> Isn't cowhide just a byproduct of the enormous beef industry? It is. Even more so, leather quality is inversely proportional to the degree of industrializati

> Isn't cowhide just a byproduct of the enormous beef industry? It is. Even more so, leather quality is inversely proportional to the degree of industrialization of meat production. That is to say if your cows aren't free of mechanical implements that can injure them and of parasites, the leather you're getting out of it is worthless.