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  1. #1
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    * Farmers are now feeding cattle beer

    http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...st/bovine_beer

    NORWAY, Iowa - Cattlemen are hoping to raise a better bovine with beer. About a dozen eastern Iowa farmers have been spiking their cattle feed with beer. So far, the herds are lapping it up, said cattlemen Robert Miller.

    They like it so much that they hesitate to eat when their feed isn't mixed with beer, Miller said.

    It began about a year ago when an official at Fleck Sales, a Cedar Rapids beer distributor, contacted Fisher's Feed and Fertilizer in Norway, a small town southeast of Cedar Rapids.

    The company asked if the feed business would like to get free beer which had outlived its shelf life, not for its workers but to mix in with its feed, said Jack Fisher, the feed company's owner.

    Fisher said research shows that beer has vitamins, minerals, amino acids, carbohydrates and proteins, which all benefit cattle's diet.

    Beer is commonly used in cattle feed in Japan and Canada. The animals' complex digestive system breaks down the alcohol in beer, turning it into food energy, animal nutritionists said.

    Fisher took Fleck Sales up on its offer and now the beer is emptied into 5-gallon buckets which are taken to feedlots where the beer is given away.

    Fisher laughed when asked if he and his friends ever test the free shipments.

    "We have to make sure it's safe for the cattle," he said.

    Sid Shroff
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  2. #2
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    ... Well we got mad cow from feeding them brain, I can't see anything going wrong with the beer... unless we stop giving it to them that is...
    -Josh

  3. #3
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    mmmm . . . beer marinated steak . . .
    Sid Shroff
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  4. #4
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    mmmm . . . beer marinated steak . . .
    I was thinking the same as well! It will be interesting to see cows drinking beer, but I have a feeling it will give it alittle more taste to it. I guess if the cows eat enough of it they won't remember which cow they slept with and they won't care when they arrive at the slaughter house.
    Kerry Jones

  5. #5
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    Gotta be careful you can over-do anything.

    My granddad, skinflint that he is, went in halvers with my dad on a cow several years ago, he kept it on his pasture, and him and my dad split the feed costs and the cost of the cow. Then when it was slaughtered they split the meat.

    Well my dad thought for a while "man it sure ain't costing much to feed that cow" but it was summertime so he figured it was just grazing a lot.

    My granddad wasn't buying grain for it, he was getting expired bread for nearly free at the bread mill. The cow ate almost nothing but bread, it's whole diet was nothing but what grass it got and bread (and sweet cakes, and rolls and well you get the idea).

    The meat tasted AWFUL, seriously, bad, we ended up feeding most of it to our dogs it tasted .. kinda well, bready, sorta flour like, it was real nasty.

    Wonder what a cow that ate LOTS of beer (I'm sure these folks are not doing like my granddad did of COURSE but just mentioning how anything can be turned bad) would taste like...

    Expired bread is fine for cows (pigs, chickens, most anything on the farm will eat it) but not as the only real food you feed an animal.

    You should see my goats eat french fries....
    Gary Harris - the artist formerly known as Dixiesys
    resident grumpy redneck

  6. #6
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    Originally posted by Kerry Jones
    I was thinking the same as well! It will be interesting to see cows drinking beer, but I have a feeling it will give it alittle more taste to it. I guess if the cows eat enough of it they won't remember which cow they slept with and they won't care when they arrive at the slaughter house.
    We fed pigs a couple barrels of fermented apples once. Fermented fruit has quite a bit of alcohol in it. It was hilarious the pigs got so drunk they were all flopping over and grunting and just well, acting drunk, walking wobbly and falling down it was just hilarious. Wonder if they get hangovers?
    Gary Harris - the artist formerly known as Dixiesys
    resident grumpy redneck

  7. #7
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    Kind of ironic that his name is Miller?

  8. #8
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    ^ lol Varg. Didn't even notice that.

