The Dairy Industry

Milk is in so many food products, but why? Is the dairy industry necessary? Is it humane? Let's explore...

Consuming the growth fluid of another animal hasn't always been around. It is estimated that it started around 7500 years ago in Europe when a change in genetics allowed people to consume Lactose without falling ill. Humans weren't born with the capability of drinking another mammals milk, but rather they got the ability to do so through years of dairy farming and animal domestication.

Dairy is a Cruel Industry

Dairy cows are often thought to graze in pastures all day and live to their hearts content, but the reality of it is exactly the opposite. Commercial dairy cows are kept in concrete warehouses where they are milked several times a day by milking machines. These cows often get mastitis (an infection of the udder) that is extremely painful and causes pus to leak into their milk. The FDA allows a certain amount of pus in each liter of milk. Ummmmm, gross. Also, this stuff is designed to grow an already large animal into a huge animal in a very short amount of time, does that sound like something we should be putting in our bodies? We are the only species that drinks the milk of another, it's pretty weird when you think about it.

But let's get back to why it's bad for the cows... A cow has to be pregnant or being milked/nursing a calf in order to produce milk. First of all, most cows don't get pregnant naturally on dairy farms, they are artificially inseminated on a "rape rack" ( a term coined by the dairy industry). Once a cow has given birth, the calf is kept with her for roughly 24 hours to trigger her milk to come in. But the calf doesn't get to drink any of this milk, it's fitted with a device to keep it from nursing, because how dare that calf drink the milk that humans want for their fancy cheeses!!! Selfish little calves, ugh... *insert sarcasm*.

Once the milk is coming in, the calf is taken away from the mother. They both cry out for each other for days after this happens. Some male calves are taken to veal farms where they are put in a cage and bottle-fed synthetic formula until they are around 4-6 months old, then they are slaughtered. Other male calves will just be slaughtered and tossed aside as a "waste product". Female cows will suffer the same fates as their mothers, a life of enslavement. Just three months after a dairy cow gives birth, she is inseminated again and the process repeats until her body is so tired she becomes "spent". She is then drug off and made into dog food, soup meat, and fast food hamburgers.

Don't Cows Need to be Milked?

No. It's a supply and demand issue. Ladies, for those of you that have nursed a baby, you produce the milk that your baby needs, right? If you started nursing 2 children, three children, and so fourth, your body would amp up production to meet the needs. It's the same in the dairy industry. They need mass amounts of milk for mass amounts of profit, so the cows are milked often and for longer periods of time then their calf would naturally nurse, causing them to overproduce, get infections, and carry the weight of a massively swollen udder.

But Milk is "Good For The Body"!

Again, no. A study done by Dr. McGregor showed the opposite! People who consumed more dairy were actually more likely to have bone issues like hip fractures. You can read about it here.

Consuming milk can also be the cause of acne and skin issues. Ditch the dairy and your skin will thank you! A "detox period" of about 3-4 weeks is common when you cut dairy out of your diet, so don't be discouraged if your skin doesn't clear overnight! If you want a little extra help with stubborn skin, get this stuff, it's amazing!

Dairy products are packed with bad-for-you-stuff like sodium (cheese is often saltier than seawater!), saturated fat (cheese being the the biggest source of saturated fat in the American diet), and antibiotics, (making antibiotics less effective on you, due to the antibiotic-resistant bacteria).

I know there's billboards and advertisements and packaging that tells you to consume milk products... guess who pays for those ads? You guessed it, the dairy industry and the government. It's a huge money-making industry worldwide, and they don't want you to stop giving them your money. They have gone so far as to try and get the word "milk" off the cartons of alternative dairy products like soy, oat, hemp, cashew, rice, almond, etc (yes there are a lot of alternatives, lucky for you!), but it was dismissed. There are so many dairy alternatives these days, it's super easy to make the switch. I feature a lot of my favorites in my recipes on my blog!

What About The Farmers and Cows?

If you stop buying dairy, then there is no demand for it. Dairy farms will just have to adjust and use their land to farm alternative products. Since these products show immense growth, the farmers will still make their money and be able to support their families. Dairy has been steadily declining for years, so it obviously won't happen overnight causing all these cows to be homeless. Farmers will breed less and less cows until breeding them is unnecessary and cows will roam wild once again like they were originally intended to.

Let's Recap

Milk is not good for your body.

Milk is not a humane industry, consuming dairy products causes the death of baby cows and their mothers.

You don't need milk to get nutrients.

You're not a baby cow.

Cows and farmers will be fine without each other.

Again, you're not a baby cow.

Just give it some thought, mull it around a bit, sleep on it... whatever you do, just consider dairy free alternatives!

Keep cooking, friends! (With dairy free alternatives, of course!)

-Kristin

Watch this 5-minute video that explains the dairy industry so well!

Sources:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090827202513.htm

https://www.peta.org/living/food/reasons-stop-drinking-milk/