By Nikki Fischer
This week my fellow interns and I had the opportunity to visit some cattle
Did you know that Missouri is ranked 3rd in U.S.
for beef cow inventory?!
On our tour we were able to see the different practices
between dairy farmers and beef. While the farms were quite different, one thing
did stay the same: the treatment of the animals. Recently, the media has had a
hay-day (pun intended) when it comes to cattle farmers. Videos have been
released showing horrendous treatment of the animals, but I can tell you no
malpractice was happening here! The cows at both farms seemed happy and healthy
and the farmers took much pride in that.
The first farm we were able to tour was the dairy farm. We
were even able to see a calf that was 20 minutes old! The workers were kind
enough to show us how the cows are milked daily. On average, a dairy cow will
produce 6-7 gallons of milk each day! Did you know milk contains 9 essential
vitamins? Calcium, protein, vitamin D, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B5, vitamin
B12, vitamin B2, and phosphorus all help building and maintaining strong bones
and teeth! One of my favorite parts was going through the everyday life of a
farmer. The work isn’t easy, the days are long, but farmers are so passionate
about what they do. 
The second farm taught us so much about beef! Did you know
that 91% of beef farms and ranches are family owned? Not to mention, U.S. beef
has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world! In the U.S. the
greenhouse gas emission from cattle is about 2.0%. While beef has a negative
stigma around it currently, lean beef is packed with nutrients and has
relatively low calories.
To be considered “lean” a 3.5 ounce of beef must have:
less than 10g of total fat, less than or equal to 4.5g saturated fat, and less
than 95mg of cholesterol. The myth around meat is that Americans are consuming
too much red meat, but in reality, the average American consumes about 1.7oz of
beef daily. The recommended amount is about 5.5oz from the Protein Foods group
per day. Beef is packed with iron, choline, protein, vitamins B6 and B12,
phosphorus, zinc, niacin, riboflavin, and selenium, which gives you the
nutrients your body needs!
We had so much fun with the Missouri Beef Council on Monday
and learned so many new things! I am so glad we were welcomed into the farms to
see what happens behind the scenes.
For more information on dairy or to join the official Dairy
Nourishes Network: https://www.nationaldairycouncil.org/content/2019/national-dairy-council-join-the-dairy-nourishes-network
To learn more about the Missouri Beef Industry Council: https://www.mobeef.org/nutrition
No comments:
Post a Comment