Holy Cow

This is the story of how we’ve changed the cow and how the cow has changed us, forever. Human history, biology, agriculture and economics have all been affected by this most influential animal. Societies which learned to domesticate the cow prospered, while those that did not were left behind. The cow is an animal that has evolved to eat pretty much anything and miraculously transform it into milk and meat, and a whole range of other products that sustain our daily lives – clothing, fertilizer for our crops, fuel for our fires. A valuable commodity to some, religiously revered by others, it is a beast of burden, a means of transportation, a way of life. Some would argue that we did not domesticate the cow, the cow domesticated us. Whatever the truth, this creature’s many gifts have sustained and supported the human race on our journey to civilization, and each of us continues to owe a daily debt to the humble, extraordinary cow