First domesticated 5000 years ago, cows have become a crucial part of global culture and society (National Today). They are incredibly social animals and can live up to 25 years of age with the oldest cow, Big Bertha, reaching the ripe old age of 48! They have great memories, can distinguish between human faces, and can smell odors from 5 miles away. Today is all about celebrating cows in all their glory. Coined by Chick-fil-A in 2004, Cow Appreciation Day is celebrated on the second Tuesday of July, and was created as part of a marketing campaign to encourage the public to eat less red meat (and more Chick-fil-A chicken!).
As a society, we have become far removed from the process of where our produce comes from. We conveniently buy from store shelves, slipping into ignorance when it comes to how it got there. Cow Appreciation Day isn’t about promoting a vegan agenda but it would be remiss not to raise questions about the methods in which we exploit cattle, through the inhumane practices enacted in battery cattle farms in the name of profit and power.
Cow Appreciation Day is a great opportunity to educate yourself and others about the impact of corporate farming on our health, animal rights, and climate change. Documentaries are a good place to start. There are a number of cinematic explorations concerning the exploits of the agriculture industries, some perhaps less objective than others. Food Inc. (2008), based on the Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollen, explores every aspect of the food chain from corporate farms to fast food in the United States. The film is split into sections about meat and dairy, and grain and vegetables. The documentary shows us how cattle have been trained to eat only corn, instead their natural choice of grass. This causes bloat, or possibly fatal amounts of excess gas, liver abscesses, and E.Coli infections (Pets on Mom). This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the maltreatment of cattle for the sake of monopolization by dominating corporations.
Cowspiracy (2014) is another example of a less-than-favorable look into the agriculture industry and its profound impact on the climate. Criticisms have been launched against the film’s inflated figures and liberal use of non-peer-reviewed studies, the potentially skewed figures which were used as a basis for the film’s click-bait agenda: if the global population only consumed a plant-based diet, the effects of climate change would essentially be reversed. Despite the criticisms, it does present some useful information and makes for an entertaining watch. Just beware of the bias (as with any documentary).
Perhaps standing in opposition to the message of Cowspiracy, Sacred Cow (2020), whilst overtly chiding the cruel, corrupt monopolies controlling the agriculture industry, takes the middle ground in the great debate surrounding meat. The film argues that vilifying meat is not a productive solution to combating the evils of corporate farming. The tagline ‘the Nutritional, Environmental and Ethical case for better meat’ suggests a systemic overhaul is necessary to abolish monoculture (and chemical-heavy) farms and battery farming in favor of grassland rearing to support environmental growth, increase biodiversity and improve global nutrition. It argues being a meat-eater and being environmentally conscious are not mutually exclusive.
Perhaps the most pertinent watch for Cow Appreciation day is Andrea Arnold’s cinéma vérité style documentary Cow (2021). Cow chronicles the life of a dairy cow, Luna, on a farm in Kent, UK. Unlike the previous documentaries mentioned, this film takes an unfiltered approach to illuminate their beauty and hardship. Arnold intended the film to be a presentation of life, free from any political or vegan agenda. Her camera gets at the heart of the action, seeing the cows gleefully roam the open field, giving birth, capturing their trots and moos and piercing stares. The violent moments pummel you with the reality of it all. The lack of human presence in the film is unique, with Arnold claiming she wanted to ‘stay with them in their experience’ (The Film Stage). Choosing to follow one cow, Luna, was an intentional choice for Arnold as ‘when we see cows, you don’t see the individual’ (The Film Stage). Individualizing the cow brings a poignancy and, ultimately, a heart-wrenching ending when the inevitable comes. It is raw and poetic and at the heart of it, real.