Colorado Reader March 2019: The Story of Colorado Beef | Page 7

Definition of Upcycle
upcycled; upcycling
verb
: to recycle (something) in such
a way that the resulting product
is of a higher value than the
original item
Photo credit: Perry Angus, Sterling, Colorado
Cattle are Upcyclers
Cattle act as “upcyclers” in our food system — they upgrade
plants into high quality protein for people - BEEF. Livestock,
especially ruminants like beef cattle, play a key role in a
sustainable food system. A ruminant is an animal with four
compartments in its stomach. Cattle allow us to produce
food on marginal lands that are unsuitable for cultivated
agriculture, such as fruit or vegetable production.
Cattle eat grasses grown on marginal lands and other forage
crops, like alfalfa. Marginal lands are those that are too
rocky, steep and/or arid to support cultivated agriculture.
Globally, livestock also eat over 1.9 billion metric tons of
leftovers from human food, fiber and biofuel production.
For example, cattle eat the residues of grain harvest (the
stalks and leaves left in the field after corn harvest), the
: to create an object of greater
value from (a discarded object of
lesser value)
Source: www.merriam-webster.com
byproducts from
milling grains for
flour production (wheat midds), cottonseed that is a leftover
of cotton production, and glycerol and distillers grains that
are byproducts of soy biodiesel and corn ethanol production,
respectively. If livestock didn’t consume these plant-derived
leftovers and byproducts, they would end up in a landfill.
Cattle enhance the sustainability of other food production
and industries by upcycling their byproducts (or leftovers).
The cows in the picture above are upcycling. They are
grazing on corn stalks and leaves left over from the
corn harvest. Cattle will graze in corn fields like this
during the winter months. The residue from the corn
harvest provides a good feed source for cattle.
How do you upcycle?
Upcycling is another word for recycling. Below, describe ways in which you recycle, reuse, or otherwise reduce waste.
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