Posted: 3/21/2016

Clara, Plankinton School

 

My Favorite South Dakota Grown Product 

 

Beef - eaten 70 million times a day across America. It is an important part of a healthy diet by providing vitamin 812, protein and iron. However, not all of a calf is steak. A 1,000 pound calf will provide about 650 pounds of edible meat. The rest of the weight is sold as by-products - edible, inedible and medical.

 

Edible by-products are things we can eat. Did you know chewing gum, gummy bears, marshmallows, ice cream and gelatin desserts all come from beef?

 

Inedible by-products are things we cannot eat. You probably know that beef hide is used to make leather, but did you know pigskins, or footballs, are actually produced from cattle hide? One cowhide can produce enough leather to make 20 footballs, 18  volleyballs or 12  basketballs. About 3,000 cowhides are required to make footballs for one NFL season.

 

Other inedible beef by-products include soap, lotion, detergent and fireworks made from beef fat. Bones, horns, and hooves are made into piano keys, glues, paper, combs, toothbrushes, and violin string. The hair from the ears and tails of beef cattle make artist brushes.

 

Medical by-products are things used by your doctor. Insulin is perhaps the best-known drug that comes from cattle. There are 5 million diabetic people in the United States, and 1.25 million of them require insulin daily. It takes the pancreases from 26 cattle to provide enough insulin to keep one diabetic person alive for a year.

 

Beef - it's more than just cheeseburgers!

 

 

Source:  www.cattle-empire.net