I asked Dr. Mel what would happen if drugs like Rumensin and Tylosin were banned from cattle feed, as some public health experts advocate. “We’d have a high death rate [it’s currently about 3 percent, matching the industry average] and poorer performing cattle. We just couldn’t feed them as hard.” The whole system would have to change—and slow down. “Hell, if you gave them lots of grass and space, I wouldn’t have a job.”
