>but we should be cognizant of the fact that in a world without leather, there would be less cattle farming. I don't see how you can reach this conclusion. No

>but we should be cognizant of the fact that in a world without leather, there would be less cattle farming. I don't see how you can reach this conclusion. No one kills cows for their skin: they're killed for their meat. The leather is just a byproduct of this. Cow leather isn't even all that great, compared to some other animals' hides (goats for instance). So if the beef industry evaporated, I don't see how anyone would pay big bucks for cow skins when they can get fake leather at the low end, or other nicer leathers at the high end.