Beginning of my trip

Driving down a long road that seemed never ending I thought to myself how my trip to this dairy farm will be the worst trip I have ever gone to. Learning about cows was not much of my interest and giving up my Sunday was not satisfying.

 As my eyes glazed around the front of the farm all I could see were cows. The smell was horrifying like an overweight person who’s sitting next to you in a  crowded bus on a hot summer day and seemed as if they had not heard of a bath before.

My uncle named Ramon has being working for this dairy farm for about five years and it seemed as if he had gotten used to the smell. I had asked him a week before if he would give me a tour around the farm and see how things work. He gladly said yes and so my trip around this dairy farm began.

                                                                                    

The cows on this farm are fed corn along with cotton and alfafa. They use machines that mixes corn, alfafa, cotton, and little tablets of vitamins together and then they distribute it to each corral. My uncle mentioned that this farm has its own agricultural section where they raise alfafa, corn, and cotton. The farmers at this farm have to take care of the fields along with the cows and the milking process.

Maternity Process

The first corral we saw as we arrived to the farm was what my uncle called the "Maternity". The maternity as he mentioned is where they put the cows who are five days away from giving birth. After they give birth the cows are transferred to another corral to which my uncle reffered to as "Hospital". In this corral the cows are kept for forty days to heal. After those forty days they are transferred to a different corral where they are mixed with bulls to get pregnat again.

How to identify a cow?

He started telling me that they have over thirty thousand cows in the farm and that they identify the cows by numbers and tags which are either green or orange. The green tag represents female baby cows and the orange tags represent older female cows. Each tag has its own number which makes the farmers job easier to identify them.

Calf (Baby Cows)

Once the baby cows are born their separated from their mother an hour after they are born. They are then put inside a small trailer in which they stay in for approxiamtely six hours. There the baby cows are surrounded by red lights which give baby cows warmth and energy.

After they have completed their six hours inside the trailer they are put into these individual corrals. The baby cows also known as calf don’t see their mother after they are put in these corrals. They are fed milk from different cows but in bottles.

Once the calf has reached six months they are put into a special section where they are still being fed milk but in long trays which they share with other calves.

After two months they are then transferred to a corral on the other side of the farm. There the calves are now being fed alfalfa along with different types of corn.

One thing that amazed me during my trip was when my uncle mentioned that when female calf reach one year of age they are injected with cow sperm by a veterinarian to get them pregnat. They are no longer considered a calf but rather a fully grown cow ready to use as production for milk. The red line going down the middle of their head lets the rest of the farmers know that the cow has officially become pregnant.

The cows that have the most amount of milk in their udder are put in the corral in front of the milk factory.

Milk Production

When we entered this building the sound of machines and pumps echoed through my ears. The long narrow hall that was full of pumps was used to milk the cows. These pumps had a chain that connected all the pieces together. This pump also consisted of two tubes that where connected to a circular object which the milk will go through. These tubes led the milk to pipes which led the milk to a big tank which contained all of the milk. Once the milk reached the tank it is kept to a certain temperature until a truck from different milk companies come to retreat it and take it to another factory where it is then put into gallons and sold.

Red Udder Paint

As I saw how the pumps sucked all the milk out of the cows I also saw a bucket full of what looked like blood. I immediately asked my uncle what it was and he responded that they call it "Red udder ointment" and they put that ointment in the cow’s udder before they are milked to prevent diseases from getting to the milk and the cow.

The Birth Experience

  

As my trip to this farm was coming to an end my uncle spotted one of the female cows that was giving birth to a new calf. As tired as I was from learning about the farm I couldn’t help but stay to witness the birth of this new calf. A farmer was getting ready to pull out the baby cow. The farmers wife was there with her three kids. She looked at me and said in amazement how it was my lucky day because they have being waiting to see a birth for months now. The birth process took about five minutes. When the new calf was born I couldn’t help but smile and think how the worst trip turned out to be the best trip I have ever gone to.

