Page 111 - EarthHeroes

At the ranch, when the calves were six to eight months old, they were taken
to auction, where they were sold to ranchers who would raise them for beef. Renee couldn’t bear to watch Tommy load up his red trailer with the calves. As he drove away, she saw the mother cows running alongside the fence, chasing after them. She heard the cows and their calves calling for each other as the trailer disappeared up the track. As evening fell, she heard the mother cows still calling for their young and she realised that they could feel grief, sadness and loss just as humans do.
She asked Tommy how he could bear to take the calves away, but he told her it was part of the job – and anyhow, she loved steak and leather boots, so she shouldn’t complain. After that, Renee started to read and watch everything she could about veganism. Then, on 31 October 2014, at a Halloween dinner with Tommy’s family, a plate of beef stew was placed in front of her and she made her decision. She could no longer eat the animals she loved. She decided to become a vegan.
Not long afterwards, Renee secretly started a blog called ‘Vegan Journal of a Rancher’s Wife’ to share her experiences and connect with other vegans all around the world. Meanwhile, Tommy and Renee’s arguments about the red trailer grew fiercer and more frequent. Tommy loved Renee, and he knew she would never change her mind about the cows. He would have to stop farming cattle. During one heated argument, Tommy announced he was going to sell the whole herd. Renee asked him how much he could get for the cows and, never believing she could get the money together, he
offered her a deal: if she wanted to buy the herd, he would sell it to her for $30,000.
Tommy didn’t know that Renee was dreaming of transforming the ranch into a farm animal sanctuary, to rescue cows and other animals from the dinner plate. Donations poured in from animal lovers all over the world who’d read her blog and been touched by her story. In under four months, she managed to raise over $36,000.
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