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From aurochs to burgers
More than a thousand cattle breeds found around the world can all be traced back to a common ancestor: the aurochs.
Today, the scale of the dairy and beef industries has far-reaching consequences for our planet.
If you’ve ever bitten into a beef burger, I’m sure you weren’t thinking about cows’ ancient ancestor the aurochs. But your burger wouldn’t have existed without this now-extinct, colossal, horned beast.
Through 10,000 years of selective breeding, we’ve transformed the powerful aurochs into the tame, meat- and milk-producing cow. As the dairy and beef industries have grown, so has their impact on the planet.
What was an aurochs?
Illustration of the aurochs, the ancestor of modern domestic cattle. Found in Europe during the Pleistocene, aurochs became extinct in the seventeenth century. © Roman Uchytel, prehistoric-fauna.com
Aurochs, Bos primigenius, were massive, formidable creatures. They roamed Europe, Asia and north Africa for thousands of years, first appearing in the fossil record 700,000 years ago.
The last known aurochs died in 1627 in Poland’s Jaktorów Forest, the species driven to extinction by habitat loss and overhunting.
“Aurochs were the largest terrestrial mammal in Europe after the end of the last Ice Age,” shares Ice Age mammals expert Dr Tori Herridge from the University of Sheffield.
She adds, “they were massive, with males standing nearly two metres tall, weighing a tonne and with horns bigger than you could imagine”.
Aurochs were adapted to relatively warm, forested environments. Their range shrunk southwards during colder glacial periods and expanded northwards during the warmer interglacials of the Ice Age.
Prehistoric cave painting of an aurochs on the wall of the Lascaux caves in France. The paintings are mainly of animals and are estimated to be 15,000 to 20,000 years old. © thipjang/ Shutterstock
They lived at the same time as mammoths, bison and humans. Fossil evidence from places such as Formby in the UK shows “9,000-year-old footprints of humans walking along these tidal flats among the footprints of aurochs and other kinds of animals,” says Tori.
The role of aurochs in ecosystems isn’t completely clear. But Tori infers “a big animal like that would have had an impact on the landscape – moving through woodland, trampling vegetation and maybe even felling trees to create paths and clearings”.
When and where were cows domesticated?
Ancient wall carving from Persepolis, Iran, of a humped cow, or zebu. ©Anna Fevraleva/ Shutterstock
Domestication of cattle began around 10,000 years ago. Early humans discovered that using aurochs’ meat, milk, hides and bones greatly benefited their survival. This led to the deliberate breeding of these wild animals for desirable traits such as being calm and obedient.
Currently experts think there were two separate domestication events. One produced humpless or taurine cattle, Bos taurus, in the eastern Mediterranean around 10,500 years ago. The other produced humped cattle or zebu, Bos indicus, in Asia’s Indus Valley around 9,000 years ago.
As humans spread and developed, so too did their methods of farming and animal husbandry. Traditional cattle-farming practices involved small-scale, extensive-grazing systems where cows grazed on open pastures, maintaining a balance with the surrounding ecosystems.
However, the agricultural landscape was revolutionised by technological advancements made during the Industrial Revolution of the mid-eighteenth century. The expansion of industrial cattle farming that followed has had significant implications for our climate and wildlife.
Today, huge numbers of cattle are farmed for meat and milk. © Creative Nature Media/ Shutterstock
Impacts on climate change and biodiversity loss
Our meat-consumption levels have risen dramatically since the twentieth century, particularly in richer nations. As of 2021 there were 1.5 billion cattle on the planet and around 900,000 cows are slaughtered every day.
Huge areas of forest are cleared to raise cattle and grow soybeans to feed them. The destruction of natural habitats disrupts delicate ecosystems and drives biodiversity loss. It also reduces Earth’s capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, which in turn contributes to climate change.
Global land use
Huge areas of forest are cleared to raise cattle and grow soybeans to feed them. The amount of land used for growing and feeding livestock covers an area the size of North, Central and South America combined. Data sources: Our World in Data, 2019, and The State of the World’s Forests, 2022.
Cattle products, including meat and milk, have been reported to generate more than 50% of global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions during their production.
As they digest their food, cows emit the greenhouse gas methane through their burps and farts. Over a shorter time, methane traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, making it more harmful in terms of global warming.
Food greenhouse gas emissions
Cows emit the greenhouse gas methane as they digest their food. Each kilogramme of beef results in the production of 99.5kg of greenhouse gases. Data source: Science.
What can you do?
All this data may seem scary and the problem might appear too large to tackle, but you can actually make a big impact by reducing the amount of meat you eat. You’ll not only help the planet but open up a whole new world of restaurants and recipes to try.
Remember, it’s not an all or nothing approach. Aiming to eat less meat rather than no meat is more achievable and sustainable. You could try not eating meat just one day a week or if you’re feeling up for it, become a weekday vegetarian or vegan.
It’s also encouraging to know that you’re not alone! Meat consumption in the UK has dropped by 17% over a decade.
You can find plant-based meals from cuisines across the globe so you’re bound to find recipes and restaurants that suit your taste. © Chzu/ Shutterstock
From a huge mammal to huge consequences
“In our desire for meat, we first killed off a wild species and then destroyed habitats to make way for its descendants,” says Professor Adrian Lister, a fossil mammal researcher at London’s Natural History Museum.
While the domestication of aurochs provided essential resources for human survival, the intensification of cattle farming has significantly contributed to climate change and biodiversity loss.
Addressing these issues requires a collective effort. We must prioritise plant-based foods in our diets and adopt sustainable agricultural practices that focus on environmental stewardship and preserve the delicate balance of our planet’s ecosystems.