A Day at the Dairy Farm

            Driving down a long road that seemed never ending I thought to myself how my trip to this dairy farm will be the worst trip I have ever gone to. This trip was supposed to inform me of where our milk comes from and how it gets from a cow to a gallon. I started to daydream and imagined myself being surrounded by muddy stinky cows in the middle of their maneuver.  My day dream quickly came to an end when a horrifying smell was going through my nostrils as I approached the farm. The smell was like an overweight person who’s sitting next to you in a crowded bus on a hot summer day and seemed as if they had not heard of a bath before. As I waited for my uncle to come and meet with me for a tour around the dairy farm, all I could think about was that horrible smell. As my eyes glazed around the front of the farm all I could see were cows.        

            I was so distracted on that disgusting smell and the cows surrounding the farm that I had not notice my uncle standing next to me. My uncle named Ramon has being working for this dairy farm for about five years and it seemed as if he had gotten used to the smell. He welcomed me with a smile and a hug and then we started walking towards a corral that he referred to as “maternity”. He started telling me that they have over thirty thousand cows in the farm and this first corral was where they keep cows that are about to give birth within the next five days. He also mentioned that they identify the cows by numbers and tags which are either green or orange. The green tag represents female baby cows and the orange tags represent older female cows.

            He then walked behind the maternity corral and pointed at a trailer that was old and rusty. As we approached it he said that inside that trailer there where little baby cows that where born last night around ten pm. He opened the back door of the trailer and allowed me to take a look. There were about four baby cows surrounded by red lights. I asked him what the red lights were for and he responded by saying that the red lights are small heaters that give baby cows warmth and energy. Once the baby cows are born they last one hour with the mother and then their separated and brought to this trailer where they stay for six hours.  

            We then left the trailer and walked passed the maternity corral. From a distance I saw what looked like little pen houses surrounded by a fence. As we walked closer I could see baby cows inside the fences. My uncle then proceeded in explaining that after they have completed their six hours inside the trailer they are put into these individual corrals. I asked if the baby cows where fed milk by their mother. He then responded that the baby cows also known as calf are fed milk from different cows but in bottles and never again do they have any contact with its mother. Once the calf has reached six months they are put into a special section where they are still being fed milk but in long trays. After two months they are then transferred to a corral on the other side of the farm. There the calves are being fed alfalfa and cotton along with different types of corn and vitamins.

            We then walked back to his car and drove off to take a look around the rest of the farm. We started heading towards the back of the farm and then we approached a corral that had cows that weren’t adults but neither were they calves. One thing that amazed me during my trip was when my uncle mentioned that this section was for female calf and when they reach one year of age they are injected with cow sperm by a veterinarian to get them pregnant. I asked him why do they get them pregnant so fast and he mentioned because it makes the production of milk faster and that is exactly the purpose of this farm. We then stepped out his vehicle and as I looked at these female cows I realized a red line going down the middle of their head. My uncle mentioned that the red line let the rest of the farmers know that the cow has officially become pregnant.

            The second thing that amazed me during my trip was that they put all the cows that have given birth in a corral that my uncle called “hospital”. This hospital holds cows that just gave birth for forty days. Once they reach those forty days they are put into a corral where bulls are ready to get them pregnant again. My uncle also mentioned that the milk that these cows produce is being taken away from them through machines. Before he drove to the small factory were the milk is taken away he explained how the cows that have the most amount of milk in their udder are put in corrals nearest to the factory.

            As we approached the factory I didn’t seemed to realize that I had parked my car right in front. The building looked like a house rather than a factory. When we entered this building the sound of machines and pumps echoed through my ears. I then saw a long narrow hall that was full of pumps that where used to milk the cows. As I saw how the pumps took all the milk out of the cows I also saw a bucket full of what looked like blood. I immediately asked my uncle what it was and he responded that they call it “Red udder ointment” and they put that ointment in the cow’s udder before they are milked to prevent diseases from getting to the milk and the cow. The pumps consisted of two tubes that where connected to a circular object which the milk will go through. These tubes led the milk to pipes which led the milk to a big tank which contained all of the milk. Once the milk reached the tank it is kept to a certain temperature until a truck from different dairy companies come to retreat it and take it to another factory where it is then put into gallons and sold.

