Is this confronting? This is reality.
“What’s wrong with milk, the cows need to be milked?”
- I’m sure any vegan reading this has heard this at least once before.
So, what is wrong with milk?
- Cows, like humans produce milk naturally for their young. Dairy cows are impregnated just after their first birthdays. Once giving birth, the cows lactate for 10 months before being impregnated again. This cycle continues until the dairy cow becomes lame, diseased, or too stressed to produce milk, making them no longer profitable for the dairy farmer.
- A cows average life span is around 25 years. The intense factory farming conditions, mean that dairy cows only last around 5 years, before they are deemed worthless to the farmer and sent to slaughter to become, dog food, soap or low grade burgers.
- Oh, and so what happens to the baby calves, that are being born as a result of keeping these dairy cows lactating. Well if the calf is girl, the farmer may decide to give her the same life as her poor mother. If it’s a boy, well he can’t produce milk, so he is taken from his mother, and sent to slaughter.
The dairy industry supplies the veal industry.
- “Bobby calves”, those boy calves born to dairy cows are taken away from their mothers after as little as a day. They are kept in tiny stalls, and are fed milk substitutes that make them grow quickly, they are also deliberately deprived of iron to keep their flesh light in colour. These babies only live for 3 - 18 weeks, before being slaughtered. Taken from their mothers, tortured and killed, and for what? So someone can “enjoy” a veal steak.
So, yes milk is bad for animals, but hey, if you don’t want to give up milk for the cows, maybe you might want to do it for you!
No other species drink milk beyond infancy.
- Like human breast milk is natures way of helping a baby grow and form, cows milk does the same, except, the proteins and nutrients in cows milk is meant for cows who have 4 stomachs, not humans who have one! It is therefore not surprising that up to 5% of caucasian Australians and a massive 75% of non caucasian Australians are lactose intolerant!
There is a misconception that milk is actually good for you and can help prevent diseases such as osteoparosis. In fact, studies have shown that milk actually contributes to your chances of getting osteparosis, kidney issues and some forms of cancer.
- As for milk being a good source of calcium. According the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), consuming milk later in life actually contributes to a LOSS OF CALCIUM.
- Milk has also been linked to: sinus and respiratory problems, acne, heart disease, cholesterol problems
Photo courtesy of: Jessica Ukotic
Sources:
http://www.peta.org/issues/Animals-Used-For-Food/Cows-Milk-A-Cruel-and-Unhealthy-Product.aspx
http://www.alv.org.au/issues/cattle.php
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/dairy.php
http://fitwise.com/Milk_Truth.asp
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/lactose_intolerance?open
