Cowboy take me away . . .

I picked up a Time Magazine while waiting on my to-go order today, and scanned an article about grass fed cows.

The short story is: Eating grass fed meat and promoting grass fed animals is better for the environment and the cow. The grains that feed most cows must be transported to the ranches (if you want to call them that), causing CO2 emissions. Then the cows are lumped together in a mounds of poo, which again, causes CO2 emissions. When cows are eating off of the land, the CO2 is more healthfully spread out, and well, if you were a cow, you wouldn't want to live with a bunch of poo either, RIGHT?

Oh, but I'm not here to talk about meat. I'm interested in cowboys! Read on!

Cowboys were ranchers, responsible for cows, who would travel the fields by horseback to care for the animals. Kind of like a shepherd for sheep. Ok, so real cowboys went out in the late 18-early 1900's when they found out that you can lump a bunch of cows together on a farm, feed them grains, and make them live in their own poo. What I find interesting is that the cowboy lifestyle persists in the country mainstream (is that an oxymoron?). Basically anyone who is "cool" in the country is or wants to be a cowboy.

I disagree with this. You-who-thinks-you-are-a-cowboy, you are a farmer or a rancher or in the rodeo. You ain't no cowboy. Pardon my, er, country English. There hasn't been a need for cowboys much since humans began mass-produding beef on cattle lots.

So, by going back to the root of animal feeding and feeding out animals---more like God intended -- won't that also bring back legitimate cowboys again? Furthermore, shouldn't that make country people excited about eating better meat?

It's time to start eating grass fed beef. Not because it is better for the animals, or the environment, but because people will become cowboys again, thus living out their dreams.

This random musing brought to you by Beef. It's what's for dinner.