Pt. 27: Free as a bird
A heartfelt howdy to all you dairy-lovin’ readers out there! Both the sun and good fortune shine down on our meetin’ today, as Spring is in full swing and the world seems more lush by the week. Our gardens are a-buzzin’ with bees and bugs, and the forests are alive with the sound of songbirds. Yet, when this here storyteller went ridin’ through the open countryside the other day, a subtle sense of sadness struck his soul all the same. The meadows and fields, though beautiful and green, seemed just a bit quiet.
This storyteller remembers walking those same fields as a young boy with his dad, and “quiet” was not one of the words that came to mind then. No sir, the orchestra of meadow birds was deafening, as they performed their aerial acrobatics and each proclaimed their rule over a little patch of land. Year after year, we would walk the fields and place sticks near their nests, so that the farmers would know to mow around it. Year after year, the amount of sticks we had to place grew less and less, despite our best efforts.
“Free as a bird”, people often say, but that freedom ain’t quite what it used to be. The gradual disappearing of our winged neighbours is yet another example of how our current agricultural system is not sustainable. We created a green wasteland and called it “nature”, but nature itself doesn’t agree. The national bird of the Netherlands, the Grutto, has seen its population decrease by over 75% in the last fifty years, and it’s still dropping. On the bright side, it’s never too late to make a change and we’re working hard and harder to turn those tides! If we can transition to a vegan way of producing dairy, that frees up a whole lot of room for our feathered friends to live a good life.
So how’s that transition lookin’? Well as it turns out, things are right on track! The good work of Those Vegan Cowboys has caught many an eye, and there are constant talks with investors who’re looking to be on the right side of history. With every one we get on board, the future looks a little brighter.
Our collaboration with the German company Formo has proven to be more than fruitful. And small wonder, since we share the same dream and the same mission. Together, we are making good progress on the making of delicious cheeses, and the work is steadily progressing.
And as we’re on the hunt for a couple of new Chief Cowboys, we’re almost overwhelmed with the amount of people reaching out to us. It’s encouraging to see that so many people want to contribute to the good cause, and put their skills to use in making our vegan dreams come true.
As a result of all this, Those Vegan Cowboys is steadily growing and branching out. They’ve even got their sights set on crossin’ the big pond and putting down roots in the United States of America. After all, the pioneer’s trail has always led west.
So there ya have it. Next time you’re out and about, maybe you’ll look at those birds in the field with a slightly different set of eyes. You’ll look at them and see perseverance, and the determination to uphold a natural life. You’ll look at them and see yet another reason to change, and to grow beyond the old ways to which we’ve clung for so long. Because you know, freedom swings both ways, and if we’re taking it away from nature in order to guarantee our own, then neither is truly free. You wanna be free as a bird? Well, then you better make sure the bird is free to begin with.
