Nearly 100% of beef sold in grocery stores is from corn-fed cows. But feeding corn to cows is cruel and is detrimental to our health and the environment.
Cows are meant to digest grass, so corn diets lead to extreme digestive discomfort, including bloating to the point of potential suffocation, and weak immune systems. Corn-fed cows live on cramped feedlots, unable to move.
Feeding corn to cows also breeds bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics and digestive acids in humans. Corn production and waste from corn-fed animals are a huge source of greenhouse gas, water and air pollution.
Instead, stores should sell beef from grass-fed cows who roam free their whole lives, eliminating the ethical, health, and environmental problems corn feeding operations incur.
If consumers create a demand for more sustainable grass-fed beef, producers will listen.
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For one person's perspective, check out
Jana Ballinger's blog post on this issue.
I pledge to promote humane, sustainable beef production by:
- When purchasing beef, choosing grass-fed beef whenever possible*
- Requesting local grocery stores and restaurants to provide grass-fed beef
- Educating myself and others about the differences between grass-fed and corn-fed beef
(*If your local grocers and restaurants refuse to purchase grass-fed beef, you can find it online.)
