A very common question I get asked when I mention my veganism is why I don't consume milk or support dairy farms when the animals aren't killed in the harvesting process. It's a difficult question to answer unless the person doesn't mind sitting down and listening to me talk and spew information for 30 minutes. In a perfect world, I would be able to telepathically redirect them to this very blog post. I'm going to explain to you why dairy farms are, indeed, not ethical.
Let me preface this by saying that I'm not trying to convert you to my lifestyle or dictate your life or eating habits. I'm a firm believer that while I do hope that everyone becomes vegan one day, it's not my duty or my place to personally make that happen. Other people are capable of doing their own research and learning, and in turn, making their own decisions based on the knowledge they acquire. That's exactly what I did, and exactly what all other vegans have done. However, I also firmly believe that everyone should know exactly what goes into the food that they buy and consume. And since I know a bit about that, I'd like to share. Remember, when you learn something, you can't unlearn it. So if you're not open to the concept of change, maybe don't read this. When I first went vegetarian about a year ago, I felt so strong about my decision. My conscience felt so liberated and weightless. I no longer had lingering guilt every time I ate meat. I no longer wanted to eat it, because I finally made the ethical connection between my meal and an animals life. I also remember stating very confidently that I could and would never go vegan because it would be far too difficult. However, this quickly changed a few months later, when I was exposed to the truths behind dairy and eggs, and much like after I had learned about the meat industry, I couldn't re-close my eyes and pretend I hadn't seen. I just needed to do it. Most of us have this vision of dairy farms as being these huge wide open green pastures, full of happy grazing cows standing under a beautiful blue sky. The friendly family who runs the farm comes out at the crack of dawn and milks the cows by hand, feeding them and showing appreciation for the work they've done that day. We have this distorted idea of dairy farms because of the little pictures they draw on our milk cartons and the commercials on TV that have been drilled into our minds since we were kids. It's an illusion. The milk you buy from your grocery store doesn't come from these farms. The milk powder that's put on your cheese flavoured snacks or that's mixed into your cookies is not from these farms. But how could it be all that bad? After all, cows aren't killed for milk like they need to be for meat. But the truth is, the cruelty and horror that goes behind retrieving and producing the milk in the first place is unimaginable. Like humans, cows are mammals. Mammals can only produce milk when they are lactating, and they can only lactate when they're pregnant. As you can probably guess, factory farms don't wait around for the cows and the bulls to fall in love and mate naturally. As a matter of fact, the only bulls you'll find on a dairy farm are the babies that were a result of the artificial insemination the mother cow had to endure. In order to guarantee constant profit, dairy farm workers need to guarantee constant milk supply. The dairy cows on these farms need to always be pregnant so that they can lactate, so that humans can steal their milk for their own consumption. Cows are therefore artificially inseminated, typically by a medal rod being painfully shoved into the cows vagina along with one of the workers forearms guiding the "AI gun". If we performed this process on a non-consenting human woman, it would be considered rape, because that's exactly what it is. Non-vegans either give you a concerned look or simply laugh when you put "dairy" and "rape" in the same sentence, but it cannot be argued that sticking a foreign object inside the vagina of another being without their consent to impregnate them is rape. Regardless, whatever your views on this terminology are, I think we can all at least agree that this is horrifyingly inhumane and disgusting. Sadly, the horror doesn't end there. After the cows carry the baby for nine long months, they give birth. If the calf isn't immediately torn away from the mother, this will happen within the first few days of its life. This separation from their baby causes enormous amounts of stress on not only the mother, but also the calf. Could we ever imagine stealing a human mother's baby immediately after birth - or at all? Can we even begin to imagine how distressing and traumatic that would be? The mother is swiftly hooked up to metal machines that pump out her baby's food, packaging it into pretty containers, which are then shipped off to our stores so we can buy it. The cycle continues for these dairy cows. They will be repeatedly raped, their babies will be repeatedly stolen away, and their bodies will be continuously exploited and harmed for our own "benefit". Eventually, they'll be too old to be of any use to these farms. They will most likely be sent to slaughter houses to be killed. As for the babies, bulls are also typically shipped away to slaughter houses for veal, since they are of no use to dairy farming. Therefore, even though I had stopped eating meat of all kind as a vegetarian, I was still consuming large amounts of dairy, which meant I was indirectly supporting and linking myself to the meat industry. The female cows that are born typically share the same fate as their mothers. They are fed insufficient diets, not their mother's milk that is specifically and only designed to help them grow quickly and strong. When they are old enough, they will be artificially inseminated and exploited as well. Repeatedly. And their own babies will continue that same cycle. It's horrifying. It's all so awful that it's hard to even believe. How could this all be hidden so well? How could we be so blind to this cruel reality? Simply put, animal agriculture receives enormous subsidies from the government because of the enormous profits they bring in. We run off of money. False advertising is used to make us believe that everything is done humanely, and like cattle (no pun intended), we blindly follow. The more cautious or critical of us may learn towards "humanely" farmed milk, however the word "humane" cannot logically be connected to animal enslavement and exploitation. Furthermore, these farms aren't much different from the "inhumane" ones. (I'll probably write another post on that topic.) Most of us have the firm belief that the government has our best interests in mind, and that we can trust them. But some of us know better. My own personal view on all of this is that, even if we could somehow create humane dairy farms, where no cows or bulls were harmed and they were all genuinely happy with their lives, I still couldn't support them based on my morals. There's no ethics behind exploiting animals for any reason. I just can't justify enslaving any kind of animal for my own personal gain, even if they were happy with it. I could never enslave another human being even if they were willing. Animals are living, sentient beings. They should be free. They should just be cows, not dairy cows. If this post rubbed you the wrong way, I don't blame you. I encourage you to research more on your own, watch video evidence, etc. Ignorance may be bliss to some, but to me, bliss is actually doing the right thing... C
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Authoradmirer of beautiful things, amateur artist, perpetually confused. Archives
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