Feedlots In John Robbins's Diet For A New America

According to Merriam-Webster, a feedlot is defined as a plot of land on which livestock are fattened for market. Feedlots have vastly taken over America in the past few years. “Almost all beef found in grocery stores come from cattle fattened up in large grain feeding operations” (Robbins video). John Robbins describes these feedlots in the film clip Diet for a New America (meat consumption). The point of this essay is to explore the negative and positive arguments made by John Robbins in the film clip Diet for a New America (meat consumption). Throughout the video it describes how bad feedlots are. They are unsanitary, overcrowded, and inhumane. They are also contaminating the nearby water sources. Manure is going into the ground contaminating the water in ways that can be destructive. Fertilizer is also getting into the water as well.
“When we think of cattle, most of us picture John Wayne and the open range where the cattle eat grass” (Robbins video). I am definitely one who imagines cattle grazing in an open field with plenty of space to roam and with plenty of grass to eat. When in reality,
But a cow’s digestive system is not designed to digest corn and all the feeding causes massive health problems in cows” (Robbins 2). I believe that owners of the feedlots should not feed their cattle grain, even though it makes the cattle grow faster and is probably cheaper. I personally believe that everyone should do what is healthier for the cattle and those eating the cattle. Instead they should allow the cattle to graze, allowing them to become more lean and healthy. If they were to do this then the meat from the cattle would have less fat, therefore be healthier. Instead they not only feed the cattle corn, but also give them antibiotics to keep the animal “healthy.” In reality, this is not making them any healthier, but instead is producing a meat that is a larger money maker for the cattle