"Cows Eat Candy"

[jmo1012]

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http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/sweat-meat-cows-eat-candy umm...interesting...😱😕

 

[wolfspeaker]

http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/sweat-meat-cows-eat-candy umm...interesting...😱😕

Thank god I do not see this going mainstream. That's the last thing we need. Eating meat that comes from candy fed cows. Candy has NO nutritional value what-so-ever. I wonder if, in the long run, he's really saving any money, with the additives he has to use to make up the deficit of corn nutrients. There's more to corn than just fat.

 

[sunshinevet]

I can't imagine how bad the acidosis in those cows would be....

 

[Poetic Silence]

Let the cows eat their candy. They aren't hurting anyone. Worry about what you're feeding your children.

 

[Coquette22]

I found another article that says it's 5-8% of the diet: http://www.latimes.com/business/mon...rmer-feeds-cow-candy-20120822,0,1660160.story . (Was anyone else irritated that the first article said "Sweat Meet"? Sweet! Sweet, people! Learn to proofread!)

 

[Poetic Silence]

It's actually spelled 'm-e-a-t", meat.

 

[Lissarae06]

Let the cows eat their candy. They aren't hurting anyone. Worry about what you're feeding your children.

Dude quit trolling. Save it for the lounge.

 

[PetPony]

Do the wrappers not cause any problems?

 

[abbercadaver]

Do the wrappers not cause any problems?

My thoughts, too.

 

[devyn]

Dude quit trolling. Save it for the lounge.

👍 Yes please stay out of Prevet PS....



And on topic..... just because the cows are gaining weight and reaching their slaughter weight does not mean it is healthy weight and that they are suitable for human consumption.... seems off to be feeding them candy as part of their regular diet...

 

[PetPony]

👍 Yes please stay out of Prevet PS....



And on topic..... just because the cows are gaining weight and reaching their slaughter weight does not mean it is healthy weight and that they are suitable for human consumption.... seems off to be feeding them candy as part of their regular diet...

I thought that, too! Humans gain a lot of weight through a diet like that and it's obviously not a healthy one.

 

[jmo1012]

okay cool. glad ya'll have the same concerns i did when i first saw this (i dont know the first thing about cows and little about diet, but this screamed "wrong"). loved the statement about this diet helping them gain weight, never mind the actual health of the animal!

 

[skittles12]

I remember hearing something similar to this in one of my undergrad animal science classes. They talked about using scraps (stuff that had fallen on the floor, defective candy, etc.) from candy factories. If I remember correctly, it wasn't used for their entire ration, just as a supplement when fast weight gain near slaughter was desired. Not sure how healthy it is for the cows, but I have heard of it.

 

[Coquette22]

It's actually spelled 'm-e-a-t", meat.

I'm aware of that. Luckily, I'm not a journalist. Hence I don't proofread every single post I make, especially at 7 AM. 🙄

 

[pooter]

Let the cows eat their candy. They aren't hurting anyone. Worry about what you're feeding your children.

We're feeding our children the cows. So, yes we should worry about them.

Now, go away.

As for the concept, substandard candy and other "byproducts of the baking industry" do sometimes end up in animal feed, which is okay as long as it's balanced with the rest of the feed. This farmer's drop-the-kit-kats-in-the-feed-trough strategy doesn't strike me as the safest, though.

 

[Finnsheep]

I can't imagine how bad the acidosis in those cows would be....

And the rumenitis.

Maybe this will be become a popular way to manage acetonemia in dairy cattle...

Seriously, the rumen is capable of some amazing feats and I've seen sheep and cattle fed everything from waste tortillas and bread to lambsquarters and poison ivy to corn and oats to apples and orange peels, and fishmeal besides. So I don't find this particularly surprising.

However, I am a big proponent of feeding ruminants on forages as much as possible, but as long as these other foodstuffs don't cause health problems, I don't see a problem.

 

[wolfspeaker]

I wonder how the caffeine affects them?

 

[nyanko]

I think they would need an absurd amount of methylxanthines (caffeine/theobromine) for it to really have an appreciable effect on them. You'd need to like, feed them exclusively baker's chocolate for days or something.

current EU regulation seems to be keep theobromine level below 700mg theobromine/kg feedstuff for adult cattle

 

[Bismarck]

I have heard of dairy cattle being fed on bakery waste/chocolate as a small portion of their ration as a concentrated energy source (hey, the cows are working hard!) when it makes sense economically (i.e. you have a factory down the road with extra product on the cheap and the price of corn and other commodities keeps creeping up). Not sure of long term supplementation effects though. On the other hand, I guess you could make milk from a cow taste like chocolate with enough in the diet 😀

 

[orcagirl]

What about the fact that we're consuming chocolate at an alarming rate? We don't have an endless supply of cocoa beans. I mean if it really is waste then it's better than tossing it (I guess). But I love chocolate (and steak).

