The Alternative

A couple days ago I went to wendy’s, I ordered a triple baconator; later that night I saw the commercial for the burger I just ate, “Made with real angus beef, you know when it’s real!” I was wondering, ‘I don’t know if it’s real, where does our food really come from?’

The beef used in Wendy’s burgers comes from a common beef cattle, the Angus cow. This cattle comes from Scotland, brought to America in the 1870s. Angus was bred with the Texas Longhorn to make it better for American pastures. Today it has over 10 million cattle in America and is one of the largest breeds. Some cattle gives better beef than others, farmers prefer these cows over others and breed them in large amounts. Now I know that the beef comes from a common breed of cattle, and animals that are commonly used are more productive than other types. However what happens to the less productive breeds?

The population of less productive breeds decline. The Meuse-Rhine-Issel(MRI) is a breed of cow whose numbers have drastically dropped over the years. The MRI is a dual purpose cow selected for both milk and meat production.

In its early years it was highly productive and were plentiful, but the rise of other breeds such as the Holstein and Angus lead to a decrease in MRI population. Within the past 15 years, 190 breeds of farm animals have gone extinct worldwide, and there are currently 1500 others at risk of going extinct due to the rise in industrial agriculture.

Breeds used in industrial agriculture are bred to produce lots of milk or eggs, gain weight quickly, or yield particular types of meat within confined facilities. Industrial agriculture is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. It has a tremendous impact on the world’s water sources and soil quality because of the massive use of chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and fertilizers. We in turn consume these chemicals which is unhealthy.

Here is a video describing the flaws of industrial agriculture:

Sustainable agriculture(refers to the increase in food yields without irreversible damage to the environment and ecosystems) is the alternative to unhealthy ways. Farms raise different types of plants and animals, which are rotated around the fields to enrich the soil and help prevent disease and pest outbreaks. Animals raised on sustainable agriculture farms are able to survive without the temperature controlled buildings and constant dosage of antibiotics given to the commercial breeds. Genetic diversity prevents the extinction of less productive breeds or crop varieties. With sustainable agriculture we know that our food is grown naturally with minimal or no use of chemicals

With the rapid growth of humans the agricultural industry can keep up whether the industrial agriculture or sustainable agriculture is dominant, it simply provides a choice between unhealthy and healthy eating. People should start thinking about where our food comes from, what they’re really consuming and make better choices for the sake of their health. The choice is yours, food on steroids or naturally grown food.

References:

http://globalcommunitywebnet.com/globalcommunity/cattleandbeef.htm

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/heritage/

http://www.rarebreeds.co.nz/meuse.html

http://www.theCattlesite.com/breeds/dairy/111/meuse-rhine-issel/overview

http://www.regionalcattlebreeds.eu/breeds/MRY.html

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/

http://library.thinkquest.org/03oct/01272/id20.htm

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