On the night of September 18, 2007 a cow was spotted on the streets of Queens, New York. She was tagged for slaughter, but escaped that fate and literally ran for her life. Police and firefighters captured her and brought her to Animal Care & Control in Manhattan. A rescue team stepped in to bring the fugitive cow, now named Maxine, to safety on the 175-acre Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY where she will live out her life in peace and comfort.
Thanks to the people who responded to help this cow in need, Maxine now has a life full of green pastures, a warm cozy barn, nourishing food and fresh water, veterinary care, a herd of cattle friends, and the love of shelter caregivers at Farm Sanctuary.
This one story has the power to make people think about what they are doing when they support factory farming.
If you reduce your meat consumption, with each meal you helping to reduce:
- brutal cruelty to animals
- miserable and unsafe conditions for low wage workers
- water waste
- land waste
- pollution caused by mountains of manure....more than 335 million tons produced annually on U.S. farms. About 80 percent of U.S. ammonia emissions come from livestock manure.
Supporting your local farm instead of factory farms reduces the energy waste inherent in transportation, refrigeration and packaging of food.
Going vegetarian/vegan is of course the best choice. But since most of us do consume animals products, dairy, eggs, etc., now is the time to become conscious enough to make the choice to support humane treatment of animals. Look to your local farms, farmers markets or health food stores. There are alternatives for just a few dollars more.