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Fritz Haber
Michael Pollan purchases this steer (a neutered male cow) to track through his life cycle in the industrial agricultural system, from South Dakota to Kansas. Pollan chooses him for his distinctive markings, and follows him from his birth on a ranch to the feedlot where he is fattened for slaughter. Pollan is not permitted to follow steer number 534 to his death in the slaughterhouse.
Steer number 534 Quotes in The Omnivore’s Dilemma
The The Omnivore’s Dilemma quotes below are all either spoken by Steer number 534 or refer to Steer number 534 . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
Through natural selection animals have developed a set of hygiene rules, functioning much like taboos. One of the most troubling things about factory farms is how cavalierly they flout these evolutionary rules, forcing animals to overcome deeply ingrained aversions. We make them trade their instincts for antibiotics.
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For one thing, the health of these animals is inextricably linked to our own by that web of relationships. The unnaturally rich diet of corn that undermines a steer’s health fattens his flesh in a way that undermines the health of the humans who will eat it. The antibiotics these animals consume with their corn at this very moment are selecting…for new strains of resistant bacteria that will someday infect us.
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Steer number 534 Quotes in The Omnivore’s Dilemma
The The Omnivore’s Dilemma quotes below are all either spoken by Steer number 534 or refer to Steer number 534 . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 4
Quotes
Through natural selection animals have developed a set of hygiene rules, functioning much like taboos. One of the most troubling things about factory farms is how cavalierly they flout these evolutionary rules, forcing animals to overcome deeply ingrained aversions. We make them trade their instincts for antibiotics.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
For one thing, the health of these animals is inextricably linked to our own by that web of relationships. The unnaturally rich diet of corn that undermines a steer’s health fattens his flesh in a way that undermines the health of the humans who will eat it. The antibiotics these animals consume with their corn at this very moment are selecting…for new strains of resistant bacteria that will someday infect us.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
