modern-day meatpacking plants (390 heads/hr), the carcasses are “cold paseurized” – that is, irradiated, steamed and sprayed with antimicrobial solution. At the end of the day, over the past 20 years, the return on each feedlot cow averages $3/head.
The whole situation is deeply disturbing, even for a person who doesn’t have objections to the actual killing and eating of the animal (like me). One has got to wonder, though if the time has passed that any amount of journalism or coverage can raise enough awareness in the public to (see: The Jungle). Really, while economics is cited as the major factor in all these decisions being made, this line of development simply isn’t sustainable and makes absolutely no sense once the full costs (long-term environmental and health expenses issues, oil dependence and related infrastructure, etc.) are figured in. Why aren’t these “hidden costs” accounted for? Something is fundamentally broken with such a short-sighted economic model.