A review by foggy_rosamund
The Secret Life of Cows by Rosamund Young

2.0

This begins with a detailed introduction describing Young's farm and the benefits of truly organic farming. She touches on the horrors of factory farming and makes a believable and well-constructed argument for the benefits of organic farming. The main part of the book is a selection of loosely linked anecdotes, describing the cows Young has raised, known and loved. She paints an idyllic picture of Kite's-Nest Farm and their livestock. I fully agree that her method of farming is the best, and her farm sounds wonderful. However, I didn't feel this really held together a book: the anecdotes don't lead anywhere, and while they may make an interesting study of a particular farm, I didn't really feel they constituted a scientific picture of a cow's intelligence. I honestly didn't find many of the stories surprising: of course large herbivores all have their own quirks, personalities and desires. And of course, if given the freedom and resources to exhibit their natural behaviours, animals are happier and better able to express themselves. I wholly agree with Rosamund Young's perspective, but for me she wasn't saying anything particularly new. It is a nice book to read, very soothing, but I wouldn't really recommend to anyone who is seriously interested in cows or organic farming.