Recently, in a discussion lesson, we touched on the story of Veronika, a cow who made headlines for using tools. Researchers observed her picking up sticks and even a broom, deliberately choosing which object, and which end of it, worked best to scratch different parts of her body. When one approach didn’t work, she adjusted. What made the story striking wasn’t just the behaviour itself, but the sense of choice behind it.

Stories like this quietly challenge our assumptions. We tend to reserve the word intelligent for animals such as primates or dolphins, and rarely for livestock. Veronika invites us to pause and reconsider where we draw that line.

The article also reminded me of my time working on a dairy farm in the mountains of Ehime recently. While we never saw cows using tools beyond rubbing themselves against posts, fences, or stable structures, something else became very clear through daily life on the farm. Cows are not all the same.

Each cow had a distinct personality. Some were bold and curious, others cautious or reserved. Some were comfortable around people, while others preferred distance. Over time, these differences became unmistakable. They weren’t just patterns of behaviour, but differences in temperament. We also noticed sensitivity and concern, especially in social or stressful situations. None of this appeared suddenly or dramatically. It revealed itself slowly, through familiarity.

That contrast matters. Veronika represents cognitive ability, the kind that can be observed, recorded, and analysed. Farm life revealed a different dimension. Presence. Individuality. Social awareness. Intelligence not as cleverness, but as relationship.

This distinction becomes important when we think about ethical eating. The question shifts from how smart an animal is to something more personal. How do we relate to beings we recognise as individuals?

For many people, especially parents, food choices are shaped by a mix of ethics, practicality, culture, cost, and care. Ethical eating is rarely an abstract exercise. It is lived, negotiated, and sometimes uncomfortable. Recognising personality and emotional life doesn’t tell us what we should eat, but it does make it harder to see food choices as completely neutral.

Veronika may be just one cow. But she opens the door to a wider conversation about intelligence, personality, empathy, and the assumptions we quietly carry into everyday life.

Reading Support

(Vocabulary and expressions to help you read articles like this more easily)

Key vocabulary

to make headlines
to appear in news reports and attract public attention
→ The story made headlines around the world.

deliberately
done intentionally, not by accident
→ She deliberately chose the broom rather than a stick.

to adjust
to change slightly in order to improve something
→ When it didn’t work, she adjusted her approach.

to challenge assumptions
to question ideas we usually accept without thinking
→ The article challenges assumptions about animal intelligence.

distinct personality
a clear and recognisable individual character
→ Each cow had a distinct personality.

temperament
a person’s or animal’s usual emotional state
→ The cows differed in temperament.

cognitive ability
mental skills such as thinking, learning, or problem-solving
→ Tool use suggests cognitive ability.

ethical eating
making food choices based on moral values
→ Ethical eating means thinking about where food comes from.

Useful collocations

• raise questions
  → The article raises questions about how we see animals.

• daily life
  → This became clear through daily life on the farm.

• moral consideration
  → Animals are often excluded from moral consideration.

• food choices
  → Food choices are shaped by many factors.

• emotional life
  → The article suggests animals have an emotional life.

Useful expressions

to pause and reconsider
→ The story makes us pause and reconsider our assumptions.

not all the same
→ The cows were clearly not all the same.

hard to see something as neutral
→ It becomes hard to see food choices as neutral.