    Originally posted by Dixiesys
    We fed pigs a couple barrels of fermented apples once. Fermented fruit has quite a bit of alcohol in it.
    Drunk Pigs

    Originally posted by Kerry Jones
    I guess if the cows eat enough of it they won't remember which cow they slept with and they won't care when they arrive at the slaughter house.
    Wait until PETA gets a hold of this
    Sid Shroff
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  9. #9
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    Wait until PETA gets a hold of this
    Meh, if they get pissy at me for the comment i'll simply send them a postcard of my stepdad biting into a bloody rare steak that says "Happy New Years". My family way back during the 1930s use to run a ranch for the government. My grandma has told me a few things about it like if a cow died they couldn't eat it. The government would come by and pick it up so they know they weren't killing them to eat it, because it was a depression going on...
    Kerry Jones

  10. #10
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    Originally posted by Kerry Jones
    Meh, if they get pissy at me for the comment i'll simply send them a postcard of my stepdad biting into a bloody rare steak that says "Happy New Years".
    lol! I didnt mean they get a hold of your comment. But if they get an under cover operation on drunk cows What would they say? :lol:
    Sid Shroff
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  11. #11
    Insane.

    I hope this never takes off on large scale - will mean that I'll have to raise cows in my own backyard if I want to eat.

    Beer and me/Islam dont go well at all.

  12. #12
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    it could change the taste... anyone tasted one?

  13. #13
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    Originally posted by oonth
    . . .Beer and me/Islam dont go well at all.
    Ouch oonth! Didn't know about beer, you, & Islam. Can you not drink beer or alcohol at all?

    Originally posted by Tris-SA
    it could change the taste... anyone tasted one?
    I think it could too since the article said, "Cattlemen are hoping to raise a better bovine with beer."

    If it tasted better, I would pay more for beer beef. Forget about Certified Angus Beef :: I wan't Certified Beer Beef

    A small microbrewer could make this into a nice business or give beer to Cattlemen in exchange for a trademark name
    Sid Shroff
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  14. #14
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    Insane.

    I hope this never takes off on large scale - will mean that I'll have to raise cows in my own backyard if I want to eat.

    Beer and me/Islam dont go well at all
    Why would that matter with islam and achohol. If you think about it when the cow is cooked any achohol that is in would be burned out while cooking. Its like when you add some red wine into your sauce for pasta it burns out and gives alittle more taste to it.
    Kerry Jones

  15. #15
    Originally posted by Kerry Jones
    Why would that matter with islam and achohol. If you think about it when the cow is cooked any achohol that is in would be burned out while cooking. Its like when you add some red wine into your sauce for pasta it burns out and gives alittle more taste to it.
    Simple answer: Because the Quran says so. No alcohol means no alcohol, period. There is no ambuiguity.

    It does not matter if the TASTE burns out - but some of the chemicals and whatever from the beer have got to remain. And that is what is prohibited.

    I would say if few cows here and there take alcohol WITHOUT my knowledge due to pure coincidence, it might be okay. But, if this starts on a large scale, then I'm going to have to do my homework and make sure the meat I get is NOT from one of these drunken cows. Of course if this happens, I might as well move to some country place and start my own little farm to provide meat to all my friends and family

  16. #16
    Originally posted by LessHost
    Ouch oonth! Didn't know about beer, you, & Islam. Can you not drink beer or alcohol at all?

    Yep, none at all.

    Never have, never will, hopefully.

  17. #17
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    Originally posted by oonth
    Yep, none at all.

    Never have, never will, hopefully.
    That's cool! But is that a religion thing or a personal choice?

    *Feels stupid asking this question* Are there religions where you cannot drink any alcohol at all?

    Edit: Ah. saw your earlier post. Quran!
    Last edited by Sid Shroff; 12-24-2004 at 09:07 PM.
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  18. #18
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    oonth, I think maybe you should ask your cleric about this. It may be an exception since your not consuming it in a pure form. I think the interperation in the koran is probably drinking it like a bottle of tequlia. If you do ask your cleric tell us what he says.
    Kerry Jones

  19. #19
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    How do you know your pig hasn't eaten fermented apples? that's alcoholic, there is alcohol found in quite a bit of natural foods, pigs especially can get quite a bit of alcohol in a normal life....
    Gary Harris - the artist formerly known as Dixiesys
    resident grumpy redneck

  20. #20
    Originally posted by Dixiesys
    How do you know your pig hasn't eaten fermented apples? that's alcoholic, there is alcohol found in quite a bit of natural foods, pigs especially can get quite a bit of alcohol in a normal life....
    Possibly another reason why pigs and alochol are BOTH prohibited for us.