 

[Trematode]

What about the fact that we're consuming chocolate at an alarming rate? We don't have an endless supply of cocoa beans.

Then we do what humans do best. We chop down a bunch of rain forests and grow more. Muahaha.

After speaking to a dairy cow researcher, I don't even think that cows should be eating corn. So why not feed them waste products from other industries?

(I spent my summer in a rural area, where cows graze all summer in rolling green fields. I am all about supporting the local farmers. 👍. Sorry if that upsets some of you.)

 

[Finnsheep]

Then we do what humans do best. We chop down a bunch of rain forests and grow more. Muahaha.

After speaking to a dairy cow researcher, I don't even think that cows should be eating corn. So why not feed them waste products from other industries?

(I spent my summer in a rural area, where cows graze all summer in rolling green fields. I am all about supporting the local farmers. 👍. Sorry if that upsets some of you.)

No, I agree. I avoid corn with my ruminants whenever possible. The stuff causes ruminitis and awful hyperactivy sometimes, not to mention increased risk of acidosis.

I think it's great to support local farmers, especially small scale. Keep it up! I try to do so whenever possible (and I am one of them...) and I am majorly interested in heritage livestock breeds (which I raise...). One bite of local grassfed beef would win almost anybody over, I think.

 

[wolfspeaker]

Then we do what humans do best. We chop down a bunch of rain forests and grow more. Muahaha.

After speaking to a dairy cow researcher, I don't even think that cows should be eating corn. So why not feed them waste products from other industries?

(I spent my summer in a rural area, where cows graze all summer in rolling green fields. I am all about supporting the local farmers. 👍. Sorry if that upsets some of you.)

They shouldn't. Their bodies are not meant for it. But, it takes longer to condition grass-fed only cattle for slaughter than it does traditional(corn) fed. (Traditional is the term used for how the majority producers do something. Like non-organic dairy cows are called a Traditional Herd. ) So, they feed corn to speed up the process and gain better yields and cuts.

As for dairy cows, corn fed produce more milk, but shorter life. There's plenty of heifers available(usually), so producers have the ability to have a higher cull rate of their cows.

I don't think this chocolate feeding thing is going to take off anytime soon. If a few farmers want to use it, fine. Some farmers feed Beet Pulp, some feed Cotton Seed(which I think is great, love cotton seed!). I don't like the thought of that amount of chocolate being fed, though. And I would definitely say no to it being fed to dairy milking cows.

I can't remember, did it say how long he fed them this ration? A few weeks, a few months?

 

[Poetic Silence]

Edit: Nevermind.

 

[devyn]

Edit: Nevermind.

PS - get out of the veterinary forums please.... you were already asked.... we really would prefer if you did not troll here....

thanks

 

[Finnsheep]

It's pretty common for livestock husbandmen to make use of some feedstuffs on a temporary/seasonal basis.

I use pumpkins in the fall to flush my ewes. The ability of pumpkins to increase ovulation rates has been recognized for generations. I'm sad to see it not being practiced very often. And pumpkin seeds are supposed to have anthelmintic benefits, which I believe that I have seen with my own flock.

Apple cider pulp is another example- as long as it isn't badly fermented (you can get some tipsy or flat-out drunk stock on that-not good) is also a wonderful supplement. I fed a flock on pumpkins, apple cider pulp, and some hay for very little, and they looked great and yeaned very well.

So this isn't exactly new. Is it great? Well...not sure when it comes to candy and corn. In small amounts, carefully done, maybe. Is it the best for the animal? Probably not- although some have been bred to be fed in this manner and don't do well if not grains aren't pushed.

I wish the traditional supplements (and I mean traditional in the old-fashioned sense) like root vegetables, rape (canola) grazing, oats, pumpkins, cider pulp, etc. would be utilized more frequently. It's a case where despite all our science, we aren't doing any better and probably doing worse for the health of livestock when it comes to nutrition.

 

[Poetic Silence]

PS - get out of the veterinary forums please.... you were already asked.... we really would prefer if you did not troll here....

thanks

I wasn't trolling. The topic interests me as many on my father's side are migrant farmworkers, some of whom perform minor surgical procedures on live cattle. Do not assume that beause I am a pre med that my knowledge base is limited to pre med junk.

