# Another Dairy Cow Question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-dairy-cow-question/78373>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 27, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-dairy-cow-question/78373 "2001-08-27T19:19:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-dairy-cow-question/78373/1 "2001-08-27T19:19:17Z")

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I tried to sneak this into an eariler thread but it didn’t take so I’ll try it here. What happens to dairy cows after they have outlived their usefulness? Are they slaughtered just like beef cattle or is their meat somehow different? When we buy beef at the Safeway does it include meat from dairy cows? Is that what Grade G beef is made of?

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**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-dairy-cow-question/78373/2 "2001-08-27T19:52:07Z")

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When I worked in a dairy farm, we would sell the older cows for meat.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-dairy-cow-question/78373/3 "2001-08-27T19:59:19Z")

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They go to the butcher. Meat from dairy cows is generally less marbled and tougher, so it’s classed as “standard,” “utility” or another of the less-than-appealing grades. It’s sometimes ground up and mixed with better beef in hamburger, sometimes used for stock or precooked foods where it can be tenderized.

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**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-dairy-cow-question/78373/4 "2001-08-27T20:10:48Z")

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This link has a chart about halfway down the page showing the relation of age and degree of marbling to USDA classification:

[http://www.restorationfarms.com/quality.htm](http://www.restorationfarms.com/quality.htm)

As indicated, a old milk cow will be usable, but be a lousy grade of beef.

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2001, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-dairy-cow-question/78373/5 "2001-08-27T20:32:20Z")

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McDonald’s tells **Cecil**

> [@](#):
>
> To maintain our customers’ expectations and preference for lean, flavorful hamburgers, we carefully select fine cuts of grain fed beef and leaner cuts from dairy cattle. This is a typical combination for quality ground beef. More importantly, we have found that this combination results in a flavorful hamburger that also has a significantly lower percentage of fat (20 percent) than the government limits (30 percent).  
> [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_097b.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_097b.html)