are the cows also used for food?

...and are the ranchers subsistent peasants, or greedy barons?

Mike,
Do you guys just write & run, or are these real blogs?

not sure what you mean by write and run, but yes, these are real blogs...

however, i am sometimes a bit slower than i'd like in commenting back. my apologies. i had to take a couple days off to visit my grandmother in upstate NY. but i'm back at it now.

the ranchers are by and large greedy barons, who often impress subsistent peasants into slave labor, some times after stealing their land and murdering anyone who speaks up about it (remember Sister Dorothy?).

and yes the cows are also used for food, i.e. beef. there are several products that are made from cows, beef and leather among them, and it takes the sale of all of the parts of the cow to make it profitable for the ranchers to destroy the Amazon to raise their cows. if we can remove even one source of the revenue they get from their cattle, it will become a lot less economically viable to continue their current practices, and they'll be forced to change how they do business.