The Farm Where Cows Munch on Potato Chips

IN 1983, JIM HERR, the owner of Herr Food Inc., most famous for its eponymous line of potato chips, had a problem to solve. The state of Pennsylvania was beginning to tighten enforcement of waste-disposal regulations, and Herr found himself with no way to dispose of thousands of pounds of potato chips, pretzels, and cheese curls, among other products that, for whatever reason, weren’t good enough to sell. So Herr bought a farm, and 300 cows, and let them snack away—though he did work with a nutritionist to determine the best mix of chips, grass, and other feed. Thirty-four years later, the meat from the farm’s cows is now being sold directly to restaurants and consumers. According to chefs and others who spoke with ThePhiladelphia Inquirer, the chips, pretzels, and cheese-dusted snacks are helping the flavor of the beef. More