If animal husbandry went “belly up”, we would be missing much more than milk, eggs, cheese and meat.
Dreamstime / TNS
Barbara Quinn-Intermill Monterey Herald
We were having breakfast at a hotel in eastern Colorado when the manager decided to give us his opinion on the state of the world. And he spoke very loudly about what had to change, especially in his community.
“You know,” he said, “whether you like it or not, farming is going wrong.”
I didn’t say it then – my mouth was full of raisin bran – but I hope he’s wrong. Aside from the fact that our trips to the grocery store would be very disappointing if there weren’t any farmers or ranchers to produce our food, many other products would be sorely missed as well.
I thought about it more as we drove into West Texas and passed many acres of cotton fields. Cotton is one of my favorite fabrics for clothes, bed linen and towels. It can also be woven into velvet, corduroy, denim, jersey and flannel. I was also surprised to learn that once the cotton is harvested, the dried stems can be used to make paper and cardboard. I certainly wouldn’t want to live in a world without this precious harvest.
If animal husbandry went “belly high”, as this gentleman predicted, we would also miss a lot more than milk, eggs, cheese and meat. Leather for shoes, purses, upholstery and footballs are made from cowhide, for example. Tennis racket strings and surgical sutures are also sourced from cattle, as are various drugs such as heparin (an anticoagulant) and the ingredients for anti-rejection drugs needed by transplant patients.
