Over the centuries, cattle have been of tremendous benefit to mankind.Cattle can be raised on land that is not suitable for cropping.Beef is an extremely nutritious food as it contains a complete set of proteins,B12,haem-iron ( far more easily absorbed and utilised by the human body than vegetarian non-haem iron), zinc and cholesterol - a necessary ingredient of sex hormones!*Beef is an aphrodisiac food?. There are also dairy products such as milk, cream,sour cream, yoghurt,butter and all sorts of cheeses.Paint used to be made from milk.Some organic gardeners in Oz are now sprinkling skimmed milk powder on the garden beds. It keeps the pests away and yields healthier plants.
As meat, beef can served in a number of ways, starting with juicy grilled steaks,the succulent Sunday roast served with gravy and roast vegies,a variety of tender casseroles,lasagne, chilli-con-carne, tacos as well as the ubiquitous hamburgers and meat pies.
Beef bones are good for hearty soups and delicious gourmet gravies .Buttons, some knife and brush handles were made from bones.Fine bone china also requires bones.A large bone is a treat for man's best friend.Blood & bone fertiliser is a good general purpose fertiliser and is preferred by many organic growers.Bonemeal is used to make chicken food.
Good old fashioned steamed puddings used suet.Calves feet are needed to make gelatine.Many memorable desserts require gelatine such as jelly, sherry trifle, bavrois,some mousses and cold soufflés.Car tyres also require gelatine in their manufacture.Many pills are in a gelatine capsule. In the old days calves feet were used to make furniture glue. Tallow was used to make candles. It was also used in some whitewashes. Musical instruments used to be made from cattle horns. Without cattle horns and cow manure it would not be possible to make preparation 500 used in bio-dynamic farming.
There are all sorts of uses for cow manure such as soil improvement, potting mix, special compost to grow mushrooms and gap filler for mud brick buildings. Some countries cow manure is used as a fuel.
There is no substitute for leather. For a resilient, supple, strong, material, leather wins hands down. It is essential for quality footwear. It is the only thing the uppers of work boots can be made from. It is an essential material to make saddles for horses and other equestrian artefacts. Even it were possible to buy a saddle made from PVC, it would be an insult to the horse to have such a saddle fitted. In the old days the suspension on old hose drawn stagecoaches were made from leather. Before modern V-belts were invented, drive belts for large industrial machinery used drive belts made from leather. Any blade with a very fine sharp edge such as razor blades or surgical instruments would be finished on a leather strop. Engine gaskets used to be made form leather. Leather aprons as a protective piece of clothing are used in industries such as metal casting. Let us not forget such personal items such as wallets, handbags and belts.
Before mechanisation, horses had the speed but bullock teams had the torque. These were capable of enormous feats of strength. There is still a working bullock team in Australia. To see a bullock train in action is a truly magnificent site. Essentially the petrol engine replaced the horse; the diesel engine replaced the bullock. Anyone know where the word bulldozer comes from? In North America the term for a long distance lorry driver is teamster, from the days when there where bullock teams hauling freight.
There should be a national cattle day with a whole day given in primary schools to teaching school kids about the significance of cattle. There should be school excursions to slaughterhouses, cheese factories, butter factories, tanneries, beef farms and dairy farms.There could be ticker-tape parades through city streets with of different breeds of cattle as part of the parade. There could be announcements over a public address system of the different breeds. First we could have the Friesians followed by the Jerseys, then the Herefords, the Aberdeen Angus, the Ayreshires, Scottish Highland, British White, Welsh Blacks, Irish Dexters, White Park and Charolais. Fact sheets could also be given out to members of the public wanting more information. We could have counselling sessions for people who are uncomfortable with the idea of killing animals. Also slaughtering and butchering demonstrations. Instead of environmentally unfriendly confetti spray water on the cattle with a garden hose with a rose fitted the end of it. We should celebrate by eating cheeseburgers (with the buns buttered with butter not that gawdawful margarine) served up with milkshakes made with full cream, organic or better still, bio-dynamic milk.
* If you have been led to believe that cholesterol is some sort of poison that is to be avoided at all costs, consider the following facts.(1) France has a high rate of cholesterol consumption but a low rate of heart disease. Much the same can be said for Spain and Greece.(2)You only have to look in a high school biology text book to find out that cholesterol is an essential ingredient of every cell of not just humans but of every animal.In other words without cholesterol, you would not exist! (3) A cholesterol lowering drug Cerivastatin (R) was withdrawn form worldwide sale after many people had become seriously ill and the 100th person had died from taking the drug. Case proven, cholesterol is not bad for your health.