Fun Facts: Products We Get From Beef Cattle
What comes to mind when you hear the word "beef"?
Perhaps, meat, hamburger, steak or even leather. These are all products of the beef animal (or cattle), but there are also many other byproducts.
Beef byproducts are the products that we get from beef cattle that might not be quite so obvious. For example, soap is a beef byproduct because it uses beef fat.
If you have a beef animal that weigh 1,000 pounds – 640 pounds of the animal will be used for meat products, such as steak, roasts and hamburgers. This means 64% of the animal is used for meat. However, 99% of the cow is utilized for meat and other products.
From 1 cow hide you can get 12 basketballs OR 144 baseballs OR 20 footballs OR 18 volleyballs OR 18 soccer balls OR 12 baseball gloves.
If you strung 1 year’s worth of hotdogs – end to end – around the world, you would go around the world 16 times!
Leather is a very good example of a beef byproduct. It is made from the cow hide and it is used to make byproducts. Byproducts are a product of the animal that is used as an "ingredient" in other products.
There are many foods that are obviously byproducts, such as steak, roasts and hamburgers. Another more obvious product is milk and other dairy products, such as butterand yogurt.
Name some food products that come from animals. Meat, beef, beef jerky, hotdogs, lamb chops. These are all direct example of food products, but they may be used in tv dinners and lunchmeats.
Did you know that gelatin, what Jello is made from, comes from the connective tissues of the beef animal. So when you eat Jello, you are actually eating an animal byproduct.
Other products that contain gelatin might include gum, fruit snacks like gummy bears, and marshmallows.
Many medical products are made from animal byproducts. Some products may contain stearic acid that is found in fatty acids, such as in beef cattle. Ointments for burns and first aid creams may contain animal byproducts.
Antirejection drugs are used when someone has a heart transplant, liver transplant or even a ligament in your knee to help the body accept the new organ. Animals, such as beef, sheep and swine have remarkable similarities to our own bodies.
Insulin is utilized by diabetics. It can be synthetic, which means that is man-made, but it also can come from livestock.
There is a sticky part on the bandages that can be made from animal fatty acids since fatty acids are used to make adhesives.
Household and office products also may contain beef byproducts. Dog food might include chicken, beef or pork byproducts. Rawhide bones that dogs chew on are made from animal hides.
Laundry pre-treatments contains enzymes – a protein found in cattle and sheep.
There is a certain kind of china that knick knacks may be made out of that can be made from an animal byproduct – bone china. Bone china is made from the bones.
There may be fatty acids from cattle or other animals added to toilet paper to make it soft.
What’s on the label of the glue bottle? There is a cow on the label of glue because you can use a cow’s hooves and horns to make glue.
Dish soap may contain beef fat that helps make your hands soft.
Even film contains the beef product – gelatin - on the coating of the film.
Candles may have beef byproducts in them to give them more strength, to help them last longer, and make them more opulent.
What would crayons have in them? Probably beef fat, but there is also a kind out now that is made from soybeans.
Paintbrushes can be made out of horse hair, but can be made out of the hairs from other animals as well.
Sports equipment is often made from animal byproducts. Many professional teams use cowhide footballs. So not all footballs are made of pigskin like many people think. Footballs can be made out of both pig skin and beef skin.
Volleyballs can be made from leather, and so can the baseball glove and the outer covering of the baseball.
Industrial use – many lubricants and fluids may contain beef fats. Some inks used in printing contain animal fats. High gloss printing might contain animal fats.
Industrial cleaners may also include beef byproducts.
Grooming – Nail polish remover contain gelatin that helps give your nails strength. Soap, lotions, makeup and lipstick may contain stearic acid, a fatty acid. But not all of them do – as some people are allergic to animal byproducts. Some also contain lanolin which is a sheep byproduct. Shaving cream also contains stearic acid, a fatty acid.
Many deodorants contains fatty acids. When people clean their contacts, they use little white tablets called enzymatic cleaners. Enzymes are a protein found in animals.
Saddle soap is used on leather shoes and any type of leather product. It helps leather items maintain softness.
Travel and transportation. Antifreeze may contain glycerol, an animal byproduct. Hydraulic brake fluid and car wax also may contain animal byproducts. Highways are made of asphalt and contain a binding agent made from beef byproducts.
Tires contain stearic acid which helps tires maintain their elasticity.
Car seats can also be made from leather.
Clothing and furniture also may contain animal byproducts. Sweaters can be made out of wool from sheep. Office chairs, wallets, watch bands and a whole host of products can be made from leather from cattle – such as shoes, leather jackets, belts, gloves and other clothes.