[mattieuga]

How about the dairy from milk cow? Does that matter for these types of stats?

Did a quick google search, and if the cow produced 2500gal of milk per year for 5 years before becoming meat, and the cow produced about 400lb of meat, then you end up with 1lb of beef + 30 gallons of milk for the amount of water the article states.

[wpietri]

My understanding is that dairy cows and beef cows are different breeds, and that dairy cow meat is not normally sold as beef. Is that not the case?

[sliverstorm]

Last I heard dairy cows are butchered for low grade meat. They won't be in your top sirloin but maybe in your ground beef.

The livestock industry does its best to use everything.

[DanBC]

Dairy cows produce milk to feed their you g. This, dairy cows are continuously bred through their lives. The female calves go on to be dairy cows. The male calves go on to be veal or low grade meat or animal food.

Once the dairy cow has finished being a dairy cow they're sold off as low grade meat.

[hammock]

I like where your head is at, but I'm not sure how a cow that only consumes 3000-5000 gallons of water in its lifetime could possibly produce 2500 gallons of milk (85% water) every year for five years.

[pkaye]

It is 3000-5000 gallons of water per a pound of beef. A cow weighs probably a ton.