Hamburger Cows

Last week Ally asked me if the cows in the field on the road to our house were the type of cows that gave milk. The cows were black Angus, bred for meat production. There aren't too many dairy farms in this area of the state and just about all the cattle are Angus or Herefords. I told Ally that those weren't milk cows and she then asked what kind of cows they were.

We haven't really talked with Ally about where our meat comes from. Not that we worry that she'll have a fit over eating animals, but rather because we haven't discussed death yet. We haven't had an opportunity to do this and thankfully we haven't needed to do so and I'm all for skirting the issue until a later date. So I'm not sure what led me to tell Ally that those black cows on the hill were hamburger cows, not milk cows.

Ally immediately asked what a hamburger cow was. She's a smart girl and I should have known this would be her next question. Since the subject was on the table, I just told her that the farmer raised those cows for hamburger. Some farmers raise cattle to make milk, while other farmers raise cows for hamburger. I held my breath in anticipation of the next logical question, of how exactly does the farmer get hamburger out of the cow?

Thankfully Ally merely asked if the farmer also grew the hamburger buns.