The Dark Side of Dairy

The dairy industry has not only convinced us that we have the same nutritional needs as a calf, but also fed us with ideas of happy, healthy cows grazing on grass waiting to be milked. This, of course, is not true and the reality is that dairy is a product of cruelty.  Dairy is maternal life energy turned into a commodity for beings it isn't even made for. All dairy cows are milked by force and their milk is not to feed their babies, but to meet the human demand for dairy products.

Cows, like humans, lactate, which is the process of producing milk, to nurture their young. In order to cater to the world’s demand for dairy products, cows are forcefully impregnated each year from the age of 12 to 15 months in order to produce milk.

Bulls are typically manually masturbated by a farmer 2 or 3 times per week with 2 or 3 ejaculations per collection day. After which the farmer inserts his or her arm far into the cow’s rectum in order to position the uterus, and forces a semen filled instrument into her vagina.

After carrying their babies for nine months, just like humans, cows give birth and develop strong bonds with their newborn calves as the mother nurses them for a year. However, in the dairy industry, within just hours of birth, dairy calves are snatched away from their mothers and will never meet again. This is an extremely stressful procedure for both the mother and her calf. Grieving mothers can even be heard bellowing for days for their missing young and some can be seen pacing and searching in vain for their stolen babies.

If the calves are male, they are sold to the veal industry simply because they cannot produce milk. They are kept in tiny crates, sometimes even chained, for 18 to 20 weeks and fattened for beef, before they are slaughtered. Most of the calves raised for veal in the US are subjected to such confinement.

And if the calves are female, they enter the dairy herd to replace their worn-out mothers. An average cow can live up to 20 years but in the dairy industry, the dairy cows are killed at 4- 6 years when they are considered “spent”.

Once the calves are separated, dairy cows are milked up to two to three times a day in a robotic milking system, but that varies from two to four time depending on the lactation period of the cow. Changing from milking twice a day to milking three times a day has a marked increase in milk production.  Today, dairy cows are forced to produce up to 12 times more milk than they would naturally produce for their calf due to extensive biological manipulation and genetic selection.

As a result, dairy cows are worn out hence and this makes them more vulnerable to multiple diseases and infections such as mastitis. According to the US Department of Agriculture, at least 16% of cows used for milk suffer from mastitis, which is a result of a blocked milk duct.  Mastitis is fatal and one of the leading causes of death of adult cows in the dairy industry.

The horror does not end there. Dairy calves and adult cows are also typically exposed to painful processes such as dehorning and disbudding. These “animal modifications” are often carried out without the use of anaesthesia or painkillers as it is not illegal.

Dehorning is an extremely painful procedure where the cows have their horns removed using saws, sharp wires, hot irons, or even caustic chemicals. The animals usually struggle violently due to the severe pain and are therefore held still either manually or in a metal apparatus used to restrain a cow by the neck, called a “head bail”. The pain often lasts for hours and can become chronic. Disbudding is a different, but still painful process that produces similar results. It involves the burning of the skin and therefore prevents the horn buds to grow into horns.

Well, what about free range? Dairy cows too are taken to the slaughterhouse where the bolt gun is put to their heads and a knife across their throats when they can no longer produce milk. All dairy cows endure the process of being forcibly impregnated and watch their child as they are being taken away from them each and every year, whether they are brought up in a factory or a farm. All animals, whether they are cage free or free range, are bred into existence and killed many years before their average lifespan is reached.

Unfortunately, the dairy industry is not only limited to cows. Goats and sheep will often be forced to endure the same horrible procedures as cows. And just like calves, kids – baby goats – and lambs will be forcibly taken away from their mothers where the males will be sent to slaughter and females will most likely replace the ill and “spent” adult females.

If you are thinking about ditching dairy, the good news is that it is getting easier every day thanks to an increasing number of alternatives. More and more people stop paying for dairy products and support plant-based substitutes. Products such as soy milk, nut cheeses, and vegan butter will cater to all your milk, cheese, and yoghurt needs.