What do farmed mink eat?
Farmed mink primarily eat the by-products (or waste) from the production of food for humans, in particular such high-protein ingredients as dairy, fish and meat. In 2006, according to US Department of Agriculture statistics, American farmers produced 2.86 million pelts. Since one farmed mink eats about 140 lbs during its life, that’s 400,400,000 lbs – equivalent to 200,200 short tons of waste consumption – or 1,137 unladen Boeing 747s! Looked at another way, a full-length mink coat containing 40 pelts represents 5,600 lbs of waste, and a jacket made of 20 pelts, 2,800 lbs. See also: Super Duper Recyclers – How Fur Farmers Turn Waste into Beauty FCUSA commentary, October 1999.
