07-06-2022, 12:20 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-06-2022, 12:23 AM by FlyingClayDisk.)
This is probably a good opportunity to talk about "antibiotics" in beef production.
When most people hear the words 'antibiotics' and/or 'growth hormones' their minds immediately jump to animals that are being subjected to endless applications of these substances (and in some cases they may be right). However, this is not usually the case. I will cite a classic example...
Most people have heard of 'feed lots'. The purpose of a feed lot is to fatten up cattle before processing (i.e. slaughter). This is exactly what it sounds like...putting actual "fat" on the animal. It's not muscle we're talking about here, but fat.
Now, I think most understand this, but in the event some are unclear I'll elaborate briefly. Much of the flavor that people enjoy about beef (and other meat products) comes from the fat, not from the meat itself. Meat with little to no fat is nearly flavorless, regardless of what it is. NOTE - "Gamey" is a different issue, and involves different hormones and physiology, so I'm not talking about 'gamey' here.
The big difference between grass fed and traditional feed lot beef is the fat content. This is the "% Lean" labeling you see. Several weeks before animals go for processing they are often sent to feed lots to add 'fat' to the carcass. Yes, this increases their weight too (more on this in a moment), but that's not the reason for doing it. The reason is to increase the fat percentage, and thus enhance the flavor.
To fatten up cattle, the fastest way to do this is to feed them corn. Corn is high in carbohydrates and adds fat quickly. BUT, there's a huge problem with this process. The problem? Cattle can't effectively digest corn. Translated, corn makes cattle sick. Feeding straight corn gives cattle what amounts to dysentery. Then, rather than get fat, they lose weight...and fat...and waste away. Fed nothing but corn, cattle will eventually die from this, but they're not at a feed lot long enough for this to happen. However, they are there long enough for the effects of this to start.
So, what's the solution? Much like a human with dysentery, you give the cattle antibiotics to clear up the dysentery. Now the cattle are happy, the producer is happy and the customer is happy. This has been going on for 200 years (probably longer) with no ill effects.
THESE are the "evil" antibiotics most people hear about, and where this all comes from is the animal rights people like PETA and others who will plant poison seeds everywhere possible to end cattle production...period. They don't want you eating beef with no antibiotics...no, what they want is for you to not eat meat at all! These antibiotics we're talking about here are not harmful to people, and they're not in the category of antibiotics everyone is worried about building up resistance to.
Now you know "the REST of the story" (as the legendary announcer Paul Harvey would say).
P.S. As I've noted previously, our beef is grass fed, so we don't feed-out on corn. However, we do feed out on grain and corn in the last week or so before processing for our own personal animals which go in our freezers. This is just enough time to put fat on them without having to get into antibiotics. Not because we're worried about the antibiotics, but because they're expensive and they're a hassle to administer. BTW...we don't have any axe to grind with the people who feed-out cattle with corn; it's just another way of doing things. But I certainly don't trust all the BS propaganda crap I see, and I know different.
So, there you have it.
When most people hear the words 'antibiotics' and/or 'growth hormones' their minds immediately jump to animals that are being subjected to endless applications of these substances (and in some cases they may be right). However, this is not usually the case. I will cite a classic example...
Most people have heard of 'feed lots'. The purpose of a feed lot is to fatten up cattle before processing (i.e. slaughter). This is exactly what it sounds like...putting actual "fat" on the animal. It's not muscle we're talking about here, but fat.
Now, I think most understand this, but in the event some are unclear I'll elaborate briefly. Much of the flavor that people enjoy about beef (and other meat products) comes from the fat, not from the meat itself. Meat with little to no fat is nearly flavorless, regardless of what it is. NOTE - "Gamey" is a different issue, and involves different hormones and physiology, so I'm not talking about 'gamey' here.
The big difference between grass fed and traditional feed lot beef is the fat content. This is the "% Lean" labeling you see. Several weeks before animals go for processing they are often sent to feed lots to add 'fat' to the carcass. Yes, this increases their weight too (more on this in a moment), but that's not the reason for doing it. The reason is to increase the fat percentage, and thus enhance the flavor.
To fatten up cattle, the fastest way to do this is to feed them corn. Corn is high in carbohydrates and adds fat quickly. BUT, there's a huge problem with this process. The problem? Cattle can't effectively digest corn. Translated, corn makes cattle sick. Feeding straight corn gives cattle what amounts to dysentery. Then, rather than get fat, they lose weight...and fat...and waste away. Fed nothing but corn, cattle will eventually die from this, but they're not at a feed lot long enough for this to happen. However, they are there long enough for the effects of this to start.
So, what's the solution? Much like a human with dysentery, you give the cattle antibiotics to clear up the dysentery. Now the cattle are happy, the producer is happy and the customer is happy. This has been going on for 200 years (probably longer) with no ill effects.
THESE are the "evil" antibiotics most people hear about, and where this all comes from is the animal rights people like PETA and others who will plant poison seeds everywhere possible to end cattle production...period. They don't want you eating beef with no antibiotics...no, what they want is for you to not eat meat at all! These antibiotics we're talking about here are not harmful to people, and they're not in the category of antibiotics everyone is worried about building up resistance to.
Now you know "the REST of the story" (as the legendary announcer Paul Harvey would say).
P.S. As I've noted previously, our beef is grass fed, so we don't feed-out on corn. However, we do feed out on grain and corn in the last week or so before processing for our own personal animals which go in our freezers. This is just enough time to put fat on them without having to get into antibiotics. Not because we're worried about the antibiotics, but because they're expensive and they're a hassle to administer. BTW...we don't have any axe to grind with the people who feed-out cattle with corn; it's just another way of doing things. But I certainly don't trust all the BS propaganda crap I see, and I know different.
So, there you have it.