Behind every glass of milk there is animal
suffering.
A new investigation by Mercy for Animals has exposed cruel—but not unusual—treatment of dairy cows on a farm in New York State.
The video, parts of which were aired on ABC World News last night, shows how cows lead lives of deprivation, confinement, painful mutilation, and abusive handling. And the practices aren’t isolated events. According to Nathan Runkle, Executive Director of Mercy for Animals, “ Every single time that we send investigators undercover into America's factory farms, they emerge with startling evidence of animal cruelty and neglect."
The investigation revealed:
• Cows with bloody open wounds, prolapsed uteruses, pus-filled infections, and swollen joints, apparently left to suffer without veterinary care
• "Downed" cows – those too sick or injured to even stand – left to suffer for weeks before dying or being killed
• Workers hitting, kicking, punching, and electric-shocking cows and calves
• Calves having their horns burned off without painkillers, as a worker shoved his fingers into the calves' eyes to restrain them
• Calves having their tails cut off - a painful practice opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association
• Newborn calves forcibly dragged away from their mothers by their legs, causing emotional distress to both mother and calf
• Cows living in overcrowded sheds on manure-coated concrete flooring
• Workers injecting cows with a controversial bovine growth hormone, used to increase milk production
Abuse isn't limited to factory farms
Many of the abuses seen on the video are not confined to factory farms but are routinely practiced on smaller family farms and are also common on organic farms. At the very least, newborn male calves have no function on dairy farms, and are taken immediately from their mothers and sold for veal. Tail docking and dehorning—without pain relief—are done on farms of all sizes.
Consumers can take a stand against these practices in an easy and effective way by simply refusing to consume these products of cruelty. There is never any reason to consume dairy foods with so many good substitutes on the market.
- Instead of cow’s milk, try fortified soy or almond milk.
- Try Daiya vegan cheese which comes already shredded and ready to melt over pasta or a stuffed baked potato or to use on homemade pizza.
- Use Sour Supreme, a nondairy sour cream made by Tofutti in black bean soup or on top of baked potatoes.
- Spread nondairy cream cheese from Follow Your Heart or Tofutti on a bagel. It’s great in cheesecakes, too.
- Most grocery stores have sliced soy cheese, perfect for sandwiches.
- Treat yourself to handcrafted Scottish vegan cheeses.
- No one needs ice cream when there are wonderful products like Coconut Bliss nondairy frozen dessert.
If you can’t find these products locally, all are available from Vegan Essentials. They will ship your food safely with a cold pack.
Comments
Good point. My favorite is Hemp Milk. It is creamy and delicious and is packed with Omega 3 & 6, fiber and B vitamins.
We don't miss milk in our house.
We don't miss cows milk in my house either... I'm a big fan of almond milk... vanilla or otherwise --- And truth be told - Even if there weren't any of the dozen or so options to "dairy", I'd drink water rather than have anything to do with these practices.
The calf being dragged away is just heartbreaking.
This is a very helpful article and most appreciated!
I think the dairy industry, all factory farming or any farming is horrendous for the horrible abuse they inflict on defenseless animals, it's so, so sad!
I will not eat any dairy products. Instead, I'd much rather drink vanilla or chocolate Blue Diamond almond milk! It's so much better to go vegan, period!
I'm mostly a fan of plain soymilk. But it's interesting to hear about everyone's favorite non-dairy milks. And really makes you wonder why anyone would want to drink milk from a cow!
I love your articles! Thanks for helping make the world a better place through your writing.
Do you advocate that dairy farmers just stop milking already existing cows? Or milk them and throw away the milk?
Hey, I've got it! Why don't we send the milk to Haiti, then bust the chops of those starving children for not switching to soy.
Chris, you know what I advocate--that people stop using products like dairy foods that contribute to animal abuse. If everyone stopped buying those products today, then yes, we'd have quite a surplus of milk. But we both know that isn't going to happen. The hope is that people will continue to learn about these abuses and start giving up animal foods. As that happens, we can breed fewer farm animals and then--eventually--no farm animals.
Drinking Organic milk is a very good option because the cows are allowed happily to roam free in the fields rather than being locked in barns all the time in bad conditions.
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