05 Feb 2005
Animal Herders of 23 Lands Meet and Swap Stories

Well I'll be damned! The UN may finally have hit on something that might have a positive impact! I'm reasonably sure, however, that this initative will get bogged down in bureaucracy and stifled in speeches, but the idea is good.

And it works here in America, too, if in a slightly different manner. Empty Pastures by Terence Centner details the transformation of American pastoralists into "animal farmers", abandoning their pastures to concrete and asphalt and concentraing their herds and flocks in huge confinement barns. This not only effect the quality of life for the herds and their livestock, but can affect the surrounding community in ways that may not be obvious.

The herders, from Mauritius to Mongolia, were united on one overriding issue: their common struggle against encroachment on their grazing land.

(link) [NYT > Home Page]

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