heirloom livestock?

the american livestock breeds conservatory has opened me up to a lovely world of farm animals that are facing extinction because of all of the fun breeding and genetic engineering factory farmers are doing. i suppose most people wouldn't think about this, but can you imagine if eventually only one breed of dog existed? and what would that look like? probably a 20-pound hairless hypoallergenic sad looking creature, right? well, that's pretty much what we've done to chickens!
i was reading yesterday that beef can be as complex as wine-- everything from the breed, what the animal is fed, its living condition, and its treatment factors into the taste of the meat. are there fancy groups of people who have beef-tastings like wine tastings? and how can i get in on that? it is just sad that we've limited ourselves to the most generic foods we can manufacture, so we can feel warm and fuzzy, blindly wandering into familiar restaurants to taste the same double cheeseburger in new york, tokyo, or sydney...

and i think i found a new purse book!


also, do i need one of these? seems kind of absurd, but am i just inappropriately refusing to jump the new technology bandwagon to be quickly left in the dust?