Have you seen a cow in real life?

[Magpie]

I think it's very easy to underestimate how different people's life experiences can be, especially on this board which skews older and somewhat more affluent.

I grew up in New Jersey, where yes, I did see a lot of cows from the window of our car, whenever my mum drove us to visit friends at the Jersey Shore. But, in the part of Trenton where we lived, if my mother hadn't had a car or reasons to drive out of town, chances are good I'd never have seen a cow, except in books.

After all, it wasn't as if the prostitutes on the street corner raised cattle in their spare time!

I think in any larger city, it would be fairly easy to get to age 25 without having seen a cow in the flesh. Especially if your folks don't have a car, which is something that's more common in the UK, than the US. However, don't forget - there were significant numbers of people who couldn't evacuate during Hurricane Katrina, because they didn't have personal vehicles! When were they, or their kids, going to drive out of town to see a cow?

Nothing wrong with that, either. Whether or not a kid sees a real live cow, obviously won't be the make or break point in their upbringing.

For the record, I never yelled, "Moo" from the window of the car at a cow. Nor did my kids. We did, however, learn to spot Jersey cows (Jersey pride, you know) . Also, having the good fortune to live near a farm museum, my kids got to see many cows and other livestock up close. They even had their favourites, that they'd look for each time we visited.

 

[Jdbsfw]

Lost and lots. even saw some cattle being cut back when I was a kid....lots of blood, probably done differently now....Every property I've hunted had cows, but they are easy targets and we always let em' be

 

[soccerdad72]

I have, but I can understand how it's possible to go much of your life without seeing one. Just like billions of people who have never seen snow - if you don't live in an area that gets cold enough and you don't have the resources to travel, you may never leave your general area.

 

[jliehr]

Yep, there are many close to our house. Even saw one in the road a month ago that had got out. I could see someone growing up in an urban core city never seeing one though.

 

[scrapquitler]

I read this article online from a British website

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/31/one-eight-young-people-have-never-seen-cow-real-life/

and it made me curious.

So regardless of where you live or what your age group (This article focused on British young adults 18-24.), I want to know...have you seen a cow in real life?

And I'll answer my own question. Yes, I have seen a cow in real life. I'd seen a cow by the time I was old enough to know what I was seeing and put a name to it. My grandfather had cattle on his farm.

I drive by a bunch of cows down the road from me almost every day.

When I was growing up, my grandparents lived next door to us, and for a while, my grandfather had a cow, so it was like a pet to us.

 

[RangerPooh]

I grew up in what was at the time a rural part of the SF bay area and there were cattle along the back roads and on the acreage that was near my grandparents old farm. My dad and his aunts grew up raising cattle as part of 4H. When I moved away in college I drove through plenty of rural farmland. Here in western Tennessee there isn't as much livestock to be seen near the city (Memphis). Having worked with poor inner city kids I can understand how they could go the majority of their lives and never see cows or experience farm life. If it wasn't for field trips or the occasional guest speaker (that provided a free program) the kids might never experience things outside of their neighborhood.

 

[Colleen27]

Are petting farms and county fairs not a thing in the UK? I grew up in the city but cows were still a fairly commonplace sight, either on drives out to visit relatives up north or from going to the fairs or at petting areas at the apple orchards and tree farms. For many generations the Michigan state fair was within Detroit city limits and a common field trip for schools/daycares so even poorer urban kids of my generation probably encountered a cow at some point.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Yes, I've seen cows in real life.

But think about this: There is a significant portion of the populations, especially in the United States, who live in the inner city and do not have access to a automobile or the spending money necessary to go on vacation. There are charitable organizations that specify in taking kids out to the countryside or to parks or what-have-you. So it's really not surprising to me that some people have never seen a cow. I mean, I'm a little surprised that this survey was in the UK, but in the US that wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.



Then again, the article also states that "nine in ten do not know turnips are best grown in the winter."

I am 41 years old. I think I've eaten a turnip once. If I thought hard enough about it, I probably would have said a turnip was a late fall/early winter vegetable. The only reason I know this was because the one time I had turnips it was in a a recipe for a "fall vegetable medley". And the only reason I know strawberries are a summer fruit is because I've picked them from a local farm in June a couple of times. But in the United States in particular, it doesn't matter when a fruit is in season; you can find it all year round. I mean, strawberries aren't as good in December as they are in July, and are more expensive, but you can still get them.

