Have you ever wondered what cows eat? Learn about a cow's ideal, natural diet and how it differs from what they are fed on factory farms.
When most of us picture a cow enjoying a meal, we envision beautiful pastures with grass and other plants for the cows to graze on. Unfortunately, this picturesque ideal is not the reality for most cows. Cow welfare and nutrition are no longer a priority, allowing factory farms to implement cost-effective and unsustainable feed such as corn, soybeans and their by-products.
The cows' natural diet consists mainly of grasses, legumes, alfalfa, clover and hay. After all, they are grazing animals. Many cows also enjoy fruit as a delicious snack. In fact, the average cow eats2% of their body weight per day, which provides an average of 24-26 pounds of food each day. That's a lot of food!
However, the vast majority of cows in the United States live on industrial farms. Factory farms rely on cheap and unsustainable livestock feed, such as corn and soy, to maximize profits at the expense of animal welfare. Below is a brief overview of what dairy and beef cows are fed on industrial farms:
dairy cows
In 2019, dairy cattle feed consisted of:39% corn in 16% DDG's(Dried distiller's grains). Additionally, soybeans are responsible for 13% of consumption when soybeans and flour are combined. Adding DDGs (other processed by-products) to the corn share represented 70% of all feed tonnage fed to dairy cows in 2019. Although dairy cows are fed some hay and grass, this is a smaller percentage than corn, soy and DDGs. In 2019, dairy cows consumed 83.2 million tons of alfalfa and hay, compared to 93.3 million tons of corn products, 7.5 million tons of soy products and 3.1 million tons of DDGs.
Meat cows
In 2019, the feed for the beef cows consisted of:57% corn in 21% DDG's. Adding DDGs to the corn share represented approximately 80% of all feed tonnage given to beef cows in 2019.
Just like dairy cows, beef cows get some hay and grass. It also makes up a smaller percentage than corn, soy and DDGs. In 2019, beef cows consumed 59.7 million tons of alfalfa and hay, compared to 107.7 million tons of corn products, 2.5 million tons of soy products and 13.9 million tons of DDGs.
The problem with the status quo of animal feed
The problem with corn and soybeans doesn't end there. These edible row crops could be fed to people. Instead, they are bred and produced at enormous prices. Raising billions of land animals annually in the United States consumes billions of pounds of human-edible crops and millions of acres of cropland – an inefficient system that endangers our environment, wildlife, health and food security. For example, the massive use of pesticides and herbicides in corn production directly contributes to biodiversity loss in the United States. In ourIndirect damagerapportResearch found that in 2018, 171.5 million pounds of glyphosate (a commonly used herbicide) was applied to corn and soybeans in the United States. Nearly £100.8 million is allocated to animal feed production. Because of the absurd amount of glyphosate useMonarch butterfliesis just one species whose habitats have been destroyed and whose population is threatened with extinction.
What you can do to help
You can help end factory farming and advocate for a food system without animal suffering.
