99% -- minus the moo!

Lipstick, Jell-O, dog food, piano keys, dish soap, and for those of you old enough to remember, film.  What do all of these have in common? These are just a few of the products that we use everyday that come from the byproducts of beef. Let me preface this with products that are made from byproducts are safe and pose not direct threat to your health or overall well being (unless you eat the entire bag of marshmallows by yourself on your next camp-out, then that's your fault!)

Myth: The only part of the animal we use, is the meat.
Fact: We use 99% of the animal. In addition to the meat - the hide, the hooves, and even the bones get used.

Lets start with the hide. Leather purses, shoes, wallets, office chairs, and car seats are all made from the hide. In fact, from 1 cow hide you can get
12 basketballs or
144 baseballs or
20 footballs or
18 volleyballs or
18 soccer balls or
12 baseball gloves.

Where do marshmallows come into the picture you ask? Marshmallows are made from the gelatin that comes from the connective tissues. Other familiar products made with gelatin include gum, fruit snacks, gummy bears and Jell-O!

Ever hear that glue was made from hooves, well I am here to confirm that suspicion The hooves of cattle and horses are key ingredients in glue. But what might surprise you, is that the sticky part (the one that hurts so bad to rip off) of a band-aid is also made from the fatty acids which can be turned into adhesives! The power of fatty acids doesn't stop there, they can be found in toilet paper and soap *GASP* to optimize softness!

With all this by-product talk, lets not forget about the most obvious and common byproducts...FOOD! Juicy steaks and hot dogs, milk and cheese, even yogurt! 

Stearic acid (a fatty acid): is a popular ingredient in tires, lipstick, and lotion. (Animal byproducts are not used in all cosmetics, as some people have allergies)

While not near as popular in the United States as other places around the world, we can't leave out the nutritional benefits from some of the other byproducts: 

Livers: high in vitamin A, iron, zinc, B vitamins, vitamins C and D, copper, and fatty acids.

Hearts: contain large amounts of iron, and are a good source of selenium, zinc, phosphorous, niacin, and riboflavin, but are very low in sodium. 

Brains: rich in niacin, phosphorus, B12 and vitamin C

Tripe: abundant protein and B12

Sweetbreads: high in vitamin C

Kidneys: high in protein and contain riboflavin and niacin.

Tongues: good source of B12, but low in sodium

(USDA, Where's the (Not) Meat? Byproducts from Beef and Pork Production.) 

I snagged this picture from Facts About Beef blog.

As we discovered, there is more to a beef cow that just a hamburger! Don't hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns! Have a great day!

Just the Facts - Beef Byproducts. http://ardc.unl.edu/JTF-BEEFBYPRODUCTS.pdf
Marti, Daniel. Rachel Johnson. Kenneth Mathews, Jr. Where's the (Not) Meat Byrpoducts from Beef and Pork Production. Nov. 2011.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/147867/ldpm20901.pdf

Nothing is ever nothing

The topic for today ... the hippomane. You may be asking yourself what this is, and with good reason. I will admit that I once did not know what the hippomane was. I reference that in past tense because one night long ago (I think I was 12 or 13, my sister Janelle 9 or 10) we were helping my dad (a veterinarian) clean up from a cesarean and we came across a very uniquely shaped object with what I can best describe as a firm but squishy texture about the size of a bar of soap.What came next was a very rare thing; my dad DIDN'T know what it was. I'll let you in on a secret...there isn't much that he doesn't know. But, that did not stop him from doing the father thing. He said without skipping a beat: "Why don't you do some research and write a report about what a hippomane is." You can only imagine how devastating that was for our young ears to hear; homework and we weren't even in school. We had one week. We drew the conclusion that hippmanes do not serve any purpose. None what so ever. They just get to hang out and exist, the only similarity I can make for them in the human body is the appendix. Every cesarean after that, we searched for the hippomane, sometimes we found it sometimes we didn't. The funny thing is, that they don't always exist. 

I reflect back on that moment from my childhood and realize how much more I learned that just defining what a hippomane was. I learned how important being a life-long learner is. How questioning leads to discovery! 