    Yeah, it's not pleasant grocery shopping. But with the Internet it makes it so much easier knowing what brand/company uses what to make something so we can avoid getting a product with any stains of alcohol or pig fat.

  21. #21
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    Oh, no pigs either eh? What about chickens? They eat some nasty stuf, like bugs and worms, or is bugs and worms ok? Ducks? Ducks can be gay (seriously) is eating a homosexual duck OK? We've covered cows... hmm what else, oh yeah fish? What if I pour a beer into the river, does that contaminate all the fish for you too? Yeah I'm being silly but not eating an animal because the ANIMAL might have eaten something you're not supposed to is kinda well, silly too.
    Last edited by 2Grumpy; 12-24-2004 at 09:30 PM.
    Gary Harris - the artist formerly known as Dixiesys
    resident grumpy redneck

  22. #22
    Originally posted by Dixiesys
    Oh, no pigs either eh? What about chickens? They eat some nasty stuf, like bugs and worms, or is bugs and worms ok? Ducks? Ducks can be gay (seriously) is eating a homosexual duck OK? We've covered cows... hmm what else, oh yeah fish? What if I poor a beer into the river, does that contaminate all the fish for you too? Yeah I'm being silly but not eating an animal because the ANIMAL might have eaten something you're not supposed to is kinda well, silly too.
    No, the ban is just for pigs None of the other animals I believe. I think there are "soft bans" on animals like dogs etc.

    Pigs are generally acknoledged by Muslims AND non-Muslims around the world as one of the most unclean animals. I was reading an ISLAMIC resource to a question of WHY pork is prohibited and found an interesting point by the respondent:

    Addressing the Christian who is likely to be convinced by his religious scriptures, the Bible prohibits the consumption of pork, in the book of Leviticus: “…and the swine, as he divideth the hoof, and be cloven footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcass shall ye not touch, they are unclean to you.” (Leviticus chapter 11 verse 7 and 8)



    Pork is also prohibited in the book of Deuteronomy: “And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you. Ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcass.” (Deuteronomy chapter 14 verse 8)
    http://islamonline.net/fatwa/english...hFatwaID=72346

    Now I am no religious expert to evaluate the technicalities here. But I do know many of the things that are prohibited by Islam are also prohibited in Christianity.

    Common things like fish, chicken, cows and to some extent ducks(if you say so) is fine, to my knowledge.

  23. #23
    Pigs are generally acknoledged by Muslims AND non-Muslims around the world as one of the most unclean animals.
    While that secular and religious myth still persists in modern society is beyond me. Pigs in general are actually clean animals. The mud wallling pig is nothing but fokelore. Sure they get dirty, but not because they choose to be that way or because they seek it, but because the farmers wouold cram dozens in a small dirt pen that eventually would get all muddy.

    They also make excellent pets. Better then dogs.

    Islam with pigs, Hindus with cows...what is it with religion and animals..lol.

    Not trying to get you to drop your beliefs, just find it well, strange...but then again, being a Christian, it's probably strange to others why we would eat paperthing bread and say it's the body of our savior..lol..that would make us cannibals I guess...LOL.

  24. #24
    While Islam does prohibit consumption of pigs and hinduism of cows - the reasons are VERY opposite.

    Hindus actually consider the cow sacred.

    I think the distinction is important.

  25. #25
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    Actually I think the reason why pigs were prohibited is because you could get pork poisoning and in those times it was common. Nowadays your less likely to get it because of the health procedures they have in place. My grandpa is a meat cutter and has only gotten pork poisoning once when he nicked himself with his knife when cutting it. Now its easy to make a full recovery with all the medicines we have on hand. What if all the animals were wiped out except for pigs. Would you have to starve to death or would you be allowed to eat it?
    Kerry Jones

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