NOBLE COW: MUNCHING GRASS LOOKING CURIOUS AND JUST HANGING AROUND
31.
Where Are The Boy Cows?
By Naomi Loewith
What happens to the boy cows?” my friend’s four-year-old son asked me as we toured the farm this summer.
I exchanged a glance with his mother. Though I believe it’s important for kids to understand certain things about farming, I didn’t think it was my place to teach someone else’s toddler where veal comes from.
“On this farm, we keep baby girl cows,” I told him, “and the baby boys go to a different farm.”
He looked sad, so I explained, “This farm is for milk and only girls can give milk. It’s just like when you were a baby, and you drank your mom’s milk.”
He thought about it for a moment, then seemed satisfied and ran off to pet a day-old calf.
I’m often surprised by how many farm guests forget that cows are mammals: Only females produce milk, and they only do so after giving birth.
Bulls have a different career path. Indeed, many modern dairy farms have no bulls, as their function can be served with a monthly purchase of semen, a liquid nitrogen tank to store it and a very long glove.
Where Are The Boy Cows?
By Naomi Loewith
What happens to the boy cows?” my friend’s four-year-old son asked me as we toured the farm this summer.
I exchanged a glance with his mother. Though I believe it’s important for kids to understand certain things about farming, I didn’t think it was my place to teach someone else’s toddler where veal comes from.
“On this farm, we keep baby girl cows,” I told him, “and the baby boys go to a different farm.”
He looked sad, so I explained, “This farm is for milk and only girls can give milk. It’s just like when you were a baby, and you drank your mom’s milk.”
He thought about it for a moment, then seemed satisfied and ran off to pet a day-old calf.
I’m often surprised by how many farm guests forget that cows are mammals: Only females produce milk, and they only do so after giving birth.
Bulls have a different career path. Indeed, many modern dairy farms have no bulls, as their function can be served with a monthly purchase of semen, a liquid nitrogen tank to store it and a very long glove.
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“The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery - not over nature - but over ourselves.” |