St. Partick's Day: Green or Blue

It's no secret that today is St. Patrick's Day! The holiday where everyone wears green, because ... it's St. Patrick's Day?  Ever wondered why we wear green. Ireland has lots of green, so maybe that's why? As I was deciding what to wear today, I realized I don't really have that many green things, in fact, I have two green shirts. A K-State t-shirt from Fake Patty's last weekend and the one I'm wearing. It would have been simpler to just wear blue. As it turns out, I was doing some research for social media content at work, and I discovered that the original color of St. Patrick's day was actually blue and not green! However, in the spirit of the holiday I still wore a green shirt. Here is a VIDEO with other fun facts about St. Patrick's Day, Enjoy!

Bro Wines

Another auto-correct moment at it's finest. I received a text message last night while on my third set of rounds asking if "tomorrow between rounds would be good for bro wines?" I'll admit that it genuinely had me stumped. The text was coming from a good friend, and both of us are single and not looking, so the bro part didn't make sense. When I got to wines, I thought maybe she had meant the text for someone else, but the rest of the message was for me, so that wasn't it either. (And it couldn't be wine, because that't not allowed on campus!)  It was like a game of Mad Lib where I just kept running through "bro wines" "bro wines" in my head ..... till it clicked BROWNIES!!

We had talked a couple weeks before that we would make brownies on our next duty night, and so now it all made sense! Even brunettes have their blonde moments, it's okay to own up to them ladies! (Just watch out so you don't melt the plastic "college budget" silverware!)

What is a Chinese Gooseberry?

Val Fun Fact #214:

You might be asking yourself ... What is a Chinese Gooseberry? We could play 20 Questions, but I'll save you all the trouble. A Chinese Gooseberry might be more commonly known to you as a kiwi! Mind blown right?!

We talked in class today about the "Power" that brands have in creating demand for, and making a product more marketable. As I go on to explain the history, keep this in mind.

Kiwifruit is native to the northern region of China. It was at the start of the early 20th Century that the started the spread of the fruit. Seeds were introduced to New Zealand. In 1973 Jim MacLoughlin, and orchardist, planed the first commercial Kiwifruit. It was a big hit with the American soldiers stationed in New Zealand during World War II, so MacLoughlin capitalized on that opportunity. After the war it was marketed under the name "Chinese gooseberry," however importers in California rejected the name because of high duties that were associated with 'berries'. So in 1959 the fruit was re-branded as "kiwifruit" after New Zealand's national symbol the kiwi bird, since they share very similar features; small, brown, and furry.

Kiwi Bird

If nothing else, you can check 'learn something new' off your to-do list today! I was fascinated by the ability of re-branding to create such a demand for a product. This also re-assures me that there is job security in the advertising industry! 

-I can't take full credit for the origin of this idea, because it was my professor who presented it to our class, however I found it intriguing and worth sharing!

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwifruit 

http://rmagibess.wordpress.com/new-zealands-endangered-kiwi-bird/

 

De-bunking Myths About Hamburger

As you may already know, I'm a Resident Assistant in the dorms, thus granting me full access to the dinning halls. I could spend a whole post breaking down all the dining halls on campus and weighing in with my opinion, but my focus today is the East Union Cafe and Grill. One of the great things about our dinning hall on East Campus is the grill feature. We can order hamburgers, chicken strips, grilled cheese, onion rings, fries, basically you name it and they'll make it. I'm very fond of the hamburger myself, sometimes even a bacon cheese-burger. Today I walked in and as I was waiting in line I thought I'd change it up today, maybe have chicken strips with a little honey to dip them in, but when I got there the "grill master" looked up and before I could say anything asked: "hamburger - plain, with onion rings?"  so I just answered yes! The next thought that went through my head was "He knows my life!"

This of course was not the first time I've ordered a hamburger plain with a side of onion rings, in fact it's often my go-to meal when nothing else sounds appetizing. I realize though, that not everyone is as apt to go for a hamburger, for one reason or another. I recently ran across this article from BEEF Magazine that debunks some of the more common myths associated with ground beef. Because I know where my beef comes from, and the process by which it ends up on my plate, these are not items that concern me everyday, however, I realize that to some these are very real concerns. My hope is that some of those are cleared up! I encourage that if you have any questions to post a comment below! (You probably are not the only person with that question.)

Photogenic Bovine

On the subject of cattle, here are a few of my favorite photos that I've taken with my Canon T3i. In case you haven't gathered by now, I really really love them! Some of these photos were for homework (JOMC 162) others just for fun. Enjoy!

