Dairy

This is a topic that is brought up a lot when people find out that I’m vegan. They always ask questions like, “How come you won’t eat dairy? It doesn’t hurt the cow,” or “I understand why you wouldn’t wan’t to eat meat, but dairy isn’t bad for the cows, they do it naturally.”

Here is the thing that people don”t understand:

Cow’s milk was never meant for humans. It is made solely for the purpose of feeding their young. Just like every single mammal on the planet. So, what do you think happens to their babies when we want to take the mother’s milk? Well, to make the most profit for the farmers, and the most milk for us, the mother’s baby is taken from her, usually less than 24 hours after birth. The mother will never see their baby again. They cry out for days for their baby to come back, but unfortunately, some people just “can’t survive” without their cheese.

In fact, before this happens, consider this: to produce milk in the first place, a cow has to give birth to a calf. Well, again, to make that cow more profitable for the industry, it needs to be continuously producing milk. This means she needs to be pregnant over and over and over again, continuously giving birth and repeating the cycle of her baby being stolen from her.

If the baby is a female calf, they will put her in a crate, with very little room to move around, from 8 weeks to up to 6 months. Then she will face the same fate as her mother, which you will learn more about as the article continues. If the baby is a male calf, he is not of use to the dairy industry, and normally not suitable for meat. Therefore, around 90,000 male calves are shot right after birth, and discarded as a bi- product. If they are not shot after birth, they will be raised for veal. When raised for meat, their horns are burnt off as well as of course getting violently slaughtered.

To impregnate the cows for this process, they use artificial insemination (AI). The semen is taken from the bull, then injected (by a farmers arm) into the uterus of a female dairy cow (this is a lot of information I know, but its the facts). Also, they have been bred to make 10 times as much milk as they would in the wild, causing some infections in their utters.

The dairy cow, will keep going around and around in this vicious cycle, until their bodies can no longer stand it, or they stop producing as much milk. Once this happens, they are taken away to slaughter, and bought as cheap meat (dog food, fast food, things like that). Most people think that dairy cows do not have to die, but that is complete B.S. Every single dairy cow goes to the slaughterhouse, not one will die of natural causes.

In fact, around 150,000 cows are slaughtered while pregnant. This means, as the mother’s throat is slit and bleeding out upside down along with hundreds of other cows, the baby is still inside, normally still alive, kicking for its life. It takes much longer for the baby inside the mother to die, and it is very painful for the (usually almost-born) calf, to slowly suffocate and die along with its mother.

And that is just the dairy industry – the industry that people think is clean of cruelty. Milk is for baby cows. It is by no means for a human. All those happy cows on the front of milk cartons don’t exist. Cows were never meant to become so industrialized. The industry is pure cruelty.

So here is my point: no matter what you buy that has dairy in it, supports this cruel industry. It is the furthest thing from humane. I cannot believe that when I try to explain this to people this they say, “Well, I just can’t survive without cheese.” Well, I just can’t believe or understand how they can be so blind.

I just hope that somehow I might make a difference. And you can join me.

I would also like to say, I was not born vegan. In fact my favorite food was hamburger stew and Kraft Mac and Cheese. Like, for Pete’s sake, Ava. But now that I have opened my eyes to this horrible industry, I could NEVER turn back. I wouldn’t eat dairy if you paid me a million dollars (not an exaggeration).

P.S. I honestly think almond milk and oat milk tastes better anyway! 🙂

Thank you for reading! It means a lot to me, and the cows! 🙂

The Land of Hope and Glory is a documentary about the horrors animals go through for these products. PLEAAAAASSSE watch!! This is about the U.K.’s farming, but these are very, very standard practices in all countries, especially the United States. I did get some of my facts from this documentary, and the guy who is narrating it is a LEGEND! Look on my recipe and tips section for more information. Start at 15:52 to start at the cows. Otherwise you could watch the whole thing! It is a hard thing to watch for most people, but it is where most people’s normal food comes from. So, I would advise trying to watch it. (I would gladly watch someone picking strawberries).

#notyourmomnotyourmilk #dairyisscary