Beef Is Much More Than ‘What’s for Dinner’ at This Siskiyou County Ranch

'If we’re gonna take the animal’s life, I believe we have the moral obligation to utilize the animal as much as possible. First, it’s good business; but it’s good morals.'

WARNING: This episode contains scenes in a slaughterhouse and a description of a cow being broken down.

Think a cow is only good for mooing and eating? Think again. Cow parts are hot commodities in the biomedical research industry. Hides go toward cell research, and bones are made into screws for knee surgery and ground into dental fillings. Prather Ranch has sold everything from pituitary glands to eyeballs to uteri to pericardium.

Lisa Morehouse hosts the “California Foodways” podcast, all about food and agriculture in the Golden State. Read Lisa’s story on Prather Ranch here.

This story was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network, a nonprofit, investigative news organization.

Q’ed Up is hosted and produced by Ryan Levi. This episode was edited by Queena Kim. Follow Ryan on Twitter at @ryan_levi. Send us a note at [email protected]. Find more Q’ed Up at kqed.org/qedup.