Milk
Without Milk Please..
The media and dairy industry portray happy cows, content with their lives and oblivious to their exploitation, providing us with the milk needed to keep us and our children healthy.
But cows, like ourselves and all other animals, are creatures with their own interests and desires which deserve to be respected, and this makes their exploitation unacceptable. Their milk and other dairy products are things we can (as many people do) easily go without, without jeopardising our health in any way.
What’s wrong with consuming dairy?
Behind every glass of milk is a terrible reality. That of someone born to be exploited. That of someone else suffering the consequences of our consumption. Every cow is an individual with a distinct personality capable of suffering or enjoying their life. The problem with dairy cows is that they are being created simply to be utilized in spite of the fact that they desire to live in freedom just as much as we do. Neither do they want to be separated from their families, and any slaughterhouse butcher can tell you that they definitely don’t want to die.
To obtain dairy products, cows are selectively bred despite the obvious injustice involved in bringing somebody into the world with the sole objective of exploiting them. It is not always the farmer who creates them that ends up carrying on their exploitation. Much of the time they are bred by one farmer so that they can be sold on to other farmers, exchanged for money as a result of the sentient animals’ status as mere human property. At times like this herd animals are separated, causing them more suffering since cows are social herd animals who establish complex relationships amongst themselves.
The life of a dairy cow from the moment they are born or are acquired by some farmer is a life of deprivation and suffering. Throughout their lives they are forcibly impregnated (like all mammals, a cow’s body only produces milk after she has given birth to her offspring), separated from their young, deprived of freedom (they are kept behind fences or in sheds in organic farms as well as in factory farms) and milked against their will several times a day. A while after giving birth a cow, just like all mammals, stops producing milk. The farmer solves this problem by beginning a new cycle of forcing the cow to conceive, removing her calf and taking the calves milk – this process is usually repeated 4 times in a dairy cow’s life, and ends with her journey to the slaughterhouse.
And her calves?
Just like many animals, including us, cows have a very strong maternal instinct to nurture and protect their young and thus they suffer immensely when their calves are taken from them. The calves have no benefit to the dairy industry and so are sold to be killed and turned into veal. In many farms cows can be heard crying out in anguish for days after their calves are forcibly removed from them. It is difficult to imagine the distress suffered by the calf during the separation. Amazing accounts have been recorded of mother cows going to amazing lengths to get back to their young, one of which walked seven miles to be reunited with her calf after it was sold at auction.
Her Death
For dairy cows, death doesn’t come naturally. These animals are taken to the slaughterhouse just like their calves as soon as their milk output drops below the desired industry level (again, this happens at all organic farms as well as intensive farms) since a dairy cow is only born for its capacity to provide milk and profit.
The interests of any exploited animal are always left unconsidered in favour of the interests of the exploiter. For this reason we can never seriously say that non-human animals are respected until the day they stop being created for some or other human benefit.
Other animals exploited for their milk
Cows aren’t the only animals exploited for milk. Sheep, goats and mares are also used in this way. In every case the same injustice is repeated: individuals born, deprived of freedom and finally murdered in order to obtain from them a product for our consumption.
Alternatives to animal milk
Despite what the dairy industry’s publicity campaigns tell us or what we are used to hearing in society it is not necessary to consume non-human animal milk or any other dairy products to enjoy good health or to gain our daily requirements of calcium. We can substitute milk with plant based milks.
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Calcium
It is true that we need calcium to keep our bones strong and prevent the onset of illnesses such as osteoporosis, but dairy products are neither the only nor the best source of calcium.
We can obtain calcium from other foods such as green-leafed vegetables, nuts, broccoli, spinach, enriched soya milk, tofu, vegetable margarines, calcium enriched orange juice, dried figs, sesame seeds, tahini, molasses etc.
Substituting cow’s milk
If you want to continue consuming a product similar to milk, but free from suffering and death, you can opt for a variety of plant based milks which can be found in any supermarket these days.
Several brands of soya milk, including sweetened soya milk, can now be found everywhere, most of which go just as well or better than cow’s milk with tea and coffee, cereals and as a cooking ingredient for sauces, cakes etc. In any such case all you have to do is follow the traditional recipe, replacing cow’s milk with soya milk.
At many supermarkets and most health food stores you can also choose to try almond milk, oat milk or delicious rice milk.
Butter can be substituted with many brands of vegetable margarine and several vegan cheeses are on sale at health food stores. As with soya milk, if you don’t like one brand you should try another since they vary in flavour and you are bound to find some that you like.
You can also buy very good quality vegan cream from most supermarkets and all health food stores.
In any case, without using direct substitutes there are already endless delicious vegan recipes which will never require any type of milk or dairy replacement, as well as the countless ways to replace dairy in our diet.
