How ruminant animals transform grass and hay into nutrient-dense meats
posted on
March 16, 2023
Look at those huge mouthfuls of hay. I was watching, as I often do, in amazement as the sheep's small but powerful jaws systematically intake their coarse, dry hay.
How do they do that? How does a sheep or a cow take a food product that is completely indigestible to humans and efficiently convert it into energy and protein molecules to fuel their bodies?
How ruminant animals eat
Sheep are ruminants. As are cows and other grazing animals. This means they have a complex stomach with four compartments.
When a sheep is grazing or eating hay, they eat rather quickly. They partially chew their food with powerful jaws and then swallow it.
After they are done eating, they will either stand or lay done somewhere. A lump at a time, they will regurgitate the previously swallowed food, finish chewing and swallow again. This is called chewing their cud.
How a ruminant animal's digestive system works
After the hay or grass has been swallowed again, it then moves into the rumen, which is a large, highly refined fermentation chamber. Here bacteria and enzymes break down all the tough fibers and cellulose in the grass and start converting it into energy.
The various by-products of this digestive process then move through the last three areas of the stomach for further processing.
How the cycle is completed
Whatever the animal is not able to use, comes out on the pasture. Once again, its bacteria and other microbes that are the heroes.
They converge on the manure, breaking it down and returning it to the soil. There it feeds the plants, fungi, and the trillions of other living organisms.
The animals eat the plants. And the part of the plant the animal can use is converted into tasty proteins, healthy fat, and mineral and nutrient dense bones.
Our bodies are not optimized for processing the rough forage that a ruminant animal thrives on. However, our bodies are very good at efficiently utilizing the product they create. The proteins, minerals, and vitamins in meat are highly bio-available to our bodies.
Without the healthy, bacteria driven processing chamber housed in the ruminant animal, these nutrients would remain locked away from use by us humans.
If you want to dive a bit deeper into the fascinating production process of the meat you eat, check out this article from Mississippi State University on understanding the ruminant animal digestive system.