 

[Magpie]

Then again, the article also states that "nine in ten do not know turnips are best grown in the winter."

I am 41 years old. I think I've eaten a turnip once. If I thought hard enough about it, I probably would have said a turnip was a late fall/early winter vegetable. The only reason I know this was because the one time I had turnips it was in a a recipe for a "fall vegetable medley". And the only reason I know strawberries are a summer fruit is because I've picked them from a local farm in June a couple of times. But in the United States in particular, it doesn't matter when a fruit is in season; you can find it all year round. I mean, strawberries aren't as good in December as they are in July, and are more expensive, but you can still get them.

I agree! I'm 45 and Canadian. I would have said that nothing is best grown in winter.

I mean, how would you even get through the snow to plant your turnips?

 

[Hikergirl]

Yes I have, and I rely on them for the weather. If they are laying down, better bring your umbrella.

 

[MrsDuck]

I'm not British or in that age range but yes! I've seen cows in person. MANY! And I live in a suburban area. There are quite a few cows wandering around my neck of South Florida... most are "rental cows."

 

[Micca]

There was one on my dinner plate just last night! I've lived in various parts of the U.S. but I don't think seeing a cow would be a rarity in any of them.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I see cows very frequently. I've woken up to cows in my suburban yard several times (I'm on the edge of the city limits - there used to be a pasture over our fence). I have even seen cows in the UK. I would guess a large portion of those who haven't have never left the city. I also wonder if they have only traveled by train or plane, which would be more common in the UK than the US.

 

[MIGrandma]

Yes, many. As a kid I would see them every summer at the 4-H fair, and I married a farmer and we live in the country so we see cows often. The CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) up the road from us has thousands of them. Manure trucks/tractors go by our house almost daily.

I can imagine some people have never seen a cow in real life, if they are poor and live in a big city and never travel outside the city how would they ever see one in real life?

 

[Frozen Canuck]

Yes, I Grew up on a farm that raised Herfords...in Saskatchewan...and went to Agribition many years. I can't imagine going through life and not having seen a cow.

 

[Bilberry]

I have, and used to see cows all the time! That was when I was in Illinois. There was a small cattle farm down the street from our shop. Since I moved recently to Florida, I can't recall seeing a cow in this area.

My grandparents and great grandparents used to own a cattle farm. It was closed down before I was born, but when I would visit my grandparents in the cowboy city they lived in, cows everywhere. It was good fun too exploring the old barns on the grandparents ranch.

 

[bcla]

Must be a regional thing

Never done it myself, but I saw it in movies and comic strips. This kind of explains it with a made up word for the practice:

https://www.astro.umd.edu/~avondale/extra/Humor/MiscellaneousHumor/Sniglets.html

BOVILEXIA (bo vil eks e uh) n. The uncontrollable urge to lean out the car window and yell "Moo!" every time you pass a cow.​

 

[bcla]

I am 41 years old. I think I've eaten a turnip once. If I thought hard enough about it, I probably would have said a turnip was a late fall/early winter vegetable. The only reason I know this was because the one time I had turnips it was in a a recipe for a "fall vegetable medley". And the only reason I know strawberries are a summer fruit is because I've picked them from a local farm in June a couple of times. But in the United States in particular, it doesn't matter when a fruit is in season; you can find it all year round. I mean, strawberries aren't as good in December as they are in July, and are more expensive, but you can still get them.

Strawberries are year round because they'll come from Mexico where it's still warm and sunny, or perhaps in California/Florida in limited quantities from varieties that can grow in shorter winter days. My parents grow some strawberries and they can get fruit year round, but the peak is always later spring and summer. Still, during a North American winter a lot of produce is imported from Chile. They've got huge refrigerated cargo ships to bring them to the US.

I buy a lot of this stuff, and clamshells are usually labeled with the country of origin, and most retailers in my state are required to display the country of origin for any produce.

 

[xlxo]

My most memorable encounter.... when the cow lifts it's tail.... be prepared to run!

 

[dosekies]

Yes!! I love small little moo moos. They're so cute!