Have you seen the “fluffy cows?” The latest social media sensation is a spate of photos of adorably longhaired cattle that are bred and groomed for livestock shows.

Photos from Adel, Iowa breeder Lautner Farms flew through Internet portals such as Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook with readers gushing “so cute” and “awww.”

Of course, as anyone who ever belonged to a 4-H Club (yes, I was in 4-H) knows, those types of award-winning animals take a lot of cosmetic work – not unlike prepping a purebred dog for a Westminster Kennel Club show.

Lautner Farms spokeswoman, Stephanie Steck told ABC News, “It’s a lot of hard work to get the cows to be as beautiful as they appear in the pictures. Exhibitors have to break them and train them and feed them and blow-dry them and put sheen in their hair. It’s similar to humans waking up and taking a shower and getting ready for the day.”

And there’s the rub. That human comparison.

Don’t get me wrong, I applaud Lautner Farms for this unique and beautiful breed and what raising and showing these animals teaches farm children about responsibility and animal care.

My question to you, our faithful readers, is this: If the “fluffy cow” social media sensation good for the industry? Is it a feel-good association with animal agriculture sorely needed as an antidote to the attacks on everything from animal housing to antibiotics use?

As Meatingplace blogger Emily Meredith points out, consumers often are looking for Old McDonald’s farm.

Or, does this social media love affair with fluffy cows do more to anthropomorphize food animals, making the never-set-foot-on-a-farm consumer even more concerned about these bambi-esque critters landing on their dinner plate?

Is any pub good pub?

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