MSCHF’s Latest Project Could See a Two-Year Cow Slaughtered

In about two months, the fate of a cow named Angus will be decided. For now, the outlook is bleak: Angus is expected to be processed into about 1,200 burger patties and four leather handbags. But MSCHF — the artistic collective behind viral artworks ranging from red boots to branded ATMs that openly display user account balances — still seems hopeful that may change in the next 64 days.

Angus lives on a farm in upstate New York and is the subject of an ongoing project by MSCHF our angus cattlestarting in August 2024 when the group purchased the animal. To fund the project, MSCHF pre-sold “Angus Tokens” (three packs of 5-ounce patties for $35, cross-body bags for $1,200) tied to the final slaughter of the cattle. The program is scheduled to take place when Angus turns two, the typical age at which cattle are slaughtered in the United States. (The project’s website also provides a diary documenting life on Angus’ farm, although it has not been updated since July 24.)

However, there is a problem. Anyone who has purchased Angus Tokens (cheekily dubbed “Angus Steak Holders”) can cancel their reservation through the so-called “Regret Portal.” If 50% of token holders opt out, Angus’s slaughter event will be canceled and all proceeds “will be used to send Angus to a happy cow home for the rest of his life,” the website said. Token holders worried about losing their investment can also sell their tokens on the secondary market, which MSCHF actively encourages as a form of intervention against the carnage.

As of the afternoon of January 8, only 31.8% of currency holders had canceled their orders.

“Much of MSCHF’s work revolves around creating great economic transactions and relationships across the business, product, and consumer trinity,” said Kevin Wiesner, co-founder of MSCHF. The Art Newspaper. “The core of what we do with these opportunistic, critical commercial arrangements is that we do exactly what we say we do.”

The project seems designed to spark reflection on the way animals are treated in the meat industry. The website notes that if slaughtered, Angus cattle will be completely ground into hamburger patties — a method that goes against standard slaughtering practices. “Best practice would never see an entire cow being ground up,” the website says.

“The myth of individual consumer responsibility is gleefully spread by tainted industry interests,” our angus cattle the website reads. “The legitimate backlash was more effective at silencing the public’s response: hacked, we relinquished all personal agency and were even less willing to take action.” But, the site continues, “If you want Angus to live, ignoring humans and industrial production, then your path is clear and commercial… Conscious consumerism can actually win this.”

However, critics are not convinced. they think our angus cattle Turning serious ethical issues into spectacle—MSCHF’s bread and butter. When the group first announced the project, PETA told fast company”, “It’s shameful for MSCHF to make a game whose purpose is to kill lives at a time when most people want to see violence spread. “