If you drink diet sodas, read this...

[Tikker]

EDIT
Mar and tikker, you're wrong re: the way manure is used. Ask a farmer, they till that manure into the soil prior to planting. Tilling the soil is a key part to plant for an upcoming season.

well no shit you till it in. I guess I just assumed that you'd know you have to do that

ps, I come from a family with farming background, married to a farmer's daughter, and visit the farm 2-3 times a month!

pps, we also add manure to our garden in the city

[ClakarEQ]

Yeah, kind of like mar assuming I don't know manure is used for fertilizer.

My point was, in the show, it looked to me like they were spraying liquid manure on vegitation that the cows would then eat. From what I know, that is a mixture for some real nasty things.

ps, I grow several crops myself, corn, toms, pickles, peppers, stawberries, etc

[Harrison]

Cows can eat their own shit and be perfectly fine...I still see no problem.

Most animals can eat their own shit or others', however disgusting you may believe that to be. Dogs do it to get a second attempt to absorb protein. Some animals do it to get some of their intestinal bacteria back to aid in digestion.

[Tikker]

the fact that you listed a pickle as something you grow kind of says bullshit to the whole thing

[Martrae]

The way you talked about them using cow manure indicated you did not know it's been used forever. It seemed like this was news to you. Also, tilling is not in any way 'processing' it.

I grew up in podunk Ohio, farming there was a way of life. Everyone used manure in their gardens to enrich the soil and canning food for the winter was the norm.

Spraying it over established crops is no big deal in my mind. Most farms that raise cows for food don't allow them to graze anyway.

[Tacks]

the fact that you listed a pickle as something you grow kind of says bullshit to the whole thing

Maybe he doesn't grow them to make cucumbers. You have to remember he's a pothead and is probably a bit fried and backward thinking.

[ClakarEQ]

Cows can eat their own shit and be perfectly fine...I still see no problem.

Most animals can eat their own shit or others', however disgusting you may believe that to be. Dogs do it to get a second attempt to absorb protein. Some animals do it to get some of their intestinal bacteria back to aid in digestion.

Any animals shit is full of bacteria, yeah some is good as you say and I don't contest that, but some is not good and that part bothers me.

Cows can eat their own shit and get sick too (or any animal for that matter).
--
HAHA tikker, yeah, that was a funny, should have said cuc's LOL, but I only grow the baby cucs so I just call them pickles LOL.

I'll snap a picture of my small garden for some proof in the pudding, it's only about 12' x 24'

EDIT
Mar. but you don't put manure fertilizer on vegitation to help it grow, you use it in the soil, I may not have been crystal clear in my post but I thought I mentioned them spraying on the plants, not the dirt.

Tacks, no I said pickle because they look like pickles, I forget the name but they're mini-cucs , good pot reference though, I wish I could grow that.

[Martrae]

Mar. but you don't put manure fertilizer on vegitation to help it grow, you use it in the soil, I may not have been crystal clear in my post but I thought I mentioned them spraying on the plants, not the dirt.

Aye, but since the animals aren't grazing this allows time for the fertilizer to be washed down to the soil by rain or irrigation. Spray on fertilizers are pretty common.

[Tikker]

Most farms that raise cows for food don't allow them to graze anyway.

errr what?

that must be a regional thing. grazing cows is the norm here

[Martrae]

Not anymore anyway. They are fed a specialized diet and that generally doesn't allow for grazing. I'm talking about the big mega farms, though. Smaller farmers still allow grazing but from what Clakar was talking about I was thinking it was one of those huge operations.

[Tikker]

that just seems weird

grazing is cheap compared to bringing in food for them

grass + weeds are free

granted, we have a lot of empty space in this part of the world, so lots of easy/cheap grazing

[Harrison]

Grazing leads to erosion and isn't the best way to feed your cattle anyways.

[Tikker]

Grazing leads to erosion and isn't the best way to feed your cattle anyways.

and yet it's still the most common way to feed cattle

you should enlighten all the farmers Harrison, with your infinite knowledge



ps, cows don't eat the grass down to the dirt like goats do

pps, source for the best way to feed cows?

[Martrae]

that just seems weird

grazing is cheap compared to bringing in food for them

grass + weeds are free

granted, we have a lot of empty space in this part of the world, so lots of easy/cheap grazing

Grass and weeds don't necessarily make for the biggest cows, though. And letting them wander around builds muscles and muscles make for a tougher meat.

I agree...it is weird.

[The Kizzy]

Ugh this post wasnt a good idea as I am eating dinner.

[10sun]

Does anybody know why Mad Cow Disease spread so quickly through Britain amongst the livestock when prions transfer primarily through consumption?

[Diekan]

Mindia, how do you feel about monster drinks?

I like them as an alternative to coffee, because coffee tends to tear my stomach up, especially first thing in the morning. But I realize now that I may be overdoing it with the energy drinks.

psst... he was being sarcastic (making fun of you)... you mentioned your man-love of monster drinks in three different posts.... back to back.

[Diekan]

Does anybody know why Mad Cow Disease spread so quickly through Britain amongst the livestock when prions transfer primarily through consumption?

The idea is that BSE spread so quickly because farmers started feeding their cattle extra protein (in the form of ground up cow and sheep parts) to increase their rate of growth (and size). The protein feed was mass produced and shipped all over the country. Because they didn't know what as initially causing death in the cattle, a lot of the corpses were ground up and fed to living, healthy animals.

[Arlos]

Yeah, a lot of farmers were using cattle feed that was effectively made up of ground up cow parts. Basically bones and anything else unuseable/inedible gets ground up into a meal and combined with a few things and is served back to the still living animals. The problem is, any diseases in any of the "source" animals, and you're guaranteed to pass them along to the other ones. I believe the practice has been outlawed at this point for just that reason.

Just as an example though, it's not just cows that can do this. In New Guinea and areas around there, you can find people with a sickness called Kuru, or Laughing Disease. It's similar to mad cow, and the only way you can get it is to eat the brain of someone who's infected with it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)

-Arlos

[Narrock]

Mindia, how do you feel about monster drinks?

I like them as an alternative to coffee, because coffee tends to tear my stomach up, especially first thing in the morning. But I realize now that I may be overdoing it with the energy drinks.

psst... he was being sarcastic (making fun of you)... you mentioned your man-love of monster drinks in three different posts.... back to back.

psst... no shit, sherlock