The Silver Baron

Half the health food aisle is animal feed with a better label. Kale used to get dairy cows through the winter, now it gets blended into a smoothie. Oats used to be what England fed its horses, now they're a superfood porridge. Millet used to go in the budgie's dish, now it's an ancient grain. Hemp seed used to be bird food, now it's sold as hemp hearts. Linseed used to be pressed into cake to fatten cattle, now it's flaxseed sprinkled on a yoghurt bowl. Field peas used to be pig feed, now they're the protein in a plant-based burger. Alfalfa used to be hay, now it's sprouts in a wellness wrap. Brewers' spent grain used to go to the dairy herd, now it's sold as upcycled flour. Bran used to be the horse's mash, now it's a breakfast cereal. Swede used to be fed to sheep in the field, now it's a heritage root on a tasting menu. For thousands of years every farmer knew the order: the plants went to the animal, and the animal went to the table. Somewhere along the way you were sold the animal's dinner and told to be grateful for it. The cow is eating the same diet as your nutritionist, and only one of them is turning it into steak.