ABSTRACT
The Netherlands is a small country (41.526 km2) in the northwest of Europe, consisting mainly of the fertile deltas of three rivers. Nearly half of the country is situated below sea level. The climate is strongly inuenced by the sea. There are moderate yearly temperature uctuations (January 2°C, July 17°C) and rain all year round (50-80 mm each month). The original vegetation consists of the temperate deciduous forest, partly kept open by big grazers. Of this original landscape, nearly nothing is left. At present, the Netherlands has the highest population density in the Western world (465 persons/km2, nearly twice as much as the United Kingdom, 17 times as much as the United States). The majority of this population is concentrated in the west part of the country (Holland) and nearest the sea (Anonymous, 2001). In spite of this fact, the country is the world’s third largest agricultural export nation, both for vegetable (owers, vegetables) and for animal products. The agricultural activities use 55% of the land and have been modernized through many technological innovations,
16.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 373 16.2 Dutch Ethnoveterinary Traditions ................................................................ 374 16.3 Ethnoveterinary Traditions in Europe .......................................................... 377 16.4 Emerging Markets for Herbal Pet Products .................................................. 378 16.5 Herbal Food Additives for Farm Animals .................................................... 379 16.6 Testing of Products ....................................................................................... 382 16.7 Prospects of Herbal Medicines at the EU Level ........................................... 383 16.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................... 383 Acknowledgments ..................................................................................................384 References ..............................................................................................................384
