Can Brazil’s supercows feed the world?

巴西的超级奶牛能否养活世界?

The Inquiry

2025-07-08

23 分钟
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Brazil’s Zebu cattle, or “supercows” are bred for size, strength, and meat quality. Every year the animals are showcased at ExpoZebu, Brazil’s premier cattle fair. These animals are preened, pampered, and prized, before being sold for millions for their genetic material. Zebu cattle were not always part of Brazil’s landscape. After being imported from India in the late 19th century, farmers found their resilience to heat, pests, and poor pasture made them ideal for Brazil’s expanding cattle frontier. Thanks to decades of selective breeding and low-cost pasture-based farming, Brazil is now the world’s largest beef exporter, and demand is only rising. Despite its economic success and domestic popularity, Brazil’s beef has a significant environmental cost due to its emissions and links to deforestation. However, their genetic material has the potential to be used around the world to make cattle more resilient to climate change. Photo Credit: Carolina Arantes Contributors: Carolina Arantes, Photojournalist, France Dr. Oscar Broughton, Teaching Fellow and historian at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, UK Dr Cassio Brauner, Associate Professor in Beef Cattle Production Systems, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil Dr Marcos Barozzo, Assistant Professor of Economics, DePaul University, Chicago, US Presenter: David Baker Producer: Louise Clarke Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production co-ordinator: Tammy Snow
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  • Each week one question, four expert witnesses, and an answer.

  • It's early May in the town of Ubaraba in southeast Brazil,

  • in the heart of the country's agricultural interior.

  • And 400,000 people and nearly 3,000 cattle have gathered for a vibrant celebration of Brazil's cowboy culture.

  • There are cattle in corals, stands selling burgers,

  • and families walking around admiring the livestock.

  • And they're here for Expo Zebu, an annual fair dedicated to the Zebu Super Cow,

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  • So for the inquiry this week, we're asking Can Brazil's supercows feed the world?

  • The zebu animals are huge.