Sure, they sell the hides to the leather industry, but that's just kind of convenient for them to do. If they couldn't sell the hides, they'd still be selling the meat. But the cattle industry could not get by on selling the hides without the meat.

Leather is simply small potatoes in comparison

That's a pretty good idea, anything that might take a bite out of the tooth fairy monopoly.

I'm looking for change in our systems, but I recognize that the system is far bigger than me or you. I'm not going to lose sleep living in the only system I have access to. But in the meantime, I will bother politicians hoping to change the system that way.