“Unhappy cows =/= milk” ???? Where on earth does this idea come from?
So the dairy industry is immensely cruel, and this is true of ALL dairy farms, regardless of label, size or location. These cows have been genetically engineered to their extreme detriment to producing so much more ilk than is natural or healthy and they spend their too sort lives having their reproductive systems brutally exploited and their calves stolen from them repeatedly before they are slaughtered for their flesh at a fraction of their lifespan when they are no longer profitable enough to farmers for their milk. A quick reminder that this beautiful animal will end up in a slaughterhouse, brutally slaughtered for profit at a fraction of their lifespan (around 6 years old) when their bodies are too ravaged from such intense exploitation. The dairy industry is one of the cruelest in animal agriculture. Just one example is that cows spend seven months of every year simultaneously pregnant and producing large quantities of milk. This enormous physical demand (coupled with genetic engineering via selective breeding to maximize milk yield) means her average milk yield will be around 25 liters a day but can be up to 50 litres a day. In addition, a calf would normally feed five to six times a day so that the maximum amount of milk in her udder at any one time would be around two litres but on most dairy farms a cow is milked only twice a day, allowing milk to accumulate in the udder and can force her to carry around 20 litres of milk or more which greatly enlarges the udder and leads to lameness in her hind legs and predisposes her to mastitis (a painful infection of the udder) which affects 30% of UK dairy cows. This does not make for a “ happy cow” There seems to be a massive, either deliberate or non-deliberate spreading of “happy cow” propaganda and misinformation. And an odd but pretty telling name drop of PETA which, while is controversial amoung both vegans and non vegans/carnists for many valid reasons, has done great investigations into many forms of animal exploitations such as dairy farms, is not the only organization to have done such work and is an organization repeatedly used to somehow invalidate uncomfortable truths. As if footage of a slaughterhouse/farm is somehow invalidated if it comes from PETA activists instead of Viva activists or Animal Aid or Animal Equality etc.
If anyone reading wants to learn more about this horrific industry I will link to some sources of info below:
~ Dairy cows: trapped between performance demands and adaptability.
~ Veal: All calves raised for veal worldwide are male calves that are by-products of the dairy industry. In many countries such as the USA veal crates are still the predominant rearing system. These tiny wooden crates are so narrow that the calves cannot turn around for most of their lives, depriving them of exercise and preventing normal muscle development – to keep their flesh “supple”. They are also fed an iron-deficient diet to produce the anemic ‘white’ veal prized by gourmets. Calves kept in these conditions suffer from high incidences of infectious disease and develop stereotyped behavior patterns such as tongue rolling, crate-licking or mutual tongue sucking. Veal crates were banned in the EU in 2007 but veal production (within any rearing system) still requires calves to be separated from their mothers within a day of birth. These calves are then placed in pens or hutches, alone or with several other calves, before they are sold to be reared mostly as ‘rose veal’. They are then slaughtered at around six months of age, although some may be older. The UK also exports calves to the EU to be raised for veal.
~ When it comes specifically to mother-calf bonds in cows, separation is incredibly detrimental and traumatic, as cows would naturally suckle their calves for nine months to a year after their long gestation period, just like other strongly maternal species, and the strong bond that is formed between mother and calf in the first few hours after birth makes this enforced separation a very traumatic experience. We also know the early separation of cow and calf has long-term effects on social behavior. Another study on forced separation of calves and their mothers (here) and one (here) and (here) and (here)
~ Info from a really fab UK charity Viva on the dairy industry!
~ Dairy Farmers Are Killing Cows Younger To Maximise Profits
~ Here’s a link to with testimonials of former dairy farmers. A quote from a former dairy farmer I found incredibly powerful is “It is a deceptive place. Only the ones who are inside really know that. I am not talking about a one hour visit to the farm… Whoever is really inside, knows what kind of place it is. It’s hell. There is terrible suffering there… The screams of the mothers … I still hear the sound. It won’t go away. I keep thinking about it. Today I am a mother, and I don’t understand how people who say that they love animals don’t see it. Don’t understand it.” and“And they cried and called for their babies. They call and call.“ And a fab piece on a former dairy farmer who amazingly turned his farm into a sanctuary and is now a plant based farmer (here).
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