[wheelie_boy]

This is a very interesting discussion, and I feel like I'm learning a lot.

One thing I figured was worth checking was how many bison there were pre-industrialization, and how many cows there are now.

Some quick googling seems to say:

~60,000,000 Bison in North America in 1600

~1,000,967,000 Livestock Cattle worldwide in 2021

https://allaboutbison.com/bison-in-history/bison-timeline/ https://beef2live.com/story-world-cattle-inventory-1960-2014...

[sampo]

> ~60,000,000 Bison in North America in 1600

94,400,000 cattle and calves in USA in 2017.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/downloads/Dem...

[wheelie_boy]

I think the overall question is whether the decrease in bison is offset by the increase in cattle. Bison primarily decreased in NA, but cattle increased worldwide.