I will be helping butcher a friends cow tomorrow for the learning experience. My wife told me not to except any of the meat if offered due to the unknown illness it has. The cow is being butchered early because of pnemonia (has been treated by vet) and not able to walk very well (possible arthritis). The vet says there may be liver damage as well and I suppose was the one that suggested the early butcher idea. There may be something else but I'm not sure. Is there reason for concern? What illness, if any, is there that would cause illness in humans if the meat were consumed? Thanks in advance for your help.

-- Gary Morstadt (gmorstadt@cs.com), December 29, 2001

Answers

Gary:

I doubt you will change your wife's mind, but there should be nothing wrong with the beef if properly cooked. Pneumonia is a illness of primarily the lungs, which aren't eaten anyway. Arthritis is a problem of the joints, which also aren't eaten. However, this does indicate it may be an old cow. While some people have the liver ground up with hamburger, most have it disposed of.

If you do accept say a quarter, it will need to be chilled to be aged. If your weather is cool enough you can chill it yourself in an outbuilding. If not, a custom processor can age and cut it for you.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), December 29, 2001.

I would be concerned about anti-biotics and other drugs used to treat this animal. Check the withdrawl times on the labels. Personally, I would not accept the meat. We are very aware of where all our meat comes from, and to me, it wouldn't be worth the chance.

-- Charleen in WNY (harperhill@eznet.net), December 29, 2001.

I wouldn't be too happy chowing down the antibiotics, and frankly, the idea of eating a sick animal just doesn't sit well with me. If I absolutely had to, well, sure, then I'd do it, but normally that's a cow for the swamp and the coyotes. I doubt you'd get sick or anything like that, but I can't imagine the meat would be anything wonderful, either. Stew meat/hamburgher at most.

-- Jennifer L. (Northern NYS) (jlance@nospammail.com), December 29, 2001.

I don't know if this is applicable for your situation but I learned in a wilderness survival class that the first thing you should check after butchering an animal is the liver. If it looks bad, has spots, ANYTHING that makes it appear to be less than healthy, DON'T EAT THE ANIMAL!

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), December 29, 2001.

Eating a sick animal is really not a good idea. I completely agree with the person that said the first thing they taught us in survival training was always look at the liver and if it is strange looking in anyway don't eat the animal. I check all animals and fish and dispose of any that have liver damage. When an animal is sick the bacteria or what ever is causing the illness is usually in the blood stream and circulating all through the animal. Don't eat sick animals, if you need food that bad come on down we have some venison and some home canned vegetables we will share with you. The only time you should even consider such a thing is when starving is the only other option. I have eaten some really disgusting things in the past but never got hungry to take a chance on a sick anything. David

-- David in North Al (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), December 29, 2001.

I would agree that any wild game that has an unhealthy liver probably should be discarded, although under extreme conditions I would consider its use if thoroughly cooked. As for domestic animals and bad livers, I will disagree. Frequently steers fed extremely hot feeds for a long time will have liver damage but there is nothing wrong with the meet. One should consider the circumstances and act accordingly. The first response is one I agree with, that is, you likely will not convince your wife.

-- David A. (mncscott@ak.net), December 29, 2001.

Thanks for the replies. It looks like I'll turn down any meat that might be offered but the experience will be worth it.

-- Gary Morstadt (gmorstadt@cs.com), December 30, 2001.

I think that's a good idea. The antibiotics are bad enough, but, you said possible arthritis so that means they're not really sure why it's having trouble walking. Plus, why does the vet think there may be liver damage? That is a red flag too, no matter whether domestic or wild. There has to be a reason he thinks that. Doesn't sound appetizing to me.

-- Diana (rock_hunter83@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.

You would want to see the dairy cows sold for meat at auction .Its pretty gross.I have seen ones they should have never even brought in .It makes me mad.

-- Patty {NY State} (fodfarms@hotmail.com), December 31, 2001.

Arthritis in cattle can be caused by mycoplasma, at least that is my understanding. So it is not just an old age thing in every instance, it can also be a symptom of other serious problems. Just as CAE virus causes swollen, arthritic joints in dairy goats. Sometimes I wonder whether human arthritis isn't also caused by a virus, maybe tranmitted through milk, cheese, or meat, or some other way?

-- Rebekah (nomail@thanx.net), December 31, 2001.