As for the edit, I wanted to post a link to a related article on stock feed, but the link was rot.

As you were, vets, student vets and pre vets.

 

[wolfspeaker]

I wasn't trolling. The topic interests me as many on my father's side are migrant farmworkers, some of whom perform minor surgical procedures on live cattle. Do not assume that beause I am a pre med that my knowledge base is limited to pre med junk.

As for the edit, I wanted to post a link to a related article on stock feed, but the link was rot.

As you were, vets, student vets and pre vets.

We have no problem with others coming to the forum and commenting on things like this. We DO have a problem with snide, disgusting, trolling, totally irrelevant remarks being said. And that's what you've shhown us in the past. I'm sure that is why Devyn was jumping on you.

 

[Poetic Silence]

We have no problem with others coming to the forum and commenting on things like this. We DO have a problem with snide, disgusting, trolling, totally irrelevant remarks being said. And that's what you've shhown us in the past. I'm sure that is why Devyn was jumping on you.

This really is not the place to discuss your opinions of my character. If you'd like, feel free to PM me. Let's not hijack this thread any further, though.

Anyway, one article suggested health benefits associated with feeding cows dark chocolate in moderation. Thoughts? There seems to be quite a few health benefits with the moderate consumption of dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate.

 

[wolfspeaker]

This really is not the place to discuss your opinions of my character. If you'd like, feel free to PM me. Let's not hijack this thread any further, though.

Anyway, one article suggested health benefits associated with feeding cows dark chocolate in moderation. Thoughts? There seems to be quite a few health benefits with the moderate consumption of dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate.

You're the one who brought it up! And was being the douche earlier.

Please site article. Thanks.

 

[Poetic Silence]

You're the one who brought it up! And was being the douche earlier.

Please site article. Thanks.

Please stop.

The article I attempted to post earlier was link rot and not a valid URL as I explained earlier.

 

[wolfspeaker]

Then I can't comment on it.

Health benefits of dark chocolate in humans, does not translate to same health benefits in cattle. I can't comment on an article, if I can't read it. Does it state what health benefits? If it's a legit article, why doesn't the link work? (i.e. what do you mean by 'rot'?)

 

[Poetic Silence]

Then I can't comment on it.

Health benefits of dark chocolate in humans, does not translate to same health benefits in cattle. I can't comment on an article, if I can't read it. Does it state what health benefits? If it's a legit article, why doesn't the link work? (i.e. what do you mean by 'rot'?)

Let me specify. What are your thpughts on feeding cows dark chocolate in addition to their regular diet. What health benefits does dark chocolate have on humans? What health benefits might dark chocolate have on cows?

Link rot is when a link on a site no longer leads to the appropriate destination. This happens frequently on larger sites like msnbc or reddit.

 

[devyn]

Please stop.

The article I attempted to post earlier was link rot and not a valid URL as I explained earlier.

You did not attempt to post an article.... you were attempting to post a youtube video of dancing cows or something of a similar nature... the link did not work... 🙄

You have not posted anything of value in this thread and if you really had any interest in the topic that is what you would have done from the get go. So do not feign interest now.

This is a forum for prevets and vets - yes every once in awhile someone from another forum will come in and participate in posts, but they are doing so as a way to exchange ideas and information... Your posts were troll like in nature.

I would prefer you stick to the lounge and I know I am not in the minority with that sentiment.

 

[wolfspeaker]

You did not attempt to post an article.... you were attempting to post a youtube video of dancing cows or something of a similar nature... the link did not work... 🙄

You have not posted anything of value in this thread and if you really had any interest in the topic that is what you would have done from the get go. So do not feign interest now.

This is a forum for prevets and vets - yes every once in awhile someone from another forum will come in and participate in posts, but they are doing so as a way to exchange ideas and information... Your posts were troll like in nature.

I would prefer you stick to the lounge and I know I am not in the minority with that sentiment.

I don't see them posting things of much use over in the lounge either. 🙄 21 year old trolls.

 

[Poetic Silence]

You did not attempt to post an article.... you were attempting to post a youtube video of dancing cows or something of a similar nature... the link did not work... 🙄

You have not posted anything of value in this thread and if you really had any interest in the topic that is what you would have done from the get go. So do not feign interest now.

This is a forum for prevets and vets - yes every once in awhile someone from another forum will come in and participate in posts, but they are doing so as a way to exchange ideas and information... Your posts were troll like in nature.

