Beef “it’s what’s for dinner”

1. Beef“it’s what’s for dinner” Presented by Sarah Mensen

2. Definitions Bull Steer Cow

3. Outline • History • Kurgan People • India • Spain • The American West • Production and Land use • Breeds • Technology and Workers • Health, and Safety • Consumption • Sustainable Beef?

4. History • Aurochs • Highland shorthorns • Mesopotamia

5. History • Religious experiences • Mythology • Bulls-strength and power • Cows represented fertility. • Greek God Dionysus • The Dinka wedding ceremony

6. Kurgan People • Neolithic Cowboys • Ukraine • The first to breed horses that could be ridden. • Power • Herds, mobile, military. • Priests • Warriors • Commoners

7. India • Aryan nomads • Alliance with the people • Hindu vs. Buddhism • Holy Cow

8. Spain • The New World • Christopher Columbus • Fertilizing the New World • Mexican Independence The first cowboy of America

9. The American West • Free land!!! • Buffalo • Native Americans • Colonel Richard Irving Dodge’s account

10. Production and Land Use • The life of a Steer • The Big Five • The Big Four • CAFOs • Grains vs. Grass • Grazing techniques

11. Breeds • Texas Longhorn • Angus • Hereford • Brahman

12. Technology and Workers • Assembly line • Workers • Food or Product? • Or

13. Health and Safety • 1986: Discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly called mad cow disease, in cattle in Britain. • 1988: British government bans cattle feed containing cow parts and begins destroying BSE-infected cattle. (Eventually 3.7 million cattle are killed.) • 1990: British agriculture minister appears on television urging his 4-year-old daughter to eat a hamburger, assuring the public that beef is safe. • 1993: Canada reports its first case of mad cow disease. • 1996: The British government admits BSE-infected beef may transmit mad cow disease to humans in the form of vCJD, or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease. (The classic form of CJD previously appeared mostly in the elderly.) • 1997: The United States and Canada ban cattle feed containing cow parts. • July 2001: The European Union tightens BSE testing; now, one out of four cows is screened. • September 2001: Japan reports its first case of mad cow disease. • October 2001: Japan begins BSE testing on all cattle slaughtered for human consumption. • May 2003: Despite increased safety measures, scientists discover a single new case of mad cow disease in Canada. • Dec. 23, 2003: The United States reports its first case of mad cow disease in Washington state. • Dec. 30, 2003: The USDA announces new regulations on cattle slaughter, including bans on using downer cattle and mechanically separated meat for human consumption.

14. Diet • Is it healthy? * Equal parts of tomatoes, spinach, lima beans, peas, potatoes**Equal parts of beef, pork, chicken, whole milk

15. Consumption • Total U.S. beef consumption:    2007: 28.1 billion pounds     2008: 27.3 billion pounds • U.S. beef exports (commercial carcass weight and value):    2007: 1.431 billion pounds, $2.175 billion     2008: 1.888 billion pounds, $2.978 billion • U.S. beef exports as percent of production:     2007: 5.4 percent    2008: 7.1 percent • U.S. cattle imports from Canada: 2007: 1.405 million head 2008: 1.581 million head • U.S. cattle imports from all sources: 2007: 2.495 million head 2008: 2.284 million head

16. Sustainable Beef • Is it possible? • Become a vegan or… • Eat less meat

17. Biliography • Bovine Bazaar 2009 The History of Cattle Breed. Electronic document. http://www.bovinebazaar.com/history.htm. Accessed May 5, 2010. • Bill Ganzel 2007 IBP, Boxed Beef & a New "Big Four." Electronic document. http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/money_17.html Accessed May 5, 2010. • United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 2009 U.S. Beef and Cattle Industry: Background Statistics and Information. Electronic document. http://www.ers.usda.gov/news/bsecoverage.htm Accessed May 5, 2010. • National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. 2004 Rotational Grazing Livestock Systems Guide. Electronic document. http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/rotategr.html Accessed May 5, 2010 • Keith Akers Sustainable Beef? Electronic document. http://www.compassionatespirit.com/Sustainable-Beef.htm Accessed May 5, 2010. • Williams, David Willard. Beef Cattle Production in the South. Danville, Ill: The Interstate], 1941.   • Campbell, T. Colin, and Thomas M. Campbell. The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health. Dallas, Tex: BenBella Books, 2005.  VegSource Interactive, Inc. • How Much Water to Make One Pound of Beef? Electronic document. http://www.vegsource.com/articles/pimentel_water.htm Accessed May 5, 2010.

18. Bibliography • Andreas, Carol. 1994. Meatpackers and beef barons: company town in a global economy. Niwot, Colo: University Press of Colorado. • Lodrick, Deryck O. Sacred Cows, Sacred Places: Origins and Survivals of Animal Homes in ndia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981. • Wuerthner, George, and Mollie Yoneko Matteson. Welfare Ranching: The Subsidized Destruction of the American West. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2002. • Eric Schlosser. 2002. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal New York: Houghton Mifflin • Andreas, Carol. Meatpackers and Beef Barons: Company Town in a Global Economy. Niwot, Colo: University Press of Colorado, 1994. • Rimas, Andrew, and Evan D. G. Fraser. Beef: The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat, and Muscle Shaped the World. New York, NY: William Morrow, 2008.   • Hopkins, John A. Economic History of the Production of Beef Cattle in Iowa. Iowa City, Ia: State historical Society of Iowa, 1928.   • Rifkin, Jeremy. Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture. New York, N.Y., U.S.A.: Dutton, 1992.