These gals are heifer calves. This is a little hard to tell at first glance, (especially with just a head shot). There are gender markers similar to humans to tell the difference between steers (boys) and heifers (girls). These heifer calves are getting ready to go into a breeding program.

These ladies are momma cows. They have had two or three babies already, and are pregnant again. In the bottom picture, these cows are out on corn stalks. What this does is provide a great feed source for them, while taking advantage of available resources. In addition, there are benefits for the farmer, because these ladies will help to fertilize the ground. 

This is a picture of a yearling bull. This is a bull who is ready to go into his first breeding season. Bulls would be the same as the "dads" if we were to compare them to human roles in the family. Each year the bulls are tested to make sure they don't have breeding diseases, and that they will be able to get the cows pregnant. 

Blast from the past

My mom recently ran across these gems. Some of my very first years showing beef at the Morrill County Fair! This seems like an appropriate segway into how I got my feet wet (and stepped on many times) in the beef industry.
Meet Cocoa,

Cocoa - Reserve Champion Breeding Heifer 2003

In this picture, Cocoa is a heifer calf. Heifer simply means that she is a female, and calf indicates that she is still a baby. The origin behind her name is simple. I bought my first cow/calf pair (a momma and a baby together) at the end of 3rd grade. It seemed fitting at the time to name the momma cow Chocolate, thus the only logical name for her baby was Cocoa! Cocoa later went on to have a bull calf named Roo, but that's a story for another day.

This was the first of many Grand/Reserve Champion ribbons that Cocoa would go one to get at the county fair. The red thing in my hand is called a show stick. We use it in the ring to help set up the animals feet, so they stand nice and pretty for the judge.  (see picture below)

I borrowed this next picture from a good friend, who shows cattle at some of the bigger stock shows. Check out her blog for some more great learning about the industry!
 http://gravelandthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2013_09_01_archive.html

Photo courtesy of Jenny Keys

Back to Cocoa. Cocoa is what you might call a Black Angus calf. Angus is the breed of cattle, there are typically Black and Red Angus cattle, the distinction in color making them uniquely different! While we're on the topic of breeds, the calf here is a Charolais calf. This was my first bucket calf that I showed at the county fair, but definitely not my first bucket calf.

When momma cows don't have enough milk for their babies, or often times when they have twins, the calf is pulled off and fed milk replacer from a bottle. They get fed anywhere from 3 to 4 times per day, depending on what they need to meet their nutritional requirements, since they can't get it from their mom.

2002 Morrill County Fair

The calf in the picture above was born in February, and I bottle fed him until he was old enough to eat hay and grain on his own. I spent lots of time with him, and we got to be best buds. Even after I stopped feeding him a bottle, he would still suck on my fingers.  I was being a bit dramatic in this photo, but I hope you can get a sense for how much I really love cattle. They are an important part of not only life, but of yours too!

Midnight Munchies

As I'm sitting here eating my egg, bacon, and cheese biscuit a thought occurs to me; thinking about where our food comes from, isn't something that often crosses other people's minds. It's no secret that I come from an agricultural background—it has to this day defined who I am, and what my future will be.

"Where does my food come from?" A question consumers are asking more and more these days. There is no fault in asking this, in fact myself, and I can confidently speak on behalf of many producers, would love the chance to share with consumers where their food comes from. The problem lies in the fact that these conversations aren't happening. The bigger problem at hand, is that these conversations that aren't happening, are being replaced by false information. If all a person is ever given is false information, what circumstances do they have to believe that what they know then isn't the truth? That's a hard comeback for the Ag industry.

Now, how does all of this tie into my midnight cravings for egg, bacon, and cheese biscuits? I have the advantage of knowing the process by which the slice of bacon  made it onto my sandwich, and that the eggs came from a chicken (and not the grocery store), and that the flour used to make my biscuit was once a wheat seed, out in a wheat field, blowing in the summer breeze (on the plains of Nebraska...of course!). While I am fortunate enough for this to be common knowledge for me, I realize that it isn't for everyone, so I want to help start those conversations about where our food comes from.!

For those of you wondering, Jimmy Dean makes a mean microwavable sandwich, no they didn't pay me to write this, and yes I could probably eat the whole box in one sitting.