The Modern Forgery Hypothesis

[Jorge_Stolfi]

an average herd had to give its life for a single codex.

That is a "clickbait" way to put it. But was the demand for parchment (and leather) high enough to justify raising cattle just for their skins?  

I would assume that sheep and calves were raised and slaughtered primarily for meat, milk, and wool.  Leather and parchment must have been incidental byproducts.  I bet that there were many more skins available than these two industries could consume.  Is this true?

All the best, --stolfi