eNewsletter

Thank you! Thank You!

12/29/2025

ISCOWP

The $50,000 Matching Gift Challenge, the additional $15,000 Matching Gift Challenge, and the Feed the Cows Campaign were all completed by YOU before their deadlines! We are humbled, inspired, and encouraged by your support as we enter ISCOWP’s 36th year protecting cows and spreading the message of diet change. Together, we are carrying on the mission of cow protection. Without YOU, our 36th year would not be possible. Throughout the years, there have been many challenges, but you have always been there to help us through. From the depths of our hearts, we thank you again and again. A prosperous, joyful, and blessed New Year to all of you!

Hay Brings Joy to the Cows

Thanks to you, there is enough hay for the winter season. To give you an idea of how wonderful it is to have plentiful and tasty hay, here are two popular reels of members of the ISCOWP herd and their personal relationship with hay this season.

View One Big Mouthful of Hay with Anasuya.
View Digging Deep with Lila (on far right).

These are not the only joyful reels of the cows enjoying the hay provided by ISCOWP members. You can view more on our social media pages: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Thank You, YouthBuild

Project YouthBuild in Gainesville, Florida, is an official YouthBuild AmeriCorps organization that provides educational, vocational, and leadership training for at-risk youth (ages 16-24) to earn their high school diploma, industry credentials, and an AmeriCorps education award for future studies. They focus on building affordable housing while developing young people for careers and civic engagement. 

View slideshow Thank you YouthBuild.

Thanks to all the volunteers from YouthBuild and to Sarah Mills (AmeriCorps Community Engagement Coach) for helping clean out the barn! We look forward to your next visit!

Did You Know?

The Cow’s Special Significance in Ancient Cultures

Surabhi is basking in the winter sun.
  • Ancient India (Vedic & Post-Vedic):
    • Spirituality: The cow is revered as “Gau Mata” (Mother Cow), representing Mother Earth. In the 
      Rigveda, cows are called aghnya (“not to be killed”). The worship of Lord Krishna as a cowherd boy widely popularized the cow as the “Holy Cow.”
    • Evolution of Protection: While early Vedic texts show some instances of ritual sacrifice, by 1000 CE, cow protection became a mainstream Hindu pillar influenced by the principle of ahimsa (non-violence) championed by Jainism and Buddhism.
    • Shelters: Ancient travelers noted the existence of gaushalas (cow refuges) for aging or disabled cattle.
  • Ancient Egypt:
    • Divine Symbols: The goddess Hathor was frequently depicted as a cow or a woman with cow horns, symbolizing motherhood, love, and protection.
    • Sacred Bulls: The Apis Bull was treated with pharaoh-like status as a manifestation of the god Ptah. Herodotus recorded that ancient Egyptians had a strong aversion to harming female cows.
  • Ancient Japan:
    • Buddhist Influence: In 675 CE, a decree influenced by Buddhist prohibitions banned the consumption of cattle and other animals.
    • Legal Protections: In 1612, a shogunate decree specifically prohibited the killing of cattle, a ban that remained largely in place until 1872.
  • Mesopotamia and Near East:
    • Early Veneration: The oldest symbolic evidence of cattle reverence appears in Mesopotamian friezes, where they were associated with divine fertility and cosmic order.
    • Zoroastrianism: The Avesta refers to the “spirit of the cow” (geush urva) as the soul of the earth and uses cow products like urine for spiritual purification.
  • East African Pastoralists (e.g., Maasai):
    • While not strictly “ancient” in a written historical sense, traditional oral cultures have long viewed cows as divine gifts central to their identity and survival, though they are respected more as a vital resource than as deities. 
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