The Simpsons can be related to everything, even Economic Technology Systems

If you grew up in America you probably know about the TV show The Simpsons. If you do not know about them…it is not too late to start watching. So, after you are done reading this post go download a few episodes or watch Fox in the evening around dinnertime. Anyway, I digress…The Simpsons, they can relate to anything, even Economic Technology Systems. It is true and I will use an example from the Treehouse of Horror XX to prove it. The episode is “Don’t Have a Cow Mankind” and in it Krusty's new burger, “Burger Squared,” makes the citizens of Springfield turn into flesh eating zombies. Burger Squared is produced by starting with Grade-A beef, feeding the beef to other cows and then serving the “unholy results” on a seven grain bun. Most everyone in town eats the burgers and turns into zombies, leaving The Simpsons and a few vegetarians like Apu running for their lives. Then, ”28 days later”, the Simpsons are still locked up in their home, and discover that Bart's Krusty Burger immunity is the key to solving the zombie crisis. The episode takes aim at Mad Cow Disease and the movie 28 days later. However, there is more relevance to this episode than that. Did you know that a cow’s natural food source is grass from free range feeding? Today, most large beef companies use feedlots and actually feed cows enormous quantities of corn, protein supplements, antibiotics and other drugs, including growth hormones feedings to fatten them up faster than they would otherwise grow naturally. A cow can be forced to grow to its “butcher weight” which is 1,000 lbs. within 12 to 24 months from birth. That is significantly faster than a grass fed cow which takes 4 to 5 years to reach that weight. While we do not have to worry about becoming flesh eating zombies from consuming cows coming from feedlots, it still has profound consequences on human health. Feedlot beef as we know it today would be impossible if it was not for the routine and continual feeding of antibiotics to these animals. They simply could not survive being fed something that is not natural to their digestive system. As such, this process leads directly and inevitably to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. These are the new “superbugs” that are increasingly rendering our “miracle drugs” ineffective. Additionally, the cattle farms are damaging the Western rangelands under the current system. There is less grassland, increased water pollution from cow “waste”, and fewer sources of water leading to drought conditions. All stemming from the process, in which cattle are mass produced, spend only six months on the range, and the rest of their lives on an overcrowded feedlot. Do yourself and economy a favor and buy from farmers that use sustainable farming practices. If we change our practices now we might not have to worry about becoming flesh eating zombies in the future!