Posted by Erin Zimmer, July 24, 2008 at 8:20 PM
Whenever I admit to drinking soy milk, I immediately add a qualifier: "Only in coffee and cereal, I swear."
I don't want to be pegged as a freaky full-time soy-milk drinker, because at the core, I identify with regular milk. From cows. But every so often there's something about soy milk, especially vanilla, that adds a nice twist to an otherwise sludgy coffee.
No offense to furry critters, but I don't drink soy milk for animal rights reasons. Or to save Mother Nature. I drink it because in certain contexts, it's really good. So when Slate reported this week that soy milk isn't necessarily better than cow's milk from an eco perspective, I appreciated the insight but wasn't any less likely to drink the stuff.
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Posted by Robyn Lee, June 4, 2008 at 6:15 PM
Photograph from triciawang 王 圣 㨗 on Flickr
For the best in beefy flavor, you have to round up cattle the Mr. Butcher Shop way: grab its tail while waving a cleaver at it.
Posted by Robyn Lee, May 26, 2008 at 12:00 PM
Flat-screen TVs and waterbeds are two of the comforts enjoyed by Kirk Christie's dairy cows on his farm in Iowa. The idea behind the frills is that cows will make more milk if they feel more comfortable—"Christie estimates his cows' milk production has increased 10 percent since he installed the waterbeds." Watching TV helps the cows get used to different kinds of voices, which prevents them from getting as nervous when they have to hear the different voice of people who visit the barn. Christie isn't the only farmer using this method to increase his milk production—the idea to use waterbeds on dairy farms originated in Europe more than a decade ago.
Related
Happy Cows Are Tastier Cows
How to Art Direct a Cow
Is Raw Milk Safe? Which Side Are You On?
The redesign of dairy trade magazine Dairy Today now features a "portrait" style photo of a cow on the cover of every issue to show their individual personalities. But how do you art direct cows who "don't have much personality"? Waving around and making noises kinda helps. [via notcot.org]
Posted by Lia Bulaong, March 2, 2007 at 2:55 PM
It's tricky because they're so big, but cows are roasted on spits whole all the time. Boiled? Not so much. According to Weird Asia News, "during a Food Festival in Sheng Yang China, one company boiled a 1,500 lbs cow. It was 1.3 meters long and 2.5 meters high." The boiler itself was capable of containing three tons of water, and it took ten hours to boil the cow.
(The photos might make you squeamish, so if you're in doubt don't click through!)
Posted by Nathalie Jordi, January 23, 2007 at 11:00 AM
Remember our post on Starbucks getting rid of milk from cows treated with rBGH in half its stores?
Apparently, rBGH does not show up in milk--the fluid itself is rBGH free. However, cows given rBGH are at a much higher risk of mastitis, an udder infection usually treated with antibiotics, which do come through the milk.
See the NRN Food Service Blog for a fleshing out of the semantics.
