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Tuesday, 08 May 2018 12:34

Top meaty facts

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The Great British Beef Week, organised by UK Ladies in Beef, emphasises the nation’s locally produced food. Here are some meaty facts from the group:

1. Domestic cows date from 10,000 years ago. They descend from aurochs (wild oxen).

2. A cow’s heartbeat is 60-70 per minute. When eating, it chews at least 50 times a minute, eating about 100 pounds of food a day.

3. Cows can walk upstairs but not downstairs.

4. The bovine genome was mapped in 2009, revealing that cows and humans have 80% of genes in common.

5. A cow’s methane emission averages 70-120kg per year, causing global warming equal to burning about 220 gallons of petrol.

6. Bulls are not angered by the colour red; in fact, cattle are red/green colour-blind.

7. In Somerset in 1841, 737 cows were milked to make a 9ft diameter cheese for Queen Victoria.

8. Google Earth images showed in 2008 that cows tend to align north-south when eating or resting. On this there are two theories: they don’t like the sun and wind in their faces; or it has to do with their magnetic sense.

9. The earliest record shows the word ‘cowboy’ used in 1735, but ‘cowherd’ in 1018 (give or take a year or two).

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