Cattle ranch
September 30, 1982
I've grown up here and I know there's no real cruelty in branding, banding or taking off their horns. And heaven knows, they're fed well enough: grass right now to their shoulders. When they come up to the gate and moo, it is right at eye-level. You see a grass-eaters molars round as our old smooth hills.
No. These cattle lead a grand life. The ranchers really care. The calves must continue to put on weight. And when a steer has reached its prime there is a treat: a diet of grain for two weeks straight. Maybe some day, with good research, we can code the genes and produce a body only, without the part that snorts with fear then bellows as the warm meat rears and falls.