            I had now answered my question of where our milk comes from and how it gets from a cow to a gallon, I was glad to know that my trip was finally coming to an end. Finally we had reached the maternity corral again and I started saying goodbye to my uncle when I saw a farmer running inside the maternity corral and what happened next was amazing. The farmer was running to help out one of the female cows that was giving birth to its new calf. As tired as I was from learning about the farm I couldn’t help but stay to witness the birth of this new calf. A wife whose husband works at the farm was there with her three kids. She looked at me and said in amazement how it was my lucky day because they have being waiting to see a birth for months now.  When the new calf was born I couldn’t help but smile and think how the worst trip turned out to be the best trip I have ever gone to.

           

Living Conditions (quantity not quality)

A cow being raised in horrifying living conditions doesn’t guarantee our food to be as healthy as if they were being raced properly. In an article about farm animals The American Meat Institute (AMI) summed up its viewpoint by stating that “Healthy animals whose welfare is carefully respected result in safe, wholesome, high quality meat and poultry products” (Farm Animals). Common sense seems to indicate that raising our cows in healthy and careful ways and caring about our quality can be more rewarding than having them live in unhealthy livestock’s.

Qauntity of our milk

      

 The farmer’s goal is to extract the baby cow's from the mother and use the mother’s milk for dairy products. They also make the production of cows faster by breeding the mother again.  They feed them hormones and other anitibiotics to make their milk production faster.

Grass not Corn

Cows having a rumen stomach and feeding them grass can help our environment more than by feeding them corn. Michael Pollan agrees when he writes “Truly this is an excellent system for all concerned: for the grasses for the bacteria, for the animals, and for us, the animals’ eaters” (pg70).

