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[The Headliner]

Curiously the report doesn't specify the age ranges these figures apply to:

LONDON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- A survey of British youngsters suggests 26 percent of the country's under-16 population erroneously believe bacon comes from sheep.

The survey of 800 children and adults, conducted for the Home Grown Cereals Authority and the National Farmers' Union, also suggests 29 percent of youngsters believe oats grow on trees and 17 percent of both children and adults are under the false impression that eggs are a necessary ingredient in bread, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.

"Everyone should know where primary foods like cereals are grown and the role they play as part of a healthy, balanced diet," said Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers' Union. "More than half the food consumed in the U.K. is produced on British farms, yet the public, and especially young people, are unable to make this connection."

"I'm going to become a vegetarian."
"Does that mean you're not going to eat any pork?"
"Yes."
"Bacon?"
"Yes Dad."
"Ham?"
"Dad all those meats come from the same animal."
"Right Lisa, some wonderful, magical animal!"

[RagingCalm]

It's not just Britain.  Years ago when my brother was looking at art schools to attend, he talked to the students there and they were flaming idiots.  As an example, they thought a fully grown cow was as big as a medium sized dog.  And no, I'm not making that up.

Later, when my brother was attending his chosen school, he was on the swim team, which required travel to other schools for competition.  His teammates were driving by a field in New Jersey and they thought cotton was growing there.  Two problems with that assumption 1) to grow cotton you need a much warmer climate like in the southern United States (Arizona, Alabama, and such) and 2) what they were looking at was corn.  There's a huge difference between a field of corn and a field of cotton.

[The Headliner]

In fairness, squinting my mind a little, I can understand those misconceptions. I certainly wouldn't have known what kind of climate cotton needs to grow, though if I was driving by slow enough to make any kind of guess at the crop, I like to think I could distinguish it from corn.

As for cows, well, if these kids are lifelong city dwellers who've only seen pictures in books, I guess you could make the wrong assumption about the animal's size. If you're not given a proper frame of reference, I imagine it could be hard to tell. Seeing cows on TV can't be all that common really, unless you've gone out of your way to watch a show about farming.

Not knowing where your meat comes from though - I'd say that's far less forgiveable. Basic human curiosity would prompt you to seek those answers at your earliest opportunity, wouldn't it?

[RagingCalm]

The kids should still have idea of how large a cow really is.  Children's shows like Sesame Street, toys like from Fisher Price, or even just field trips should have told them that.  If they didn't have that, then they're seriously deprived.

Not knowing where the meat comes from, yes, I would say that's less forgivable.  I mean afterall, everyone knows that bacon comes from turkeys.   

[The Headliner]

You're joking right? I mean I don't want to correct you and then feel stupid, when you already know it comes from supermarkets.