SOME 15 YEARS AGO, in the picturesque Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, an organic farmer from the aptly named area of Seacow Pond split his dairy cows across two paddocks, one of which had beach frontage. Over time, Joe Dorgan noticed that his cows by the ocean were in better shape than their fellow
bovines; they were producing more milk, had fewer udder infections (so, health costs decreased by one-third), and were highly reproductive. They seemed to be all-around happier animals. The only difference he could see between the two herds was the more content ones had access to the beach and were eating seaweed.
On a hunch, Dorgan dragged seaweed across the road for his land-locked cattle to see if it would make a difference. Before long,
