- A beef farmer struggles with his conscience every time he takes his cows to slaughter, and so sets about doing something extraordinary.
- A British farmer named Jay Wilde trods across his farm field. He states that life on the farm is a feral, outdoor life. His ambition was to be an engineer at Rolls Royce like his grandfather, but he failed scholastically. Instead, he followed his father onto the farm. He explains that there is a certain way the farm animals must be handled to get the job done. Over time, he developed an uneasy feeling about raising them and then eating them. He understands that they experience the world and are not just robots that eat and sleep. He could not disconnect the fact the animals were individuals with personalities rather than just units of production. His farm primarily raises beef cattle. Katja Wilde came to the area as an exchange student. She decided to drop the city life for the experience of working on a farm. When Jay expressed his uneasiness about farming, she came to live with him with doing something with farming that would not involve the animals ending up at the abbatoir. Jay said that loading up animals to transport them to what must be a terrifying end was a soul destroying experience for him. Jay, however, continued to do what he abhorred so as to keep the farm operating until he could find something else. Katja's expectations for the change endured for ten years. She felt sympathy for Jay having to do a job that was destroying him. The inability to cope with the situation lead to arguments. Katja says she had a more utilitarian view of farming. Knowing they had to pay the bills, out of necessity she could harden her heart. It became very clear that a solution was needed to keep the farm, allow the cattle to survive and still make ends meet. One suggestion they received was simply to sell out to developers for homes for rich people. This suggestion was not something the Wilde's wanted to do. When Jay's father died, he no longer had the excuse to keep up the farm as his father wished, but Jay simply did not know what else to do. First they installed solar panels as a way to offset the environmental impact of the farm. Then they tried to get planning permission for a wind turbine, but that was refused. Then Jay learned that they could raise vegetables and crops without animal inputs. To him, this felt like the future. The change was stressful to change the architecture of their farm in an affordable way. They had their planned assessed for viability to know that it may work out. Jay felt, as he inherited the farm, he wanted to keep things as "good" as they always were, not degrading and falling apart. They moved from animal farming to vegan organic agriculture. The cows that remained on the farm presented a challenge. Jay did not feel a good way to start vegan farming would be to send the cows to slaughter. They decided to distribute the cows to sanctuaries which would be a long process. Jay considered it a massive change to accept the cows leaving the farm. It was a radical change to everything Jay had know about farming until that day they removed the livestock from the food chain. Their decision also kind of distanced themselves from other area farmers. They, in fact, nicknamed Jay's farm the "funny farm". Katja points out that the Wilde's lost 40 to 50 thousand pounds by not sending the animals to slaughter. Accepting the loss of income was not difficult at all, because they trust that there are people out in the world who appreciate what they are trying to do and are willing to support them. Katja found it stressful to think of the time and effort it would take to gradually place the animals in sanctuaries. Fortunate for the Wilde's, The Hillside Animal Sanctuary in Norfolk said they could take the entire herd. Cows and calves could stay together and all the family groups could be preserved. It was a dream outcome for the Wildes. The day after the cattle were gone, Jay and Katja received the first postcards and letters from people saying how wonderful what they were doing and that they had restored these people's faith in humanity. Katja now believes they have achieved the change that she intended when she first came to the farm. They are more motivated in making plans for their new farm, than just living a life they didn't believe in. Katja notices that Jay is more communicative with her about the future, and not looking on how he is destroying himself. They both sincerely believe in what they are doing. One year later, they visit the cattle at the sanctuary. Jay realizes that cattle do not belong to him anymore, but neither does the burden and responsibility of the outcome of their lives. They feel the cattle are having happy cowy lives.
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