BEEF facts

The cattle that we see around us in Britain today have all descended from a breed of ancient cattle ("Bos taurus") that roamed Europe before 9000 years ago. One of the most popular beef breeds in America identified by a hump between its withers, is an import descended from an ancient Asian breed ( Bos indicus ). Cattle have been used for a multitude of purposes including sacrifice and religious devotion (" In Ancient Egypt the apis bull was viewed as the incarnation of Osiris the green faced god" ).  They were also used for sport (Bullfighting ), as draught animals, meat, and for all manner of animal derivatives including  fats for candles ( Tallow ), frying, glues, and nowadays coatings for medical tablets and many brands of vitamins.

From the most ancient times of human intelligence, man scratched pictures on cave walls telling of everyday life amongst the animals.

In Lascaux France the cave paintings show that humankind had a real struggle to survive, their very existence was bound up with securing a regular supply of protein. At that time, ready protein could only really come from animal or fish derivatives when nuts and seeds were unavailable, but here and there over the past 2,500 years thinking people have stood up to question the necessity of meat consumption.

As mankind went about their daily lives there was always for the hunter the present danger that he himself might one day become a meal for another predator, as meat came only from hunting animals in their dangerous and wild environment.

DOMESTICATION OF CATTLE

Thousands of years ago man learned to herd cattle and keep them in close proximity using stockades and as time went by they gradually perfected the craft of hedgelaying which produced a hedgerow which in effect becomes a living wall  and which is every bit as formidable as a barbed wire fence.

The hedgerow confined the animals to a set paddock to be eventually used as a perpetual living larder without fear of famine and without subjecting oneself to the danger of unnecessarily venturing into the hostile wilderness, thankfully as we have moved on we are not generally in danger these days of being eaten by a pack of wolves, or being trampled underfoot by a mammoth !.

 When our ancestors hunted cattle in the wild with their primitive weapons it would have been a bit more of an even balance and the animals may sometimes have fought us to the death and occasionally, we would rightly lose our own lives. Though man in the ancient past was given no choice but to kill to live, we today have a choice.  An animals sole purpose in life is not merely to die early and be fed to the human consumer. Cattle have their own battle for existence and try in their own way to enjoy themselves each day,  we have not born this in mind though, as we often deny them the room or ability to socially interact and express their natural instincts.

MODERN LIVESTOCK FARMING

At first glance many modern beef farms just resemble meat producing factories, life for many animals is being fed sometimes unnatural foodstuffs in high density stockyards, this is certainly not the great and natural outdoor life that the animals would willingly choose. Because of our treatment of other species mankind has suffered greatly following our loss of respect for non-human beings and this has been reflected in how we treat one another within our modern society.  What a valuable relationship we could have had with the natural world, we believe that our divorce from our responsibility as stewards of this planet has taken a devastating toll on the ecosystem,  Farmers and abattoirs in Britain have become rich and fat with the revenue from beef cattle, and benefitted handsomely through the sufferings of these creatures having enjoyed over 3 Billion pounds annual profit before the start of the so called Mad Cow disease disaster that is which led to a ban on exports of beef products.

In your own town you may have witnessed the sorrowful site of Cattle brought into the local market and sold to the highest bidding slaughterhouse, you may have even walked past such unfortunate creatures and not thought a thing, for we are conditioned not too feel sadness at the fate "mere farm animals". please go once again and look at the heading quotation at the top of the page .

HORMONES BOOST PRODUCTION   

In recent years there was a European Union Study which investigated the effects of using hormones to stimulate unnatural weight gain in Beef Cattle, it concluded that the consumers who eat beef from hormone treated livestock could be at risk of developing cancer. Hormones are often administered to cattle by way of insertion under the skin behind the ear ( Subcutaneously ). Very often the base hormones used are oestrogen and progesterone which are female sex hormones, and Testosterone the male sex hormone. Growth hormone implants have the effect of causing the animal to put on more meat and less fat without any apparent increase in the food it consumes.

It is estimated that up to 90% of American beef farmers are committed to having the drug administered to their cattle. 

The widespread use of hormones in  United States livestock farming has caused heated controversy in European circles in recent years. One of the six drugs which has been at the centre of this storm is brand named ( "oestradiol" ) and has been considered as highly suspect.  Independent research highlighted that the drug is a complete carcinogen (cancer causing substance ) and if even a small amount is eaten it has the potential to initiate tumours, cancers, and deadly brain diseases.