ABSTRACT
At the Wye plantation on the eastern shore of Maryland, the Department of Agriculture of the University of Maryland raises beautiful Black Angus cattle with all the latest equipment and best techniques. In Wye, all cows ready to breed back but not visibly pregnant are tested with sonograms by the resident vets, and those carrying no embryo are separated from the herd to be frequently tested with a thermometer inserted into their vaginas, until oestrus is detected. At that point, the frozen semen of prize bulls is defrosted and injected, with the procedure repeated until sonogram results are positive. In almost every cow-calf operation in Western Europe and the United States, cattle cannot feed itself year round on green pasture. The veterinary profession has therefore systematized, indeed normalized the raising of unhealthy cattle to achieve the very abundance that makes people unhealthy.
