2026/04/17 by Samuël Coghe · 1 voice
Environmental Science · #Agriculture Sustainability and Environmental Impact #Agriculture, Water, and Health #Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
paper · doi:10.4324/9781003487852-9
openalex publication_date 2026/04/17 · openalex created_date 2026/04/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/13
This chapter analyzes how, and with what consequences, livestock commodities became an increasingly important feature of the global economy, from the late 18th century onward. Focusing primarily on cattle, it shows that colonial and capitalist expansion, along with industrialization, urbanization, and technological innovations, enabled and promoted the production of new kinds of livestock commodities as well as new long-distance trade flows. While more and more pastoralist systems and spaces were integrated into the world economy, the rising demand for cattle commodities such as beef, milk, and hides also led to the emergence of new systems of animal production such as extensive ranching and intensive dairy farming. Both developments triggered manifold socio-economic, cultural, dietary, and environmental changes. Drawing on examples from across the globe, the chapter adopts a multi-centered approach that moves beyond a long-standing analytical focus in commodity studies on South-North trade flows and emphasizes the importance of other intercontinental and regional connections. It thereby also argues that the cross-border trade in livestock commodities, including live animals, was often shaped by structural constraints such as diseases, competition, violence, or differences in taste.