One of the very first animals many of us learn about as we're growing up is of course

the cow.

As a young boy I remember reading picture books and singing songs about cows that lived

on farms.

Or was it a zoo?

There was even an old rhyme about a cow that jumped over the moon.

Well it's no coincidence that children still sing songs like this because cows and humans

have an important and perhaps a far more intertwined relationship than we might realize.

Cowls have been part of human life for thousands of years.

It's believed that cows were first farmed for livestock around 10,000 years ago and

even way before that they were hunted by our ancestors.

Some of the oldest figurative cave paintings ever found show humans alongside cow-like animals.

In early human cultures cows were regarded as sacred, worship so because their crescent

shaped horns resembled the different stages of the moon.

In fact many great ancient civilizations had some form of cow, God.

When humans began cultivating grain, cows were the first animals used to work the land.

Owning cows has always been a sign of wealth and prestige and for thousands of years

the cows have also provided us with food in the form of meat and milk, not forgetting

the butter, cheese, yoghurt and tasty ice cream that we can now also make from it.

The modern cow is an efficient meat and milk producing animal.

The average cow produces more than 20 litres of milk in one day.

As children we learn that cows can do this because of the endless hours they spend feeding

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