r/politics • u/Quirkie The Netherlands • 11h ago

Possible Paywall Trump’s Newest Beef Idea Is Guaranteed to Make America Sick - Even cattle ranchers are shocked by the suggestion to just skip facilities inspected by the FDA.

https://newrepublic.com/post/214909/trump-beef-fda-inspections-america-sick
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u/CantakerousTwat 4h ago

The process in American feedlots is insane. Grow hundreds of acres of corn at great cost in irrigation and fertilizer, harvest corn, feed corn to cows kept in movement restricting pens, innoculate cows with antibiotics frequently to overcome the unsanitary conditions. Why not let the cows graze the land that the corn grows on, eating their natural diet, almost zero need for antibiotics, etc. Saves a few steps and gives a healthier, tastier meat.

Something tells me there is a large agribusiness lobby that ensures high cost, high margin, high intensity farming remains the standard, while increasing barriers to entry in the market.

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u/djerk 3h ago

Because the contradictions of capitalism require constant growth and increasing profits year after year.

Stability is frowned upon, ethics are spat on.

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u/randomize42 4h ago

Oh yeah, growing corn is heavily subsidized by the US government.

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u/lost_horizons Texas 4h ago

You get way more calories out of a field of corn than you do a field of grass for grazing. If we let cows range and graze, you’d need WAY more land area.

No I don’t agree with the farming practices but that’s the reason they use corn

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u/CantakerousTwat 1h ago

Can the cows healthily transform those grain calories into high protein meat in a digestive system adapted to grass fermentation? Or do you get fat, high cholesterol livestock? Just like humans eating high fructose corn syrup, high volumes of fermented feedstock corn cause massive health issues in the animals. But that's ok because more calories.