I would prefer you stick to the lounge and I know I am not in the minority with that sentiment.

I also venture into the optometry, podiatry and clinician forums.

I really wish you'd let go of your resentment towards me.

I'm just gonna go. Carry on with your thread. I apologize for disrupting it.

 

[DVMDream]

 

[orcagirl]

Then we do what humans do best. We chop down a bunch of rain forests and grow more. Muahaha.

After speaking to a dairy cow researcher, I don't even think that cows should be eating corn. So why not feed them waste products from other industries?

(I spent my summer in a rural area, where cows graze all summer in rolling green fields. I am all about supporting the local farmers. 👍. Sorry if that upsets some of you.)

That's one of the reasons I came to NCSU. Our cows have lots of green land. I agree that's how cows should be raised.

It's pretty common for livestock husbandmen to make use of some feedstuffs on a temporary/seasonal basis.

I use pumpkins in the fall to flush my ewes. The ability of pumpkins to increase ovulation rates has been recognized for generations. I'm sad to see it not being practiced very often. And pumpkin seeds are supposed to have anthelmintic benefits, which I believe that I have seen with my own flock.

Apple cider pulp is another example- as long as it isn't badly fermented (you can get some tipsy or flat-out drunk stock on that-not good) is also a wonderful supplement. I fed a flock on pumpkins, apple cider pulp, and some hay for very little, and they looked great and yeaned very well.

So this isn't exactly new. Is it great? Well...not sure when it comes to candy and corn. In small amounts, carefully done, maybe. Is it the best for the animal? Probably not- although some have been bred to be fed in this manner and don't do well if not grains aren't pushed.

I wish the traditional supplements (and I mean traditional in the old-fashioned sense) like root vegetables, rape (canola) grazing, oats, pumpkins, cider pulp, etc. would be utilized more frequently. It's a case where despite all our science, we aren't doing any better and probably doing worse for the health of livestock when it comes to nutrition.

Props to you! That's great. I just joined the holistic club, which I feel a lot of people just think of acupuncture. I worked with holistic vets and it's about everything, including nutrition. They even use whole food supplements to help dogs (mine had mental issues) rather than pharmaceuticals. I didn't believe it until I saw it. I don't have much experience with large grazing animals, but my guinea pigs are feed natural foods (well pellets are now organic and don't have HFCS, but fruit juices and extracts in them). The more natural the better!

 

[psilovethomas]

Let me specify. What are your thpughts on feeding cows dark chocolate in addition to their regular diet. What health benefits does dark chocolate have on humans? What health benefits might dark chocolate have on cows?

Dark chocolate has lots of antioxidants that are beneficial. Humans have a relatively simple GI tract so the antioxidants are not changed very much during the digestive process. However, cattle have very complicated GI tracts, which includes the rumen, is a large fermentation vat. I am unsure if the antioxidants in the chocolate (or any molecules that are associated with the antioxidants and therefore alter the effectiveness of the antioxidant) are altered during fermentation. IMO, the cost (direct cost and potential medical cost from acidosis and ruminitis) of the dark chocolate does not outweigh the [potential] positive effects on the health of the animal. There are safer alternatives (vit E and selenium).

Very interesting article. Will have to forward to my former ruminant nutrition prof and see what he thinks.

 

[APBT]

I know of a cattle finishing operation that's been using candy for at least, oh, 6 or 7 years that I know of. It's only a problem when the public "finds out" about it.

This is one reason why I am thrilled that I have the capability to raise my own beef for the freezer.

 

[psilovethomas]

So, I emailed the article to my professor, and this is from his response:

" In any event, the sugar (simple sucrose) is mainly converted to butyrate, not lactate (as would be the case feeding corn starch) --- so not acidosis immediately unless it's a very high percentage of the diet."

SO, I guess it's not all that bad.

As for health concerns for the people who are consuming the beef from these animals: I don't think it matters too much, since the sugars are being converted to VFA's and ultimately fat to fatten the animal. All the same.

 

[Trematode]

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/...orn+shortage/7287131/story.html#ixzz27axeQAPD

Just saw this. Thought it was relevant.

 

[T_Rose]

I know I heard about this years ago! I can't remember where I saw it (probably on TV), but it explained how some farmers fed their cows gummy worms and other candy.

 

[Trematode]

It's one thing to feed waste products to fatten then up because it is readily available. It's another thing to buy crap "food" because its cheaper and supplement more of their diet with that garbage.

This is another tick towards supporting local farmers for me. If the price of feed goes up and the price of meat goes up, nobody really. Once you get people on the eat-local bandwagon, they seem pretty reluctant to get off. At least the ones I have met anyway.

