Time to chew the cud: Dentist invents dentures for cows

Millions of cows around the world suffer from a common problem. When they reach eight years of age, their teeth have been worn down to the point where they can no longer eat properly. They are then deemed unproductive and are sent to the slaughterhouse. On average, a cow bites down 15 times per minute and spends a whopping 15 hours a day chewing. First they feed on pasture, then they masticate the food a second time in a process call rumination , where the pre-chewed food comes back out of their stomach so they can gnaw it again for better digestion. A dentist in Argentina, the world's biggest per capita consumer of beef, has invented a cost-effective way of helping their cows chew long: they have given them new teeth. Osvaldo Errobidart, a semi-retired dentist, started welding cow teeth prostheses 20 years ago, but only in recent years he convinced some farmers in the Buenos Aires province area of Laprida to try out his invention on a large scale. So far they have had animals that would have been sent to market live for three years past their expiration date...more

This is the CBS video that goes with the report: