This sort of thing make me really angry

[TheFirstLady]

to quote Hully Gully.

From a news story on the BBC website:
In a survey of 1,000 pupils in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset, less than one in four knew that beef burgers are sourced from cows.

Leaving aside the "less than" for the moment, if one must use source as a verb, cannot its use be confined to the business pages along with the rest of the management speak. What's wrong with saying that beef burgers are made from cows. Unless the reporter is suggesting that the cows handed them over with a cheery smile and a side order of fries?
Grrr.

[ASecretLemonadeDrinker]

Well, they are not literally made from cows... makes me think of whole cows going in blenders. Just softens it I suppose...

[TheArmadillo]

'sourced from' gives me a funny image of people doing deals with cows.

Cow in cloth cap, with pipe, leaning on fence.
'well I can do you 400 for £100'

[Undercovamutha]

As far as I am aware, cows have formed a purchasing consortium which scours the globe in order to source the finest beef burgers money can buy. Cows are well known for their advanced procurement expertise, so actually it seems that the BBC are yet again correct.

(Surely everyone knows that beef burgers are not actually made out of beef - but are consituted primarily from gristle, eyeballs and intestines).

[TheFirstLady]

Well, ASLD, going in the blender would soften it.

[TheFirstLady]

PMSL, TheArmadillo.

UCM - not Marks & Spencer burgers, surely?

[FlamingoBingo]

I think it should say 'fewer than 1 in 4 knew that burgers were actually dead cows'.

That would make it clear, n'est pas?

[hatwoman]

perhaps the alleged ignorance is because 1 in 4 didn't know what "sourced from" meant....

pollster: did you know burgers were sourced from cows?

school kid: eh?

[bruceb]

This isn't just a cow's eyeball.

This is an M & S cow's eyeball.

Or perhaps the kids were confusing sourced with 'sauced'?