*Warning* Graphic content including rape, killing and…well, the dairy industry.
A couple of days ago I was asked just this: ‘but what’s so bad about milk?’. I am constantly astonished at how little is commonly known about the dairy industry. The meat industry – fair enough. It’s quite obvious why some people might have an objection to that. The inner workings of the dairy industry, on the other hand, are not so overt. Even I a couple of months ago had no idea about the origins of my milk, something which I consumed multiple times a day with no second thought. I thought (or, more accurately, I was taught): cows produce milk, so every so often the farmers have to milk them. What they’re doing is nice, otherwise the cows would be in pain. The cows don’t need all the milk, so we drink it...Right?
Well, in a way, yes. Cows do produce milk, and yes, they would be in pain if the farmers didn’t milk them. But where does all of this milk come from? Does it come from the grass? What about cows that don’t live on a farm? Who milks them? These are all questions that never even crossed my mind; that is, until I came across an article about the dairy industry.
First, let’s look at milk production in humans. When a baby is born, the mother’s breasts fill with milk to feed it. It’s important to note that this doesn’t happen in all women, just in those who have recently given birth. The same is true of cows – they only produce milk when they have just given birth to a calf. Why, then, are our shelves lined with the milk that is, supposedly, meant for the new-born calf? Well, within the first 24 hours of a calf being born, they will be left to drink their mother’s milk so that they can obtain all the necessary antibodies, minerals and nutrients necessary to begin a healthy life. It kind of all goes downhill from there.
When that 24-hour period is up, after the mother-calf connection has been established, the calf is taken away (unless it’s a male, in which case it will have been killed for veal straight after birth). After that, it’s common for calves to be fed a milk substitute (similar to baby formula for humans) until it can survive solely on crops such as grass, corn etc. Then, as a 1st birthday present, the farmers sit her in a chair and give her birthday cake! Oh wait, no, that’s humans. They lock her into a ‘rape rack’ and forcefully inseminate her! (Happy birthday!)
After the cow gives birth, the process begins all over again, and will keep on repeating until the cow is around 5 years old, when its fertility has been exhausted (or it irreversibly collapses with fatigue). The cow is then sent to a factory and sold to become beef. The dairy industry is the meat industry.
I am sorry if this description has been hard to read. I still find it hard to talk about. But this is the reality that female cows face; this is what their existence looks like. For male cows (bulls), as I mentioned above, they are either killed at birth for veal or, unfortunately, are killed simply because it is cheaper than rearing them (of course, one per herd is always kept so that the farmers can inseminate the female cows).
Before learning this, I never questioned why there was only one bull per field; one cockerel per chicken coop. If you are still reading and have made it to here, thank you. My intention is not to force my beliefs or lifestyle onto anyone, just to educate; unfortunately, there is no effective way to ‘soften’ the reality of the dairy industry.
If you're interested in helping out: try switching one of your dairy products to a plant-based alternative! The jump to veganism can be a difficult one, so I would recommend taking it slowly for those who are a bit daunted by the prospect. I started with switching up my milk, but butter alternatives are very easy to find and implement into your diet. Again, thank you for reading - a key issue with topics like these is the sheer lack of awareness, so you actively choosing to educate yourself by reading this blog post means a lot.