September 26, 2006
The Omnivore's Dilemma
I'm reading The Omnivore's Dilemma. I just started, I haven't even followed corn all the way through yet. One thing that I read last night though really stuck in my head.
One economist estimated that it takes 1 barrel of oil to get a steak onto your grill. Think about the number of cows in this county. Maybe the real culprit in our energy problems is not Detroit, but wherever it is that Cargill is headquartered.
We don't eat all lot of beef anyway, but I'm wondering how difficult it would be to avoid corn fed beef. I can remember commercials pitching corn fed beef as some sort of advantage.
Cows, of course, don't eat corn, unless it's force fed to them by humans. It's not even good for them. They have to be pumped full of antibiotics to counteract the negatives of the corn. It's an ugly cycle that isn't good for the cows, or the people.
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I heard Pollan on NPR (twice), and I'd love for him to go on WHO (talk radio station based in Des Moines). I don't think I can handle reading his book though. I'll just plant a large garden, eat deer meat my husband hunts himself, and try not to feel guilty about the stuff we still have to buy at the store.
Posted by: Ulrike at September 27, 2006 05:38 PMPost a comment