Skittles and Steaks

Here’s a new way to get your red Skittles fix.

Eat a steak.

What could Skittles and steaks have in common?

It’s not that they both start with “s”.

The first has been used as feed for the second.

Yup, you read that right.

But these aren’t just any Skittles.

They’re red (and were missing the “s”)

And no one would have known about it.

Except.

Wait for it.

In January they fell off the back of a truck.

Could I make this stuff up?

This is from CNN: “The sheriff’s department later found out that the Skittles fell off a truck that was hauling the red candies to be used as cattle feed.

Yes, they’re feeding candy to cows — and they’ve been doing it for years.

A former farmer told CNN affiliate WBAY that candy makers and bakeries often sell rejects to be used as cattle feed because they provide “cheap carbs.”

The practice goes back decades, but it picked up steam in 2012 when corn prices were surging and cattle farmers were looking for a cheaper way to keep their cows and other livestock fed.”

I know that calorie-wise, a carb is a carb, but there’s something really disgusting about the thought of cattle chowing down on truckloads of strawberry Skittles.

Actually, there’s something really disgusting about the thought of anyone chowing down on massive amounts of Skittles.

“Mars, the company that produces Skittles, has already confirmed that the candies found on the ground were Skittles and that they were deemed unfit for human consumption. This begs the question: If they “didn’t make the grade for human consumption,” how can they be safe for animals to eat? (They’re not.)”

The AP has this to say: “Josh Cribbs, a cattle nutritionist and director of commercial development for the American Maine-Anjou Association, which promotes a particular cattle breed, said that the food byproducts that get used for cattle feed vary depending on what’s available in the region and particular time of year. Cribbs said specific byproducts would be mixed with other ingredients to achieve a particular nutritional profile. “You might think, ‘Oh my gosh, they might be eating a Skittle.’ In reality, that piece of candy is being broken down,” he said.”

Yeah, that’s a “particular nutritional profile” I want to be eating.

Think I’ll stick to local, grass-fed beef—it tastes better and I know where it’s coming from.

What’s also interesting in a conspiracy theory sort of way, is you can no longer access either the National Geographic report on the accident, the CNN affiliate WBAY or the Dodge County Sherriff’s Office Facebook page.

Hmm…

Maybe the NY Post put it best—” taste the rainbovine.”