I hope Eric's authoritative outline will be enough for the
imaginations of even physicists, let alone biochemists, to imagine
vaguely how GM-corn could cause toxic milk &/or meat.

RM


>Yes, dairy cows are fed corn. At least they were back in the day
>when, as a teenager, I was working on a family-run dairy farm. They
>were sometimes fed dried corn ground into feed, and at other times
>they were fed silage made from whole young corn plants, chopped up
>and blown into a silo. Stalks, leaves and young ears all together.
>Of course they were also fed hay (dried grass), and also silage made
>from fresh grass. Cows love silage, as it is somewhat fermented
>into ethanol and they get a bit of a buzz from it. They receive
>limited amounts of it, needless to say. Farmers frown on 1600 pound
>animals going on drunken sprees.
>
>BTW, just in case some city slickers out there don't know this
>factoid, field corn is distinct from sweet corn, which humans
>consume directly. Field corn has to be subjected to an alkaline
>processing to be digestible by humans. And it is the starch from
>field corn that is sometimes fermented into ethanol for fuel (or
>corn whiskey).
>
>I think it is the case that beef cattle (castrated males) get a
>diet that is considerably richer in corn, however. At least those
>that are fattened on feedlots.
>
>Dairy cows generally get converted to steak and hamburger when their
>milking days are over. This occurs at a considerably greater age
>than that at which beef cattle are slaughtered. Her meat is still
>quite valuable, as she has had a "good" diet her entire life.
>
>----Original Message Follows----
>From: Michael H Goldhaber <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Science for the People Discussion List
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Why Milk Costs More Than Gas
>Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:50:46 -0700
>
>Does anyone know: are dairy cows fed corn? My impression was that
>beef cows are put in feed lots where they are fattened on corn, but
>was unaware this held for dairy cows. Of course, assuming the latter
>are fed grass and hay, the more acres devoted to ethanol corn, the
>lessf or hay, etc.
>
>Best,
>Michael
>
>On Jul 17, 2007, at 4:21 PM, Phil Gasper wrote:
>
>>http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070730/vonhoffman
>>
>>Howl by Nicholas von Hoffman
>>Why Milk Costs More Than Gas
>>
>>[posted online on July 16, 2007]
>>
>>The other day milk was selling in a New England supermarket at
>>$4.79 a gallon. Down the street, regular gasoline was going for
>>about $3.04 a gallon.
>>
>>One of the factors driving up the cost of milk is the ethanol
>>stampede. Ethanol, as we all have been taught to believe by now,
>>will bring us "energy independence" and lessen global warming with
>>no change in the way we live--unless we happen to be a small child
>>in a household with a limited budget.
>>
>>Children from low-income families are either going to have to
>>accustom themselves to drinking gasoline or learn to sing "No Milk
>>Today."
>>
>>American ethanol is made from corn, and the more corn we use to
>>feed our cars, the more expensive is the corn left over for our
>>livestock. Ergo, "No Milk Today."
>>
>
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