cows – The Green Tau

30th August 2024

Domesticated animals – are they all equal?

“Domestication should not be confused with taming. Taming is the conditioned behavioural modification of a wild-born animal when its natural avoidance of humans is reduced and it accepts the presence of humans, but domestication is the permanent genetic modification of a bred lineage that leads to an inherited predisposition toward humans.” (1)

Humans are not the only creatures to domesticate another living being. The leaf cutter ant is one example. It has domesticated specific fungi for food. (2)

But humans have been the most prolific in domesticating a variety of plants, birds and animals. Dogs were the first animals to join up with humans in the journey of domestication. They were followed some 10,000 to 20,000 years later by sheep, goats and cattle.

Cats and dogs, sheep and cattle, guinea pigs and hens, horses and rabbits, are some of the most popular domesticated creatures. There are 1.5 billion cattle, 1 billion pigs, 1 billion sheep and 26 billion hens in the world at any time (as some are of course bred to be killed). (3) Vis a vis pets there are 471 pet dogs and 373 pet cats (ie not wild or stray animals) (4)

Dogs often achieve the status of honorary member of the family. They have specially formulated food – both regular food for day to day nutrition and treats specially designed to mimic human treats such as chocolates, ice cream, beer, mince pies (Christmas time) and Easter eggs. They are given specially designed beds for sleeping and sometimes separate ones for day time use, and special ‘beds’ in cars. For the summer months they may have special mats that include a cooling element. Dogs can expect to have a wide range to toys and balls for their entertainment. They usually wear a collar, which again can be a design item, as well as a separate harness for a lead for walks. Walks may also involve the provision of one or more coats – warm ones, waterproofs etc – and maybe even boots. If they can’t walk far, they may also have a pram or a carrying bag or backpack in which to travel.

Some dogs get to ride in a basket on the front/ back of a bike. They may have special blankets to calm anxious moments such as during thunderstorms. Some dogs may be dressed in more than coats with frocks and shirts, neck scarves and fascinators.

Their owners will expect to take them anywhere they go – cafes and pubs, hotels and churches, on trains and planes, even in cinemas where they are special screenings. So far I don’t think dogs go to gyms or swimming pools – unless they are assistance dogs. Many venues will provide bowls of water and dog friendly snacks.

When they die, they will probably be ritually buried (or cremated) and possibly with a formal service in a pet cemetery too.

Could an animal receive more devoted attention than this? Why do we do this? Is it simply because they are domesticated animals? Or is it because they are animals that have been bred to be friendly and to look cute? This may well be part of the answer. Some scientists suggest that that dogs have shaped their attitudes to make friends with humans because they can see benefits in so doing. (5)

Why do we lavish such care and attention on dogs but not say on cows? Do we care less about cows because we don’t have a personal relationship with them? Is it because – unless we live in the countryside – we hardly ever see them? Is it because we don’t usually think about the animal when we drink milk or eat steak? Or if we do, the image of the animal is influenced by picture book images of dreamy cows, frolicking lambs and hens pecking away in green friends?

Recently there have been various of articles about cattle and the dairy and meat industry which might prompt us to want to take more interest in the welfare of farm animals and the impact they have on the environment.

Ethical Consumer reminds us that cattle raised for dairy or meat will be slaughtered before they achieve their full lifespan. Dairy calves maybe removed from their mothers within days of birth. And dairy cows are often bred to produce milk in quantities that is at the expense of their health. The industrial scale production means that many animals do not have access to fields or grass.(6, 7, 8)

Industrial agriculture can cause huge problems in terms of pollution to air and water from the faeces produced by the animals. (9)

(5) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication_of_the_dog has a section on socialisation vis a vis the domestication process

(6) https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/shopping-guide/ethical-milk-brands

(7) https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/dairy-milk-assurance-schemes

(8) https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/food-drink/dairy-animal-rights

(9) https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/10-things-you-should-know-about-industrial-farming

23rd September 2022

If we all went vegan what would happen to all the cows?

