Chimehuin River, Argentina

This herd of Hereford cows crossing the Chimehuin river under the watchful eyes of the gauchos are going back to their original domain (campo) after transhumance in mountain pastures. Partly covered with prickly steppe, Neuquén, like the whole of Patagonia, has favoured ovine breeding over bovine breeding which is still not practised much in this region. Most of the country's livestock mainly made up of Great British races lives further up North, in the vast grassy plains of Pampa and is about 55 million strong. Argentina, the fifth largest world beef producer in 2006, exports its beef, well-know for being tasty, all over the world. Argentinians who are fond of parillas (an assortment of grilled meat) consume the most beef : almost 64 kg per inhabitant per year. In the West, meat is typically part of a diet that is as "rich " as it is unbalanced, annual beef consumption represents 43 kg for an American, 37 kg for an Australian compared to 5.2 kg for a Chinese person and 1.5 kg for an Indian person…