I heard on the radio in the previous town I lived in that farming is actually increasing in the economy instead of decreasing like most others. And there are no large feedlots. It's all locally small farms that are doing it.

 

[Minnerbelle]

It's one thing to feed waste products to fatten then up because it is readily available. It's another thing to buy crap "food" because its cheaper and supplement more of their diet with that garbage.

This is another tick towards supporting local farmers for me. If the price of feed goes up and the price of meat goes up, nobody really. Once you get people on the eat-local bandwagon, they seem pretty reluctant to get off. At least the ones I have met anyway.

You do realize that plenty of the "local" small farms do the feed-crap-food-because-it's-cheaper thing, right? In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they were more prone to it. The far-away cattle being raised in agri-land rather than just outside of suburbia (and hence-local) have not only more land to graze on, but much more agricultural and food processing (byproduct source) near them as feed sources. So that makes them much more flexible. The little bitty local farms are at much more at the mercy of feed-prices. This is esp true if they have to buy grain and have them trucked over from far-away agriland (which kinda defeats the purpose of a local farm, but i digress). And the fewer the number of animals on the farm, the less likely they are to catch on early that their crappy ration is having poor health effects on their animals. So when a baker says, "hey joe farmer, I have a ton of old (moldy) bread/frosting I have to chuck out tonight, ya want it?" who's more likely to feed that inappropriately and cause acidosis?

I'm not saying that faraway farms are perfect, or that there aren't great local farms out there, but I think there are major concerns with both. And my big pet peeve: small farm =\= more humane. Trem, I know you didn't say that, but a lot of people have this misconception that small farms automatically have happy animals, and I just hadda get it out there.

 

[Trematode]

At least a lot of local farms around where I live is grazing their animals during the warmer months rather than supplementing their feed 100% of the time. If I were to buy meat, I would be buying it from the farms I drive by that have beef cattle grazing in the summer rather than stopping by McDonalds for a mystery burger or at the grocery store for a steak that came from Alberta feedlots.

I live in Atlantic Canada. I am very fortunate to live here. I went to a talk given by Gene Bauer a few months ago. A few people attacked him because the inhumane treatment he was talking about does not occur as much here. I started to believe what the farmers were saying when I moved to the hub of agriculture. I was surrounded by people who knew local farmers and chose to support them. My boss helped his wife sell wine at the local farmer each weekend. I don't think he was lying to us when he said the steak he bought for our staff party was grass-fed, organic and that the cow "lived a good life while it was alive" (unless he is a bigger jerk than I thought We all finished watching Food Inc. based on his recommendation and he wanted to make sure to tell us where the steak had come from)

Before all this occurred, people were telling me that it is not bad here like Peta and animal-rights activists makes the meat industry look like. At the time, I was stubborn and refused to believe that things were better until I saw so myself. Well... I saw... and all I can say is that I think buying meat from a reputable farmer in the area is better than buying meat that you do not know the origin of. I think consumers should be talking to local farmers and asking questions. Not all farms are sunshine and rainbows, but I think that there are a lot of great places here, maybe more-so than other areas. I have been looking into receiving CSA dropboxes and what I have been reading has been going hand-in-hand with what people have told me and what I have seen.

Just my 0.02 cents. I am not telling people to buy local because it's better (because sometimes it is not always better). I am just saying that if practices like this bother you for whatever reason, there are alternatives out there. You just have to do some digging.

 

[that redhead]

It's one thing to feed waste products to fatten then up because it is readily available. It's another thing to buy crap "food" because its cheaper and supplement more of their diet with that garbage.

Those statements sound the same to me, to be honest. The products they're using aren't really waste products- they're surplus from a current industry. In a way, a lot of the components of regular cattle feed (like brewer's grains or distiller's grains) are more waste products than candy or sprinkles are. If the cow is able to utilize the feedstuff in a very similar manner to the way it utilizes something like a corn-based diet, I don't really see the problem. And I certainly don't think it's wrong to switch feedstuffs that are very similar in the way they're used to save money. It's a business, after all.

I think local farming can be a great thing to support. But I really disagree with the idea that the huge feedlots are the only ones who are concerned about profit. I also disagree that those concerned with profit are by default not concerned about their animals. I really doubt that anyone would participate in this practice if it were making all of their cows sick. I think for a lot of people, it's just a knee-jerk reaction to seeing something like a cow, which we picture as grazing on a field of nice grass, being fed something so out of place as candy.