Quantity v.s Quality

Is our food being processed carefully enough to prevent diseases, infections, or other illness from affecting our bodies? It seems like if everything that has to do with food has to be fast which makes us think that they want to produce more (quantity) rather than having healthy food or healthy livings for these animals (quality). These animals are being born just to live in poor conditions and be killed. Baby cows are being pulled away
from their mother and cows are not being fed what they are created to eat. We can fix this problem by changing our ability from caring about our quantity to caring about our quality which includes the health production of our beef and the life of the cows.
Baby cows also known as cattle are being taken away from their mother when they are less then one day old these are called Veal Calves. The farmer’s goal is to extract the baby cow form the mother and use the mother’s milk for dairy products. They also make the production of cows faster by breeding the mother again. The cattle’s are put in dark crates which they stay in until they have to be transferred to the slaughter houses. They are being fed food products that make their meat stay white. These food products make most cattle anemic and suffer from other illness such as pneumonia or diarrhea (Gaunt). Cattle at feedlots also have an unnatural diet which makes the cattle gain weight faster. This diet causes chronic digestive pain and liver problems in most of the cattle that are being raised for our production of beef (Gaunt).
This shows how food industries only care about the quantity of our food. The living conditions of these animals can affect how healthy our food is but farmers have focus only on how much we are producing putting aside the quality of their products. As people shop in supermarkets they don’t realize where their food comes from or how. This gives farmers and an opportunity to keep things “behind the scenes” meaning creating food that is not being processed correctly but the consumer will never find out unless it causes health issues. Farmers are also feeding their cows corn which is a food that they were not created to eat.
In his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, Michael Pollan, maintains that “The co-evolutionary relationship between cows and grass is one of nature’s wonders; it also happens to be the key to understanding just about everything about modern meat”(pg70). Michael Pollans point is that Cows are designed to eat grass not corn. They have a ruminant stomach which is any animal that digests its food in steps such as grass (U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center). If they are designed to eat things such as grass why are we feeding them corn? Quantity is a main factor of why we seem to care more of the production than the actual well being of our livestock. We can change the living conditions of these animals by at least feeding them the appropriate food that they are suppose to be consuming even though it will affect the rapid production of our food.
Cows having a rumen stomach and feeding them grass can help our environment more than by feeding them corn. Michael Pollan agrees when he writes “Truly this is an excellent system for all concerned: for the grasses for the bacteria, for the animals, and for us, the animals’ eaters” (pg70). We should care more about the quality of our food and how it’s being produced.
A cow being raised in horrifying living conditions doesn’t guarantee our food to be as healthy as if they were being raced properly. In an article about farm animals The American Meat Institute (AMI) summed up its viewpoint by stating that “Healthy animals whose welfare is carefully respected result in safe, wholesome, high quality meat and poultry products” (Farm Animals). Common sense seems to indicate that raising our cows in healthy and careful ways and caring about our quality can be more rewarding than having them live in unhealthy livestock’s.
Cornelia Butler Flora apparently assumes that “Beef is raised in three phases before it is processed: calves are raised on pasture and range land, as feeder cattle they feed on pasture, crop residue, and range land, and finally they go to feedlots, where they are fattened for slaughter.” Many people would assume that this is true but feedlots are now skipping the first two phases and jumping to the last phase. The whole idea for this procedure is again the quantity of who can produce the most in a short amount of time. This makes me think that farmers just do their job not even caring for the animal or for our food but rather for the check that they receive for producing all this food.
As food industries such as Tyson, Stony Field Farm, Dreyers and many other food corporations increase their production of food they forget about the importance of quality. All these food corporations have overpowered most of the local farmers that exist today. They hired these farmers to work their own land but produce the product for the company. They trick farmers into wanting to produce more of the livestock than actually caring about the livestock.
Some solutions for these problems should be how we raise our beef products. Cows shouldn’t be living in their own maneuver or being fed food that they were not created to eat. Rather than caring about our quantity farmers and other agricultural corporations should be thinking about the quality. Although it will slow the production of food theirs a chance that there will be more consumers trying to buy good quality beef.
The government can also open up many local farm markets which can increase the farmer’s wages. Not only would it be beneficiary for the farmer but to the consumer as well. The main purpose is for these local farm markets to produce agricultural food that is good in quality and not having a mistreatment of their livestock. This would be a good solution so that farmers can care for the well-being of the animal without having food industries such as Tyson shut your farm down because you didn’t want to do as they said regarding the living of your livestock.
Rearranging the way we raise our livestock shouldn’t be a big problem. In my opinion expenses would be cheaper because now they will be eating grass from the ground rather than buying the corn we feed them. Getting rid of the cows maneuver and having them live in nice grass areas should decrease the toxic and diseases that keeps contaminating these animals. For the last part we should change the perspective of industries thinking about quantity and making them change their mind of focusing on the quality of their food production.

References

Flora, Cornelia Butler. “Cattle.” Encyclopedia of Food and Culture,001 (2003)
Gaunt N Stanley and Roger M. Harrington –Raising Veal Calves “Animal Rights Concers.” Facts on Animal Rights and veg*n issues:(2009).web. 17 February 2010
Goetzman, Keith. “Wild Greens”Cows Eat Grass’ and Other Inflammatory Statements,9 August 2010. 10 pars.web.19 February 2011
Pollan Michael. “The Feedlock Making Meat”. Omnivore’s Dilemma. New York:Penguin Books 2006. pgs 70-79. Print
U.S Dairy Forage Research Center—USDA Agricultural Research Service. “What Do Dairy Cows Eat? Foods That We Can’t” Wioming:Madison, 17 December 2010.Web. 20 February 2010.

No Fast Food Challenge

This Challenge of no fast food for a week turned out to be harder than i thought. I ended up eating fast food the next moring and i couldnt beleive how much fast food i was actually eating. It was difficult for me since i spend a night at the hospital because my best friend was having a baby and all i could eat was fast food. The first night i ate king taco which i didnt count as fast food but thursday morning i had breakfast at Mc Donald's. On Friday i had hamburger with fries and a drink at a local hamburger restaurant. Saturday i had dominoes pizza with water and sunday i had a hamburger with fries and a drink as well. I was dissapointed at the fact that i couldnt stop eating fast food not even for a day and surprised at how much fast food i was consuming with out realizing it.