Do you ever sit and wonder where the milk in your bowl of cereal has come from? “The supermarket” may be many children’s answers. For us, milk is easily accessible, just pop to the shop and pick up a carton. However, the milk you are consuming in your cup of tea whilst sitting back enjoying the TV, has come a long way through a lengthy process. Do cows not just produce milk which ends up in our shops, all hunky dory for us to buy? Unfortunately, I’m here to tell you that, that’s not the case. More people need to be educated on the dairy industry and what is going on behind our backs: the process in which a calf goes through from birth onwards, the brutality of dairy farming and the harsh conditions in which cows are living in, the cost of milk, antibiotic resistance and the process of how milk goes from farms to shops. Further education on the dairy industry will open up many people’s eyes to what animals are going through for us humans, and for that reason everyone should be willing to educate themselves on why the dairy industry is inhumane.
Like most animals, cows only produce milk when they are pregnant. In order to get milk from the cows, the dairy industry forcibly artificially-inseminates cows, starting at the age of around 12 months – they are only still babies themselves. This process is done over and over again repeatedly, so the cows continuously make milk. When the calves are born from the artificial insemination, they are immediately taken from their mothers not even 24 hours after they are born – as they would drink their mother’s milk. This causes mass distress for mother and baby. It is a proven fact that when a calf is born it shares a strong maternal bond with their mother, cows cry out for days as their baby has been taken off them. To add to the brutality, if the calf is male its throat is slit and he is sold for veal. A Channel 4 programme showed Brits how farmers can’t afford to be compassionate about the killing of male calves. The documentary aired across the UK showing three gorgeous baby male bull calves being shot in cold blood through the head one at a time with no remorse, whilst the other calves stood in fear for what awaited them. Why the shock? Do people not understand how milk is produced? These are some of the countless reasons why we shouldn’t use dairy products. It is beyond clear that the way animals are treated in the dairy industry is outrageously inhumane.
Dairy farming has not only made humans blind to the harsh conditions that cows and bulls endure in the dairy industry, but has also made us blind to the extreme health impacts on cattle. For instance, as a result of extremely unnatural milk yields many cows (approximately a third) develop and suffer from an exceptionally painful infection known as ‘mastitis’. This infection can also be seen in female humans. Mastitis is the infection of the mammary gland and udder tissue, leaving cows swollen and in pain. In many severe cases, cows have to be killed. As well as this, cows are kept in tight compact conditions in small pens hooked up to milk machines. Just this year (2017), Animal Equality UK revealed the shocking scenes of young baby calves beyond eight weeks being crammed in confined, caged, solitary pens in a dairy farm in Dorset, owned by J.F. Cobb & Sons. This wasn’t just any farm – this was Marks and Spencer’s provider of milk – a supermarket that “promotes” itself as a leader in animal welfare standards. It is therefore clear that under the harsh conditions cows are put through, that dairy farms are inhumane.
Moreover, the dairy industry has also been putting antibiotics into cow feed. In turn, this is developing drug-resistant superbugs – which humans are consuming when they drink milk or eat beef. Most farms have been adding antibiotics to cow feed since about the 1940’s as studies have shown that when the animals consumed the antibiotics it caused them to grow faster, put on more weight and produce more. Superbugs (antibiotic resistant bacteria) are a growing health crisis as infections and diseases are becoming nearly impossible to treat due to the cost and lack of medical science knowledge. A quote taken from DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) Minister for Rural Affairs and Biosecurity, Lord Gardiner, showed that “Antibiotic resistance is the biggest threat to modern medicine and we must act now to help keep antibiotics effective for future generations.” Again, this shows that not only are the farmers putting their cattle at risk, they are putting humans at risk, by feeding us secondary antibiotics. This shows that we can educate ourselves to improve our diets and stay away from dairy.
For what it’s worth, is there even any point in running the dairy industry when supermarkets buy milk in from farmers for as cheaply as chips? Farmers are putting cows through all the distress and trouble, to be underpaid for their milk. A report conducted in August 2016 showed a variety of supermarkets and how much they paid for the milk they sell in their stores. For example, the shop who paid their provider the least amount was the Co-Operative. You pay £1.39 for one carton of milk or pay £2 for two, farmers only receive a small 58p. The report also showed that the shop who paid their provider the most amount of milk was Booths. You pay £1 for a carton of milk and farmers receive 70.37p. This report also showed that the massively popular “Morrisons” charges £1 for a carton of milk however said that the price they pay their provider is “confidential”. Therefore, this shows that farmers are putting cows through all this suffering and pain for absolutely nothing. This cruel industry is leading cows to prematurely age and causing them a lot of stress and pain, halving their natural lifespan and causing them a poor quality of life.
However, the argument that we need cow’s milk to have strong bones will always crop up time and time again. Cow’s milk contains a variety of nutrients and has long been associated with many health benefits. Despite all that we heard growing up, we actually don’t need to drink cow’s milk to be healthy. There are many other sources that we can use instead of consuming dairy at all and still be healthy. We can get the same nutrients and goodness from soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk and hemp milk. If you think about it, we have people who are perfectly healthy who consume soy milk etc…those people are lactose-intolerant!
Dairy cows are sexually exploited and emotionally and physically exhausted until they can’t take it anymore and are then killed for meat. Why are we supporting this inhumane industry when there are so many other sources of milk that provide the same benefits? Through investigating the industry as someone who consumes milk and dairy herself, I have come to the decision that the dairy industry is inhumane. Pigs’ milk is for baby pigs, rats’ milk is for baby rats and cows’ milk should be for baby cows. Who are we to snatch milk away from cows and their young, when it particularly doesn’t benefit human health?