• news
  • TUESDAY MAY 18 2004 3:37 PM

Slaughterhouse Leftovers Turned Into Fuel?

Submitted by Gwendolyn

Edited by Gwendolyn

Cattle parts that are suspected of carrying the mad cow disease may be turned into biofuel in the future, if a plan announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture goes into effect.

These parts, including brains, eyes, and intestines, among others, are already banned from cattle feed... but ground up slaughterhouse "extras" are still on the dinner menu for poultry and swine.

Under the new USDA program, a $50 million loan guarantee program would be set up to help small businesses in rural areas develop ways to turn cattle brains and other high-risk parts into a "bio-based source of energy."

The USDA claims they aren't sure whether the program is just an attempt to find a new use for the parts in the event that they're banned from being put into feed.

Currently, the carcasses of cattle slaughtered at U.S. packing plants are typically sent to a separate rendering plant to be made into food for other animals, cosmetics or other materials. Last year, the United States slaughtered more than 35 million cattle.

And I think to myself... what a wonderful world...

  • PERMALINK
  • PRINT
  • Digg This
  • Email To A Friend
 

Previous

PAGE: 

1 | 2

Next

Comments
UpTight

UpTight

I'm lost
December 2003

MAY 18, 2004 03:41 PM

yuck!

would that mean you'd need a gravy change rather than an oil change?

c456

c456

Canada
February 2003

MAY 18, 2004 03:53 PM

how about a bovine gmo that craps pure sweet hydrocarbons.. even better!

Ravnos

ravnos

Edmonton, AB
OLD SKOOL

MAY 18, 2004 04:14 PM

They mention incineration in the article, but I wonder if the parts couldn't be used in thermal depolymerization, like turkey offal in Missouri.

handle

handle

I'm lost
July 2003

MAY 18, 2004 04:22 PM

They should just find a way to make fuel out of milk, then when your car needs a refueling you can just say "I gotta go to the cow.".

Lord_Shade

Lord_Shade

Canada
December 2003

MAY 18, 2004 04:36 PM

I want to hear the Vegan's view on this. Environmentally friendly, but it involves killing cows. Quite a quandry...

Gwendolyn

Gwendolyn

SUICIDEGIRL

Indiana, USA

MAY 18, 2004 06:22 PM

Lord_Shade said:
I want to hear the Vegan's view on this. Environmentally friendly, but it involves killing cows. Quite a quandry...



Not a quandry at all. Vegans wouldn't advocate the killing of cows for any reason.

iamblades2

iamblades2

Louisville, KY
April 2004

MAY 18, 2004 06:27 PM

Aside from that, there is nothing extremely enviromentally friendly about biofuel. It is just a replenishable form of energy,

It would still be burnt like normal fuels, and depending on the implementation might even cause more pollution.

hbfm

hbfm

Washington, DC
February 2004

MAY 18, 2004 06:41 PM

iamblades2 said:
Aside from that, there is nothing extremely enviromentally friendly about biofuel. It is just a replenishable form of energy,

It would still be burnt like normal fuels, and depending on the implementation might even cause more pollution.



But it's not really replenishable. Fossil fuels are inputs to the system of feedlot beef production, in the form of the antibiotics and hormones the cattle are dosed with, and more importantly, in the production of the grains the cattle are fed. Still, it's an improvement over what we have now.

stiggy56

stiggy56

Philadelphia, PA
March 2004

MAY 18, 2004 06:41 PM

Does this mean that vegans are going to stop driving cars? Or using electricity from the plug if they convert it into a system for power grids!?

What a world!

yumchen

yumchen

Klamath Falls, OR
August 2002

MAY 18, 2004 06:50 PM

It's funny that the preons that cause the disease aren't destroyed when burned, Just air born... confused

plonk

plonk

Campbell, CA
February 2003

MAY 18, 2004 06:52 PM

iamblades2 said:
Aside from that, there is nothing extremely enviromentally friendly about biofuel. It is just a replenishable form of energy,

It would still be burnt like normal fuels, and depending on the implementation might even cause more pollution.



Unlikely. The chemistry is far different from petro fuels; in particular, biofuels lack the long-chain unsaturated hydrocarbon and mercaptan impurities that are responsible for most particulate pollution. Oxides of nitrogen pollution (i.e. smog forming) has more to do with the particulars of combustion dynamics than particular fuels, but since biofuels tend to burn cooler than petro fuels, suppressing them is relatively easy. Finally, biofuels are inherently carbon neutral, and can even be slightly carbon negative, depending on the fuel cycle details.

Keith

Keith

Hooker, OK
August 2002

MAY 18, 2004 06:52 PM

Is anyone else envisioning a future in which vegans can't drive cars, either?

plonk

plonk

Campbell, CA
February 2003

MAY 18, 2004 06:53 PM

yumchen said:
It's funny that the preons that cause the disease aren't destroyed when burned, Just air born... confused



Umm, no. The temperatures of combustion are high enough to thoroughly shred organic molecules of any kind, including prions.

KlikKlak

KlikKlak

San Francisco, CA
April 2004

MAY 18, 2004 06:53 PM

Gwendolyn said:

Lord_Shade said:
I want to hear the Vegan's view on this. Environmentally friendly, but it involves killing cows. Quite a quandry...



Not a quandry at all. Vegans wouldn't advocate the killing of cows for any reason.



even if they were "mad"?

MarginWalker2002

MarginWalker2002

San Diego, CA
April 2004

MAY 18, 2004 06:55 PM

Keith said:
Is anyone else envisioning a future in which vegans can't drive cars, either?



Nope, but I AM envisioning some homeless guy siphoning off my tank for a quick meal... Eck. puke

Previous

PAGE: 

1 | 2

Next

featured interviews