MSCHF pre-sells living cow that people can buy as burgers or rescue and be given new home

MSCHF’s cow ‘angus’ can be eaten, used, or be saved

MSCHF is pre-selling Angus. He’s a living cow, at least for now, on a farm in upstate New York. In this project, MSCHF puts the power in people’s hands. 404 people can either eat Angus as burgers and buy him as a handbag made of cowhide, or rescue him from being slaughtered and give him a new home. The way it works is that the art collective, which also sells Scout cookies for reselling purposes, has put up Angus as 1,200 burgers in packs of three and four handbags. He’s about two-and-a-half months old at the time of writing, so those who buy him are expected to receive their orders in 2026, the time Angus reaches a typical slaughter age.

Each buyer gets what MSCHF calls physical Angus Tokens with unique codes to identify their pre-order. The buyer has two years to decide whether or not they want to ‘give up’ their pre-order. If they do this, they are not refunded any money but instead give Angus a chance to be rescued and moved to a new home with other cows. In this case, the pool of money is used for the cow’s worry-free retirement living and maintenance. However, if only less than 50 percent of the total pre-orders are given up, meaning the majority of the people want their products, Angus will still face the fate of becoming packs of burgers and handbags.

all images courtesy of MSCHF

If 50% give up their pre-orders, MSCHF’s cow angus gets saved

MSCHF has already opened the sale of Angus. As soon as the buyer pre-orders, they receive Angus Tokens, which have tamper-proof seals on them. These covers hide the unique Cow Code, so if the buyer wants to give up their pre-order, they peel them off and see a code. They go on the Remorse Portal, which is the dedicated website for surrendering the orders, and enter the code. MSCHF says this action can only be done once and is permanent. There’s no turning back. They don’t get any refunds because the money they paid is put into Angus’s retirement scheme for his new home, in case he gets saved.

The art collective adds that because there are only four Angus handbags, they have a significantly higher voting share than the burgers do. Each burger pre-order represents a 1 percent stake in Angus, while each bag represents 16.7 percent. A pack of burgers costs 35 USD, while a piece of handbag is priced at 1,200 USD. ‘Fifty percent or more of the total pre-order stake held in Angus must be given up for Angus to be saved,’ says MSCHF. Now, there’s a possibility to bring this percentage higher. That is, if the buyer buys Angus Tokens from other buyers and then gives up their pre-orders. However, this can only happen if those buyers are willing to sell their tokens.

Angus the Cow

Project where individual actions can make a difference

For MSCHF, Angus the living cow is the middleman who can turn remorse into action. He’s a ‘hyperobject,’ a term used to describe something that may be complex, such as climate change. In the art collective’s project, the focus is on the individuals, the buyers. MSCHF thinks that when people realize how much impact they can have, or when they believe they can’t make a difference, they might feel disillusioned and less likely to take action. In Angus’s case, they can reverse their decisions and make a change.

The living cow represents a vision or hope that individual actions can make a difference. The project suggests that there is a possibility that people can have a meaningful impact on large-scale issues rather than feeling powerless. ‘Angus was destined for slaughter from the moment of his conception. His circumstances are only improved by this project. In this constructed reality, concerned citizens can materially improve an animal’s life,’ says MSCHF.

MSCHF is pre-selling Angus