My father grew up on a dairy farm which remained in operation until a tragic fire in 2001. As a little girl I loved going out to the barn to visit with the cows, not fully understanding what was destined to become of my newfound friends. One impression I often had of our bovine friends, even at a very young age, was how sad they always looked. It's really no wonder when you stop to consider the tragic lives they lead.
Before pouring milk into your cereal bowl this morning, here are some facts to keep in mind -
1) Just like every other mammal, cows only produce enough milk to feed their babies. To ensure steady milk production, cows on dairy farms are impregnated once a year through an extremely invasive artificial insemination procedure.
2) Newborn calves are permanently separated from their mothers within 1-3 days after birth (most even sooner, within the first 12 hours). Allowing them to be together any longer than that would only intensify their already deep bond, causing emotional distress for the mother which could affect her milk production. It's not uncommon for a cow to continue to search and call for her baby for days after they've been taken away.
3) Male calves are considered worthless by the dairy industry. The veal industry was created as a by-product of the dairy industry to take advantage of an abundant supply of unwanted male calves. They are usually slaughtered anywhere from a few days to six months old, spending their brief, miserable existence confined in individual crates too narrow for them even to turn around in order to keep the meat tender. Male calves not slaughtered for veal are killed for cheap beef.
4) Due to selective breeding, high-protein feed, mechanized milking and the injection of bovine growth hormones, dairy cows are producing up to 10 times as much milk as they would naturally. This intensive milk production results in widespread lameness from the strain of being constantly pregnant while standing on hard concrete floors, and mastitis, an extremely painful and often fatal infection of the udder.
5) A cow's natural life span is up to 25 years, but cows in the dairy industry are usually removed from the herd after 4 or 5 years when their milk production declines. They are considered "spent" and sent to slaughter, processed into supermarket ground beef and fast food hamburgers.
Human beings are the only animals that drink milk - the mammary gland secretions - of another species. We have no biological or nutritional need for any breast milk past infancy – much less the breast milk of another species. Cow's milk is the perfect food - for calves, not humans. In fact, the western diet rich in meat, dairy and eggs is associated with a multitude of disease conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer. A groundbreaking study has even concluded that casein, the main protein in milk and dairy products, is the most significant carcinogen we consume.
Human beings are the only animals that drink milk - the mammary gland secretions - of another species. We have no biological or nutritional need for any breast milk past infancy – much less the breast milk of another species. Cow's milk is the perfect food - for calves, not humans. In fact, the western diet rich in meat, dairy and eggs is associated with a multitude of disease conditions, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and cancer. A groundbreaking study has even concluded that casein, the main protein in milk and dairy products, is the most significant carcinogen we consume.
Armed with this information, and with so many healthier alternatives such as soy, almond, rice, hemp and coconut milk on store shelves today, why do we continue to consume dairy and support an industry rife with abuse?
As much as I love everything related to Christmas, one thing I've never been able to stomach is eggnog. Over this past holiday season advertisements for Silk Nog kept littering my Facebook feed until I started thinking it was a sign. I finally decided to give it a try and was stunned by how much I enjoyed it. This inspired me to start trying other dairy-free alternatives and I'm currently working my way towards eventually eliminating it altogether. (Ice cream is going to be my downfall though...I do live in the land of Ben & Jerry's, after all!)
The sad reality of life for dairy cows is hidden from consumers, which is why educating ourselves is so important. Even if you can't remove it completely, if each one of us made an effort to reduce the amount of dairy in our diet we could make a huge difference in the lives of dairy cows. You might even be surprised how easy it is!
