Holy Cow

Having been a sacred animal in Hinduism, the Zebu has it’s own cult in a lively capitalist occidental country, as one of the most significant commodities of the Brazilian commerce.

Brought to Brazil in lately 19th century, it has adapted to the geography in such a way that in 2012 Brazil overtook the US and became the largest exporter of beef in the world. The Brazilian meat market has reached a record in 2019 with US$7,45 billions of income and over 1,828 millions of tones of meat exported, numbers that keep growing and turns economy during these last years of crises.

The country occupies 25% of the international meat market. We can say that from each four steaks eaten in the world, one is from Brazilian origin.

These figures are only possible due to the genetic development of the breed in a use of extremely controlled artificial insemination to get to the perfect animal. The origin of the seeds as well as that of the eggs is studied upstream. Some are sold for $ 1 million and are cloned to maintain its genetical value alive. By genetical development and crossings, the rich Brazilian farmers are already preparing the next animals to be resistants to world climate change.

In 2019, Amazonian farmers purposely set fire to the rainforests to force cattle entrance into preserved environmental areas. Farmers, however, do not seem to worry about environmental crises. With the arrival of China among the Brazilian meat-buying countries in 2019, the rich farmers are preparing their lands for the growth of their activities.

Holy Cow is about the very starting point of the international meat business. It aims to understand the characteristics of the Brazilian rural capitalists, the ambiance and the identity of those who decide the quality of the meat we eat in the world today.