On Thu, 14 May 1998, Hans Kylberg wrote:

> >The "grain" that is most commonly
> >introduced into their diet by humans, to fatten them, is corn.
> Not in Europe I think, at least not northern. Here it is other grains.

Interesting.  What do they use?  Oats?

> >Exactly.  Wheat is grass.  Grains are part of grass.  Cows eat
> >thet whole thing; they don't spit out the grains.
> No but I think they avoid to eat from areas with ear. They should do,
> otherwise there will be no grass for them to eat next year...

I don't think you'll find cows avoiding *anything* that looks
like grass, with or without ears.  The grasses survive by
overproducing seeds, which are blown around in the wind and
scattered.  Note that birds, such as chickens, are also quite
fond of these seeds.

> If I interpret Loren Cordains theories about "molecular mimicry" right
> even ruminants may not be totally safe from alien grain molecules.

There is a longstanding evolutionary "competition" between the
grasses and the animals that eat them. But the main point is that
for a cow to be eating grains with its grasses is no big deal.
Corn on the cob is something else again.

> And what about farmed salmon fed with grains?

It's pretty clear that salmon do not ordinarily eat grass.
According to Barry Sears, farmed salmon tend to be deficient in
the n-3 oils that are the point of eating them in the first place
(aside from taste, and they are deficient in that too).

Todd Moody
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