The Story of A Cow Named Rose, not Phil Green
By Clay Garrett
Phil Green is a mechanic. Phil Green rides a motorcycle. And Phil Green is a vegan. It would be fair to say that Phil isn’t the type of guy who fits neatly into the typical vegan mold.
Following a physical in early 2013, Phil’s doctor briefed him on the alarming state of his health, following up with a grim prognosis for his future. Just shy of 41 years old, Phil weighed 279 lbs. He was suffering from high cholesterol, a fatty liver, sleep apnea, pre-diabetes, crushing chest pain, elevated triglycerides, and he was hypertensive. Phil’s doctor believed sooner, rather than later, he would suffer a heart attack, and if he survived, he would most likely have a second cardiac event, as well as physical and mental decline to look forward to. It was the same path Phil watched his parents travel, first-hand.
But then, something unusual took place in that doctor’s office. Instead of going down the usual route of prescribing pills, Phil’s doctor had a different approach. She suggested a diet that she referred to as a whole grain, vegetarian diet which also avoided all processed foods and drinks. After some early positive results, including blood work numbers returning to the normal or near-normal range, Phil decided to double down on the doctor’s initial recommendations. Shortly thereafter, he traveled down the proverbial rabbit hole of Netflix vegan documentaries, followed by books from Drs. McDougall, Esselstyn, and Campbell. Then came the YouTube videos and all the other resources many of us are familiar with when embarking on a plant-based diet. It’s a familiar pattern -- maybe this is your story!
But this isn’t a story about Phil. Phil’s story has already been compellingly told in the “Amazing Transformation” section of VegWorld Issue #31 (I highly recommend reading it.) This story is about a sweet, docile, 1,500 pound, white purebred Brahma cow.
Her name is Rose.
Rose was a show cow whose owner had purchased her for breeding purposes. Her calves were destined to be sold to the highest bidder and, in time, those calves, too, would become show cows. It’s a big business, and her owner hoped Rose would make him a lot of money.
But after some time – a time in which Rose failed to produce a calf, Rose became expendable. She was an investment that wasn’t paying off. And what do you do with an investment that’s not showing returns? You get what you can out of it and cut your losses. That’s what the owner planned, and that was going to be Rose’s sad fate – a blind date with a butcher.
After only seven years on this planet (12-15 years before what would have been her “natural” death), Rose’s life was scheduled to come to an abrupt end. As a point of comparison, seven years for a cow would be the equivalent of a 26-year-old human being facing death. Before even one-third of her lifespan had been completed, Rose was slated to be chopped up and sold for parts–like an old junk car.
Rose’s fate was sealed. On April 20th, she was to be butchered so her owner could recoup some of his investment. At $3.00 per usable pound, Rose’s life was now worth no more than $1,800. It was a far cry from the amount Rose’s owner had paid for her, but at least it wasn’t a total loss…for him.
However, Rose’s owner was having misgivings. He didn’t actually want to have her butchered; she was a placid, friendly creature, and he had developed an attachment to her. This wasn’t supposed to be her fate, not yet. She had always been destined to meet the butcher at some point, but not now. She was supposed to live a longer life, grazing the pasture and producing calves. It wasn’t going to be a great life, but the plan had always been for it to be a longer one.
One serendipitous day, Rose’s owner was scheduled to start working in a different area. His co-worker on this particular day was none other than Phil Green. As the two men got to talking, Rose’s owner told Phil about her sad fate. He took no joy in having her killed; he was simply a businessman in a world where animals are nothing but commodities to be bought and sold for profit. He didn’t want Rose to die, but he needed the $1,800. He lamented the fact that he had no choice but to have the cow butchered.
Phil immediately sensed an opportunity to do something wonderful for Rose.
What if Phil were able to raise the $1,800 purchase price? Would the owner accept that and sell the cow to him? The answer? Of course! It didn’t matter to him where the money came from. “After all,” he quipped, “...$1,800 is $1,800.”
So, Phil, having recovered his health and now enjoying the miraculous benefits of his new lifestyle, was given the chance to save another plant-based eater’s life….Rose’s! All he had to do was come up with $1,800, a place for Rose to live, and a way to get her there. But who has an extra $1,800 just lying around, a spare acre of pasture, and a cattle trailer?
Focusing on one problem at a time, Phil set out to procure the necessary $1,800. What do you do when you have a sentimental task and not enough money to make it happen? Crowdsourcing, of course! That’s how Phil’s GoFundMe.com fundraiser was born, and he named it, aptly enough: “Save Rose from the Butcher.”
“Save Rose from the Butcher” would be shared over 300 times. Over 40 people came forward to donate to the cause. Friends, co-workers, VegWorld contributors, endurance runners, and caring strangers were moved by Rose’s plight, and they all chipped in to save Rose from her date with the butcher. Even celebrity journalist and vegan, Jane Velez-Mitchell, donated to “Save Rose from the Butcher.” Not only that, Jane featured Rose’s story on a Facebook Live interview with Phil at HealthFest 2017.
A fortuitous suggestion from the vegan social media community-led Phil to discover a wonderful local animal sanctuary. Persimmon Hill Horses and Rescue was willing to take in Rose and give her a safe place to live for the remaining years of her life. A volunteer-run organization, Persimmon Hill operates solely on donations and the owner’s personal income. It is truly a labor of love.
As for the trailer, well, let’s just say that the setting for Rose’s happy tale is Northeast Texas / Southwest Arkansas, also known as cattle country. There was no shortage of individuals with cattle trailers, and Phil’s the type of guy you just want to help; so the acquisition of a cattle trailer was the least of his worries.
With less than a month to raise the needed funds, Phil sprung into action. He galvanized the vegan social media community. Folks came together, and with an average donation of around $45.00, raised the required funds needed to secure Rose’s safe future in less than 24 days.
All that remained for Phil was to make the purchase, pick up, and transport Rose to her new home.
On April 17, Phil became the proud “owner” of Rose, the beautiful – and incredibly fortunate -- purebred Brahma cow. And on April 27th – seven days after her scheduled date with a butcher, Rose was transported to live in her new forever home where she is loved and cherished, not owned.
No longer is Rose’s fate dependent on her ability to produce bankable offspring. Instead, her very existence -- the fact that she is a creature born into this world, is what now constitutes Rose’s right to her own life.
After Jane Velez-Mitchell raised the question, Phil was even able to convince Rose’s previous owner not to buy another cow with the proceeds from Rose’s sale. True to his word, Rose’s previous owner used the funds to buy metal to complete his personal shop.
Well done, Phil.
Live free, Rose!
Again, Rose and Phil would like to thank EVERYONE who donated, no matter how big or small the amount. It all mattered.
For Rose, it all added up to an opportunity all animals should be afforded – one simple and fundamental birthright.
The right to live.
