19
September - 2011
In no animal is there to met with a greater variety of kinds; and in none, a more humble and pliant disposition . . . a source of inexhaustible wealth – the pride and boast of this happy country. Thomas Bewick, A General History of Quadrupeds (1790)
Hannah Velten There are over 1.37 billion cattle in the world. How many have you met? Chances are if you live in the West, not many, or none. You can imagine being close to a cow: experiencing their weighty bulk near you, feeling their hot, grassy breath on your face, touching their cool, slimy muzzle or experiencing their curling, sandpaper-like tongue licking your skin. Our ancestors would have known this close contact with cattle, living and working with them, relying on them almost exclusively for food and labour, and even sharing their diseases. This unique relationship between humans and cattle has shaped millennia of global history and culture – both in religious and secular life. In fact, as one commentator states, ‘No other event in early history was of such comparably far reaching significance for the development of human culture as the domestication of oxen. From their limited global beginnings in the Near East, the Indus Valley and Africa, the ‘man-made’ domestic cow followed in the wake of human movement; becoming the symbol of a civilized life. Cattle were revered, loved, exalted and romanticized. Today, cattle are on virtually every continent in the world and the word ‘cow’ is recognized in 539 different languages and dialects. Yet, in the West, most cows are hidden away on farms where only a few lucky people continue to relate with them. We do have a cattle culture of sorts in the modern Western world, but it is generally not a happy lot for the cow. Cattle cultures are now big business: dictated by the consumers, fast-food outlets and supermarkets, processors, abattoirs, transporters, auctioneers, commodity traders, vets and scientists – there are few romantic associations attached to modern cattle production, except the sight of cattle grazing in the fields. But what does this mean for cows, and our re-
lationship with them? Our huge, urban societies demand a steady supply of lean meat, wholesome milk and leather, of a uniform quality at a reasonable price. To meet these demands, the cow has been turned into an object – one that is bred, reared and grown to specification, as cheaply as possible, which means essentially that economies of scale dictate the means of production. Although cattle have largely escaped the excesses of intensive production compared with pigs and poultry, there are now far fewer people looking after more cows than ever before: this is as true of cattle in automated beef-lots as of those being raised on cattle stations in Latin America and Australia. If there are fewer people looking after cattle, is it obvious that the majority of beef- and veal-eaters, milk-drinkers and leather wearers have not the slightest link with cattle. As a consequence, most cattle production, transportation and slaughter goes on behind ‘closed
doors’, and it is only through investigative journalism, animal rights campaigners, environmentalists and the mass media that our current cultural views and opinions of cattle are formed. As a result, people today are generally ignorant of cattle: for example, few realize that the cow has to have a calf before she will give milk; she does not produce milk naturally for humans. In a media-informed age, you may see the cow as a staggering,
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Reintroducing the Cow, Bull and Ox
bse-infected ‘mad cow’, an exploited ‘poor cow’, an environment- polluting ‘hoofed locust’4 or an esteemed ‘sacred cow’? Apart from the last-named, the images we are fed of cattle are essentially negative. Hopefully, this potted cultural history of cattle will reintroduce you to the bull, cow, ox and calf as your ancestors would have viewed them: in a positive light, as fearsome adversaries, mythical beings, as mobile wealth and respected animal companions. bull : entire male cow : female who has produced a calf heifer : young female who is yet to calve ox : castrated male used as a source of power steer : castrated male used for beef production