This seems to be a frequent concern amongst those who are not vegan. If people didn’t eat meat or drink milk, would cows become extinct?

The question is one of genuine concern but raises some other questions in response. For example what life does a cow have? Dairy cows will commence their milking life aged 2 when their first calf will be removed from her care within hours of birth. She will then give birth once year, being milked for ten months producing quantities of milk (on average 8000 litres) greatly in excess of what a calf would consume. After 2.5 -4 years, when her milking yields drop, she will be slaughtered. The usual life expectancy of a cow is 20 years. Of her offspring, males calves will have a limited life to be slaughtered as veal at 5 – 7 months. Of her female calves most will follow in this mother’s footsteps unless they are deformed or ill, in which case they too will be slaughtered.

Very few farmed cattle enjoy a full life. By contrast cattle kept on re-wilded land, although smaller in number, live a much more natural life. In the Lake District re-wilding projects are in place at Haweswater, Ennerdale and the Lowther Estate, whilst in Sussex there is the now famous Knepp Estate. According to Rewilding Britain 112,166 hectares of land are now part of a re-wilding project.

So no, cows would not become extinct but would be kept in much smaller numbers – just as rare breeds of many farm animals are being conserved.

In 2020 there were 9.36 million head of cattle in the UK. It was not always so! Originally there were only the early forebears of cattle, the aurochs. Overtime cattle were domesticated and as the human population of the UK grew so did the number of cattle. Selective breeding improved and diversified the cattle with some favoured for milk production and others for meat. As the human and domestic animal populations increased, so the amount of uncultivated land and wildlife decreased: the auroch was hunted to extinction in the UK about 3000 years ago; the brown bear became extinct in the 6th century whilst the wolf hung on until the 17th century. What is true for the UK is also true world wide. Whilst once humans and domesticated animals were once nonexistent, they now comprise 36% and 60% of the biomass of all mammals, leaving just 4% as wild animals (biomass measures the quantity of a species by its mass rather than its numerical quantity).

Rather than it being a question of ‘what would happen to all the cows?’ perhaps the question should be ‘what has happened to all the wild animals?’ The State of Nature Report of 2019noted that since the 1970s, 41% of UK wildlife has declined, and that 26% of the UK’s mammals are at risk of becoming extinct. Re-wilding more of our land would help reverse this decline and allow for the reintroduction of lost species such as the lynx and the stork.

Globally 77% of agricultural land is used to feed livestock, including both grazing land and the land used to grow animal feed. In the UK 40% of the land (9.74 million hectares) comprisespermanent grazing, 6% temporary grazing (1 – 5 years) and 5% rough grazing. Only 20% of the land is used for arable crops. Even so home grown animal feed is supplemented by imports – somewhere in the region of 50%.

Globally the 77% of land used for grazing and feeding farm animals, produces only 18% of the world’s food calories. At the same time this major land use contributes more than half of the carbon footprint of our global food production. If everyone globally were to eat the same amount of meat as the average British person (approx 85g per day), then the amount of farm land needed would have to increase – putting even more pressure on natural habitats and wildlife. And if everyone were to eat as much meat as the average American, we would run out of land.

Reducing our consumption of meat and dairy products would release more arable land for growing more sustainably a great variety of plant-based proteins with the potential to improve the diets and health of billions of people world wide (subject to a radical improvement of trade and wealth distribution systems). Research the by the UN suggests that with fewer cases of lower coronary heart disease, strokes, type 2 diabetes and some cancers, a global vegan diet would also result in 8.1 million fewer deaths per year worldwide.

Britons have in fact already reduced their meat consumption by 17% over the last decade. The Government’s Food Strategy has the target of reducing that by 30% by 2030. This target has been set in recognition of the adverse affect meat production has on both climate change and the environment, as well as the link between the consumption of red and processed meat the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer.

Looking to the future, there will be fewer cows – but hopefully they will be enjoying a happier life – and instead more land used to restore greater biodiversity.

Tag: cows

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