Archive:000/Feed

Myth: Farm animals eat mostly stuff that humans can't eat.

Fact:

• Chickens and pigs don't.
• Cows, sheep and goats can, but this alone can't produce enough meat & milk to meet global demand. Hence the animal industry also depends on using human-edible food as feed.
• See below for details:

	Can it be eaten, digested and absorbed by...		Notes
	Non-ruminants such as humans, chickens, pigs	Ruminants such as cows, sheep, goats
Products such as grains, legumes, fruits, nuts, vegetables	Yes	Yes	The grains fed to animals are the same grains that could be ground into flour and used in baking. This includes corn.
By-products such as wheat germ, molasses, soybean meal	Yes	Yes	By-products often contain more nutrients than the main products! [read more]When wheat is processed into white flour, nutrient-rich wheat germ is left behind.Note: It's called "germ" because it was the part of the grain that germinates; it has nothing to do with infectious "germs". When sugarcane or beets are processed into white sugar, mineral-rich molasses is left behind. When soybeans are processed to make soybean oil, protein-rich soybean meal is left behind. Soybean meal is 52% protein, and it can be ground into soy flour and used in baking.
Crop residues such as peanut shells, straw, husks, empty corn cobs	No	Yes	These are the fibrous parts left over from food crops. For example straw is left over from wheat and rice plants. Ruminants can digest fiber and use it as a source of calories. Non-ruminants cannot.
Grass & leaves (pasture)	No	Yes	60% of all farmland is already pasture; and that doesn't even include rangelands.

Note: While it's true that ruminants can convert inedible fiber into edible protein, mushrooms can do this even more efficiently.

See also

• Food
• Plant-based#FAQ