Feed
Myth: Farm animals eat mostly stuff that humans can't eat.
Fact:
- Chickens and pigs don't.
- Cows, sheep and goats can, but this alone can't produce enough meat & milk to meet global demand. Hence the animal industry also depends on using human-edible food as feed.
- See below for details:
| Can it be eaten, digested and absorbed by... | Notes | ||
| Non-ruminants such as humans, chickens, pigs |
Ruminants such as cows, sheep, goats | ||
| Products such as grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, vegetables |
Yes | Yes | The grains fed to animals are the same grains that could be ground into flour and used in baking. This includes corn. |
| By-products such as wheat germ, molasses, soybean meal |
Yes | Yes | By-products often contain more nutrients than the main products! [read more]When wheat is processed into white flour, nutrient-rich wheat germ is left behind.Note: It's called "germ" because it was the part of the grain that germinates; it has nothing to do with infectious "germs". When sugarcane or beets are processed into white sugar, mineral-rich molasses is left behind. When soybeans are processed to make soybean oil, protein-rich soybean meal is left behind. Soybean meal is 52% protein, and it can be ground into soy flour and used in baking. |
| Crop residues such as peanut shells, straw, husks, empty corn cobs |
No | Yes | These are the fibrous parts left over from food crops. For example straw is left over from wheat and rice plants. Ruminants can digest fiber and use it as a source of calories. Non-ruminants cannot. |
| Grass & leaves (pasture) |
No | Yes | 60% of all farmland is already pasture; and that doesn't even include rangelands. |
Note: While it's true that ruminants can convert inedible fiber into edible protein, mushrooms can do this even more efficiently.