The Green Man, in an act of gross denial, prefers to ignore the alleged link between his beloved cows and those big chunks of red meat you get at the butchers. Well they are not called cow are they, they're called beef.

Putting aside the denial for a moment, Heather Burrow of the CSIRO has determined that happy cows taste better. She is working at breading placid cows with the expectation that they will increase profits for the farmers and improve the quality of the meat. "Flighty cattle don't have enough glycogen, a sugar which helps breaks down the muscle after slaughter." She says.

As a side benefit there is less risk of damage to farm workers when handling the cattle.

Most cows I have known have seemed pretty placid anyway. Any more placid and some of them would have been asleep.

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