When A Cow is More than A Cow

Back in high school I remember preparing a speech with the title 'When A Cow is More Than A Cow'. Even for a ranch/ag kid I can remember being shocked by all the by products that cow from a cow. I remember doing all sorts of research, being excited to present my findings and shocked with all that I didn't know! I mean I was a ranch kid, I knew lots about a cow! I don't remember if I did this for a FFA competition or FCCLA competition, but I remember giving that speech at several different community meetings and at my 4-H meeting. I wish I still had that crumbled old folder that held all that information, but I have moved way too much in my short life to still have that.



So, When is cow more than just a cow, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

A Cow is more when it's a meal:

• Blood Sausage
• Marshmallows
• Candies
• Mayonnaise
• Chewing Gum
• Oleo shortening
• Clarification agent forPaté, juice, wine & beer
• Sausage casings
• Comsommé
• Yogurt
• Cookies
• Head Cheese
• Gelatin in Salads
• Ice Cream
• "Light" Products

A Cow is more when it's in your house:

• Leather is most common by product. Boots, handbags, gloves, luggage, shoes, jackets, belts, and even footballs and baseball gloves are made from leather.
• Bones and hooves are used to make doggie chews or ground to bonemeal for dog biscuits, and other animal feeds.
• Bone china
• Beef tallow is an important ingredient in many products that we use in everyday life. For example, it provides glycerine for lipstick, face and hand creams, toothpaste and cough medicine
• Photographic film manufacturing requires gelatin to fix light sensitive chemicals to the film base
• Plastics
• Deodorants
• A variety of cleaning agents also come from tallow - commercial soaps, industrial cleaners, shampoos, liquid soap and detergent
• Shaving cream
• Textiles
• Free fatty acids derived from tallow are also used in the production of candles, fabric softeners, crayons, paper, phonograph records
• Glue
• Upholstery
• Insecticides
• Violin strings
  
  

A Cow is More when it's at the Pharmacy:

• Insulin
  - treatment of diabetes
• Heparin
  - used in treatment of allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, and respiratory diseases
• Thyrotropin
  - stimulates the thyroid gland
• Parathyroid Hormone
  - used to treat parathyroid deficiencies
• Thrombin
  - promotes coagulation during surgery
• Glucagon
  - treats hypoglycaemia
• Sodium Levathyroxine
  - thyroid replacement therapy
• Trypsin & Chymotripsin
  - cleansing wounds and ulcers
• Deoxyribonuclease
  - acts against devitalized tissue in purulent (discharging pus) states
• Fibrinolysin
  - treatment of blood clots within the cardiovascular system
• Pancreatin
  - treatment of infants with celiac disease (gluten intolerance ) and related pancreatic deficiences
• Thyroid
  - treats myxedema (metabolic disease caused by deficient action of the thyroid gland) in adults and cretinism (deformity and mental retardation caused by thyroid deficency) in children

A Cow is more when it gets you from Point A to Point B:

• Stearic acid, and free fatty acid made from tallow, is an important component in the tire curing process
• Hydraulic brake fluid
• Airplane lubricants and runway foam
• Various machine oils and viscous fluids
• Steel ball bearings containing bone charcoal
• Car polishes and waxes
• Textiles for car upholstery
• Ashphalt
  

A Cow is more when it's used everyday:

• Free fatty acids derived from tallow are also used in the production cement blocks
• Animal Feeds
• Industrial Cleaners
• Lubricants
• Molds for Plastics
• Explosives
• Printing Ink
• Fertilizers
• High Gloss for magazines
• Whitener for paper
  

Unbelievable, isn't it! And all from a cow.