Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Milk: Whose Body is it Doing Good? (Part I)

Drinking milk is harmless, right? Lots of people can list lots of reasons why we should drink it: we've all been doing it since we were kids and besides, no animals are killed for milk. Cows produce it anyway so we may as well drink it. We need the calcium; milk does a body good!

Like many issues related to food and animals there is a lot of duplicity in the dairy industry. They have lots of dirty little secrets that they don't want consumers to know. Many industries that produce something have some unwanted byproduct, some type of waste product that needs to be discarded (usually to the detriment of the environment, wildlife, humans). In the case of the dairy industry the byproduct is male calves. That's right, newborn baby cows.
Newborn calf being cleaned by his mother on a dairy farm. You can see he is already tethered. Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur of www.weanimals.org
In case you don't know that much about factory farming, just like the name suggests they are essentially factories where meat, dairy, or eggs are produced. The goal of a factory farm is not to produce healthy food or ensure animal welfare standards; it's to make money. They want to make as much money as possible and that always comes at the expense of animals. Naturally to the dairy industry a male calf has no use. You might think well can't they use him to impregnate other cows at some point but that's just silly thinking. Of course not, the cows (like all factory farmed animals) are artificially inseminated and it would cost way too much to feed and house all of these male calves so they've gotta get rid of them. 

In the picture above you see a newborn calf being cleaned by his mom. Isn't that sweet? Dairy cows, like all mammals, including humans, clean and nurture their babies. It is their natural instinct to take care of their young. Unfortunately within a day or two (sometimes immediately after birth) dairy cows have their babies removed (stolen). If the baby is a female she oftentimes goes on to become a dairy cow herself, if it's a male he's often sold to a veal "farm". 
Dairy "farm" worker removing newborn calf to go to a veal farm. He's too young to even be able to walk on his own.


Newborn calf being hauled off to his new home on a veal "farm"
Conditions on a veal farm are pretty appalling. Can you imagine a baby, totally new to this world, who can't even walk yet, being removed from his mother taken to a strange place where he will live in stress and pain for the few short months on this planet that he's allowed before he is killed?

In his book "Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food", Gene Baur, president of one of my favorite organizations, "Farm Sanctuary," describes the life of a veal calf: "If he's not put on the dead pile and survives the journey to the veal operation, whether the calf passes through a stockyard first or is sold directly from the dairy, he'll be housed in a narrow crate--just two feet wide--in an indoor shed. So will hundreds of others like him. Here is where the calf will spend the approximately twenty weeks of his short life. He will be chained by the neck, unable to turn around, and barely able to shift his body. To further discourage the calf from moving the shed will be kept dark. His all-liquid diet will be low in iron and devoid of fiber, and as a result, he will experience borderline anemia. Production demands dictate these conditions to prevent the calf's flesh from becoming red or muscled. Pallor and tenderness are the qualities prized by some chefs and some diners." I should probably say that these poor animals cannot even turn around in the small crates and it's even difficult for them to comfortably lie down. This prevents their muscles from developing because they're not really used, thus keeping the color and texture some people like when they eat veal.

Veal calf in his crate, tethered and completely unable to move. Just a baby, he will spend his short life this way, craving maternal care, scared and alone. 


Please folks, keep in mind, this is a baby cow we're talking about. A baby! After four to five months of this misery the baby cow will be shipped off to slaughter to face his horrific death. All thanks to the dairy industry!

For these calves' mothers life isn't exactly a cakewalk either. In fact, their lives are quite miserable (as are the lives of all animals in any way maintained by agribusiness). I've decided to write a few blog posts about dairy so I'll get to the actual dairy calves next.

*For more information on veal and dairy please visit Farm Sanctuary's website http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/photos/veal.html

*All photos (except the last of the crated calf) are courtesy of Jo-Anne McArthur of www.weanimals.org.  Jo documents cruelty to animals all around the world in everything from factory farming, fur farming, rodeos, zoos, animal testing, and everything in between. I highly recommend checking out her website. 


1 comment:

  1. I found your blog through looking for jo anne mcArthur photos on google images. wow i love all your posts especially this one. i used to be a vegan and lapsed back into vegetarianism but you have really made me think. i have a vegan fashion blog and just wanted to comment and let you know i feel the same way. your blog is making a difference and strangers are reading it and being affected by it! hope you continue to blog.

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