Leave the Gate Open for Protégés

In 1907, Carnation introduced a new advertising tagline for its condensed milk product: “Milk from Contented Cows.” Growing up on a cattle farm where we produced our own milk, I often heard the ads and wondered what made a cow contented. Cows seemed to already have a life without much stress. My dad suggested it probably meant milk from a cow that was (or thought it was) free and not confined to a set geography.

“Someone left the gate open,” was the usual explanation for those rare occasions w...