I love animals. And I am a non-meat eater that lives on a beef cattle operation.
I don’t like to talk about this subject on the internet, but it is a very real part of my life. As an animal lover I took a lot of opportunities to come see the cows but I never thought what has come to be was possible. It was like all the puzzle pieces were set before me and it all just happened. Looking back, it makes a lot of sense.
I had been a vegetarian for several years before my boyfriend and I started dating and he “broke the news” to me about what his family did for a living. Though I don’t eat meat, I have never been upset about other people eating it.
After moving to the farm three years ago, my views became even clearer. I saw how hard everyone on the farm worked to take care of animals, and the extent of what they would do when one was sick or dying to make it comfortable. People believe that animals on cattle operations are mistreated, and live to die. But I saw their needs being taken care of, and a whole lot more living than dying. This whole industry is more grey than people believe it to be. So I just don’t think the solution is for everyone to eat the same. In fact, I think it’s unethical to tell people what they can and can’t eat, just like it’s unethical to tell women what they can do with their bodies. Maybe we need more education about our food so that more farms like this one are where people choose to get their meat from, and so the system isn’t slanted so the farmer/rancher has to work under very little monetary return.
I would like for people to understand the sanctuary model is only sustainable for people who completely depend on the support of the public. They are not helping the industry by rescuing a few cows and pointing fingers, because they are giving people peace of mind that is not based on the reality for most animals. They are not educating the public on farms like the one I live on, they are not working with cattle ranchers or chicken keepers or pig farms, or the producers or manufactures or grocery stores. They are pretty much saying look what we’re doing, why can’t you do it like us?
But sanctuaries cannot survive unless they have people who consistently want to give them money, and a lot of it, because large animals are insanely expensive to feed and give medical care to. The cost of feed and medical care for one month is about $350 per cow. That is a car note. And this doesn’t include the cost to maintain the pastures they’re in, the cost of equipment (which is a whole other blog post), or paying the employees that are doing all this. This is not an insanely profitable business, so you have to love it.
So sanctuaries depend on the public to meet their bills and ranchers depend on selling some of their adult cattle and breeding more. Could there be a compromise? Could a rancher meet a vegetarian and create a model where both a sanctuary-style and beef cattle style of business co-exist at the same time?
My answer is yes. My answer is that people absolutely would benefit to opening up their minds and hearts to the fact that the cows on a beef cattle operation are the same cows in a sanctuary, and that they are taken care of. I think educated people of whatever diet will benefit from knowing where their food comes from, and can handle the love and respect they feel for cows. I think it’s crazy that we are so unconnected in the first place, and maybe that’s the problem.
Though I feel this way about the economics of ranching, it is still painful. Even if I don’t live here, I still have to accept that cows that are treated well or not, do die. And I think all of us making our hearts bigger than the pain is the education, it is the moral of the story.
I have fallen in love with a couple handfuls of cows that are not going anywhere, and those are the cows I post on my social media. My dream is to start a small business where people can come tour the farm and interact with the animals just like I do, making it possible to afford to feed them without selling any. I am also getting my masters in counseling, in the hopes that I will be able to provide that service while people pet cows too, drawing those that might not otherwise be interested in counseling (crosses fingers)
The numbers, public opinion on the industry, and the physical task are stacked against me, but I know my heart and ambition are a match for the job.
So if you’re here after all of this, hi. I love that you’re here. I still have so many sweet things to show you.