SHOCKER: US farmers feeding cattle gummy worms, marshmallows, and ice cream sprinkles
Natural News — The cost of genetically-modified (GM) corn and soy feed for conventional cattle is surging so high, and availability plunging so low, as a result of persistent drought conditions and resultant crop failures that conventional feedlot farmers are having to seek out less expensive and more plentiful alternatives. But such alternatives are not exactly the types of things you would typically expect a farmer to feed his animals: corn syrup-laden gummy worms, nutrient-devoid marshmallows, and chemical-laden ice cream sprinkles are among the many junk foods now being served to American cattle.
The Vancouver Sun reports via Reuters that a whole new “alternative” feed market is emerging out of the ongoing crop crunch, as farmers all across the U.S. are running out of common feed options for their herds. Because corn-based feeds are now too expensive or simply unavailable, feedlot operators in Indiana, North Dakota, and elsewhere are buying leftover candy scraps, pastries, extruded cereals, gummy snacks, and even food waste to feed to their cows, which end up directly fueling the production of conventional meat and dairy products sold nationwide to American consumers.
“Brokers are gathering up discarded food products and putting them out for the highest bid to feed lot operators and dairy producers, who are scrambling to keep their animals fed,” says Reuters. “In the mix are cookies, gummy worms, marshmallows, fruit loops, orange peels, even dried cranberries. Cattlemen are feeding virtually anything they can get their hands on that will replace the starchy sugar content traditionally delivered to the animals through corn.”
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