| ▲ | jvanderbot 5 hours ago | |||||||||||||||||||
Most cows don't eat grass like a wandering herd. Most cows eat stuff we grow on farms that could grow stuff we can eat instead. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/december/ers-data-... and https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/crops/corn-and-other-feed-gr... Let me surface a more direct article: https://insideanimalag.org/land-use-for-animal-ag/#:~:text=1... Of the total land area of the contiguous 48 states, ~45% is used for animal ag. This includes: Land for grazing livestock at ~35%. Land for crops going specifically to animal feed at ~9%. Animal ag farmsteads at <1%.[1-3] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ▲ | WorkerBee28474 5 hours ago | parent | next [-] | |||||||||||||||||||
The first link you posted says that 29% of the land is used for pasture and 15% is used for crops (which will include both human and animal). So yes, most cows are eating grass like a wandering herd. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| ▲ | ErroneousBosh 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-] | |||||||||||||||||||
> Most cows don't eat grass like a wandering herd. Most cows eat stuff we grow on farms that could grow stuff we can eat instead. Most cows do eat grass and other stuff we can't eat. "Hard feed" is made from crops grown as part of a rotation cycle, or from things like soya where 80% of it is only suitable for cattle feed. | ||||||||||||||||||||