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In “The Skinny on Market Cows,” a shockingly candid article in this month’s Canadian Cattlemen magazine, Reynold
Bergen, science director for the Beef Cattle Research Council, revealed that
the percentage of cows graded “D3” (formerly “Triple Cs,” which referred to “Clunkers,
Canners and Cripples”) at Canadian livestock auctions increased from 13 percent
in 1999–2002 to 36 percent in 2009–2012 (“Clunkers, Canners
and Cripples” refers to severely emaciated or laming cows, often too impaired
to stand on their own). At the same time, the percentage of cows graded “D1” or
“of adequate weight” fell from 25 percent to less than one percent.
The article attributes the increase in marketing of ailing animals
to the growing demand for cheap ground beef among cash-strapped consumers.
Most people have no idea, but ground beef is predominantly sourced
from “spent” dairy cows—animals who spend their lives in a constant cycle of impregnation,
birth, and intensive milking until their bodies are so worn out they are no
longer of use to dairy farmers and are sold for slaughter.
Bergen states that cows are “loaded, transported, unloaded,
marketed, held for a week (or longer) at an auction mart while loads are
assembled, then reloaded, transported again, and unloaded at a packer.” Clearly,
if producers can turn a profit off the suffering of animals, they will.
You can let producers know that you don’t support their cruel practices
by adopting a compassionate, plant-based diet. Go to ChooseVeg.ca to learn more.
