Cows Eat Candy – How Does This Affect Your Sugar-Free Diet?

With the drought this year, the cost of many types of foods has risen, with corn being one of them. Because of this, farm animal feed costs have gotten higher, which translates into higher-priced meat such as bacon. For some farmers and ranchers, however, it leads to alternative feeding methods to reduce costs. Some cows are now being fed a variety of different types of alternative feed, one of which includes candy. So how does the increased sugar intake of cows affect them? For those on a low-sugar diet, will the cow’s milk or meat be affected? Read on to find out.  

According to CNN Money, farmers have been mixing candy in with the feed for cows for a long time, as it is cheaper than other types of feed and can save some money. With the increased cost of corn over this last year, the cost for cattle feed has increased exponentially, causing many farmers to increase the amount of sugar-filled candy they feed to the cows.The first question, of course, is how this affects the cows – is it harmful to their health? According to livestock nutritionists, it is not harmful to the cows to feed them candy, including such items as ice cream sprinkles and hot chocolate mix. This doesn’t mean that the diet of the cows is completely overhauled, and to keep the cows in good health farmers are limiting the amount of candy in the cow’s diet to 3% of their overall food intake.

The benefit seen for the farmers is not only the upfront monetary savings, but it seems to have had beneficial side effects on the cows physically as well. Unlike humans, who typically like to adhere to a low-sugar; diet to keep weight in check, it is a good thing when a cow gains weight without additional cost of feed. Another side effect that seems to be caused in the cows that consume this amount of sugar – increased milk production. According to the CNN Money article, one farmer has seen an increase of approximately three pounds per cow per day, which he attributes solely to the sugar in the ice cream sprinkles he has fed his cows.

So it’s good for the cows, but what about humans? If you are on a low sugar diet, what happens when a cow eats candy containing sugar? Does it make it into the meat and milk? According to reports, it has no effect on any part of the animal for human consumption, so there is no need for those on a low sugar diet to be concerned with farmers feeding cows candy.