Why do cows grow so big eating only grass?
为什么牛只吃草就能长得如此强壮？
The largest in the ape family - the Mountain Gorilla - is a vegetarian, a “herbivore” by definition, eating only grass and vegetation. Despite their plant-based diet, they are up to 10 times stronger than a human, and have a bite force twice as strong as a lion!
猿家族中最大的——山地大猩猩——是素食主义者，顾名思义是“草食动物”，只吃草和植物。 尽管它们的饮食以植物为基础，但它们的力量是人类的 10 倍，并且咬合力是狮子的两倍！
The largest land mammal - the African Savannah Elephant - is a herbivore, too. We all know about the legendary strength, intelligence and emotional capabilities of these giants.
最大的陆地哺乳动物——非洲大草原大象——也是草食动物。 我们都知道这些巨人传奇般的力量、智慧和情感能力。
The largest animal ever known to walk the earth - Argentinosaurus - also a vegetarian. At a mind-boggling length of up to 39.7 metres (130 ft), and a staggering 96.4 tonnes (106.3 short tons), this leviathan shows us how plant material can be more than enough to provide an animal with sufficient nutrients to thrive on planet earth.
迄今为止已知的在地球上行走的最大动物——阿根廷龙——也是素食者。 长达 39.7 米（130 英尺）的惊人长度和惊人的 96.4 吨，这头巨兽向我们展示了植物材料如何足以为动物提供足够的营养以在地球上茁壮成长 地球。
Cows, along with many, many other animals, eat plant matter to feed not only themselves, but their vital gut microflora. In fact, most plant matter eaten by any of us higher order animals, is not actually “eaten” by us. It’s eaten (broken down) by our intestinal bacteria buddies. We then use what they have broken down, while also eating them (the bacteria), to get our nutrients. It’s an incredibly interesting situation in there!
奶牛和许多其他动物一样，吃植物不仅是为了养活自己，也是为了养活它们重要的肠道菌群。 事实上，我们任何高等动物所吃的大多数植物，实际上并没有被我们“吃掉”。 它被我们的肠道细菌分解掉了。 然后我们用它们分解的细菌来获取我们的营养。 这是一个非常有趣的情况！
That’s why it’s such a big deal (read: digestive… shall we say “upset”) when you eat a type of food you are not used to, or to which you are “intolerant.” Because you don’t have the right bacterial colonies to break it down, your system can’t deal with it. Same thing when we abruptly change the food type of our pets or livestock. Changes to the diet must be made gradually so as to build up sufficient bacterial workers in the gut to utilize the new food source.
这就是为什么当你吃一种你不习惯或你“不习惯”的食物时，它是如此重要。 因为您没有细菌菌落来分解它，所以您的系统无法处理它。 当我们突然改变宠物或牲畜的食物类型时也是如此。 必须逐步改变饮食，以便在肠道中建立足够的细菌工作者来利用新的食物来源。
Along with a system specialized to optimize mechanical movement of a high fiber diet, and digestive enzymes that work efficiently on plant matter, these adaptive bacterial colonies have co-evolved with herbivores, and us, to make use of an abundance of vegetation.
除了专门用于优化高纤维饮食的机械运动的系统以及对植物有效起作用的消化酶外，这些适应性细菌还与食草动物和我们共同进化，以利用丰富的植被。
Cows can grow so big because their digestive system is balanced in a way that allows them, like many other big, strong, behemoths today and in earth’s history, to utilize plants in order to grow up big, and live long and prosper.
奶牛之所以能长得这么大，是因为它们的消化系统是平衡的，使它们能够像当今地球历史上的许多其他大型、强壮的庞然大物一样，利用植物来长大、长寿和繁荣。
