cows

by POPSUGAR Fitness

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil are known for reducing inflammation that leads to joint pain as well as heart disease, but an Irish study found this type of fat helpful in reducing something else: methane produced by farm animals. Essentially, fish oil reduces flatulence produced by cows. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and is considered 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping solar energy. In fact the EPA estimates that 28 percent of methane emissions related to human activity comes from cows and other farm animals like goats and sheep. That's a lot of gas.

The cattle were given a diet containing 2 percent fish oil, which reduced the amount of gas they produced by 21 percent. I must admit at first I found this news humorous. With two small children in the house, potty humor reigns. But I am curious about two things. Did the fish oil make the cows burp, since my omega-3 supplement certainly revisits me? Secondly, were the cows in the study fed grass and other plants they evolved to eat or corn, which is known to create stomach issues in cows?

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by POPSUGAR Pets Tracy Morgan hosted this weekend's Saturday Night Live and brought back his hilarious Brian Fellows Safari Planet sketch, which means the late night show also had some friendly four-legged guests. I was thrilled to see a darling calf, which they called Maggie that had a prominent white heart between her eyes. She looks a lot like Japan-born Ha-chan, the Friesian calf known for his heart-shaped head marking, but Maggie's heart was a bit smaller. Did you catch the cute calf? To watch the clip of Maggie on the show, read more

by POPSUGAR Food

Holy cow. India's oldest, biggest nationalist Hindu group, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), plans to introduce a new soft drink made from cow urine.

The radical RSS group has long campaigned against beverages such as Coke and Pepsi, foreign imports that it believes to be a corrupt influence and a symbol of Western imperialism. In India, bovine urine is considered medicinal and is, like the cow itself, seen as sacred, particularly at religious festivals. In some traditional rituals, cow urine is consumed to purify those who belong to the lowest rung of the Hindu caste system. Although the group hasn't confirmed flavors or pricing for the drink, to be known as gau jal, or "cow water" in Sanskrit, the elixir will be mixed with aloe vera, gooseberry, and other herbs that allegedly combat diabetes, cancer, and other diseases. The RSS and its offshoots have been promoting gau jal as a cure-all since as early as 2001, but Om Prakash, the head of the RSS's Cow Protection Department, said the drink will be introduced "very soon, maybe by the end of this year." He added:

Don't worry, it won't smell like urine and will be tasty, too. It's going to be very healthy. It won't be like carbonated drinks and would be devoid of any toxins. We're going to give [American soda brands] good competition as our drink is good for mankind. We may also think of exporting it.

How do you feel about this? I think it's disgusting, but at the same time, I've promised myself that I will try anything once. Would you drink cow urine for its purported health benefits?

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by LibertySugar

A Zimbabwe school is telling parents that if they can't scrape up enough money, they should pay tuition with livestock or fuel coupons. Thanks to insane inflation, parents are short on cash. School fees are about 100,000 Zimbabwe dollars, but banks only let people withdraw 1,000 Zimbabwe dollars a day. In addition, the official inflation rate this year is 11,000,000 percent.

Even though school officials say the in-kind tuition deal idea came from the parents, residents are asking the government to step in a stop the program. Many worry that the teachers or headmasters are getting a windfall from the practice.

Since the money crisis has been turning people into vegetarians, it makes some sense they are giving up their livestock. Maybe President Bush should tell Congress that they better pass the bailout soon, or the US will soon be using cows as its currency.

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by LibertySugar

Next time you can't find the North Star, you might consider looking for the nearest pack of cows. A recent study of Google Earth satellite images found that herds of cattle gravitate to face in the north-south direction of Earth's magnetic lines. The study also noted some types of deer have shown the same pattern, according to the BBC.

Many smaller species, such as birds and salmon, are known to use the earth's magnetic fields in seasonal migration; however, these recent findings show larger mammals have a similar internal sense of direction.

The researchers surveyed Google Earth images of 8,510 grazing and resting cattle in 308 pasture plains across the world. Apparently, it was often hard for them to distinguish heads from tails, but they were able to determine that animals tend to face either north or south.

If you're wondering what this means, read more

by POPSUGAR Food

Last Friday the Bush administration asked a federal appeals court to stop allowing meatpackers to test all animals for mad cow disease. That's right, the government wants companies to test fewer animals.

Currently, under Agriculture Department guidelines, less than 1 percent of slaughtered cows are tested for the disease. Yet due to a lower court ruling, Kansas-based Creekstone Farms Premium Beef has been granted the ability to more comprehensively test their beef. The government is hoping to stop Creekstone Farms by having the ruling overturned. They argue that widespread testing does not guarantee safety, and that companies are trying to create false assurances. They also stated that a false positive could scare consumers, and that testing would result in increased food prices.

Creekstone attorney Rusell Frye is not buying it and believes the government doesn't have the authority to stop companies from testing. He said:

This is the government telling the consumers, "You're not entitled to this information."

Call me crazy, but doesn't it seem like the more testing you do, the more likely you are to catch something wrong? The folks at Creekstone were supposed to begin testing last June, but because of this appeal the new testing process has been delayed.

So tell me, do you think companies should be allowed to test more cows? Or do you agree with the government and think that it causes false assurances?

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by GiggleSugar

Q: Why did the cow cross the road?
A: To disappear on the other side! (Har, har, har. . .)

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