I Dairy You!

Happy cows.

What do they look like?

In an ideal world, a happy cow roams free, grazing on grass in lands that stretch farther then the eye can see. These cows are able too nurture their young and raise and them adequately. These cows have an endless amount of days ahead of them as well as their offspring.

In our world, a happy cow is only a concept. In reality cows, calves, and bulls are subject to extreme injustice.

Humans consume almost ever inch of the cow. For instance, it is safe to assume that you know dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt are all made using a cow’s milk. But what you have never and will never be told by the producers of this mass marketed product is the process of how it gets from the cow to your nearest grocery store.

Cows are subject to extreme violence, torture, and unfair acts when born into the cattle system. Here a fully developed female is a machine-like contraption rather than a sensible creature.

First, like any mammal, the female cow must be pregnant to lactate. This means that when the calf is born is must be taken away from its mother so that consumers receive their unfair share of the product. Once taken away, the calf’s have three realities based on their gender. If they are male, they are one of the 21,000,000 baby bulls inthe U.S. slaughtered for the sole purpose of making veal on a daily basis. If they are female, they are placed in holding craters and are feed milk replacers until developed enough to be artificially inseminated to beginning the process of producing high demand consumer products.

Credits to: Ashley Capps

Meanwhile the mothers of these new born are immediately hooked on to contraptions which pump their utters, sucking them dry from their milk.

Additionally, the beef industry would not thrive if it weren’t for the dairy industry. Beef which constitutes for many different sections of the cow is one of the highest products demanded by food industries in the United States. After dairy cows are used to their maximum potential they are sent to beef industries to reincarnate into burgers and ground beef. Bulls on the other hand are killed and prepped for their final passage in life through the digestive system of humans after living laborious lives as field workers and other strenuous jobs.

How come marketers don’t tell you facts such as these when selling you their products? Would you make different choices being conscious of the process behind them? I would hope so.

Credits to: Ashley Capps 

Cows are some of the most affectionate creature, able to form friendships and bonds with others in their herds and even with animals outside their species. They are no different from regular house pets in anything other than their size, but the bigger the cow the more love it has to offer!

Don’t allow the labels placed on these products such as “humane”, “free range” “grass feed” or even “happy cow” to fool you any longer.

I believe a happy cow is a living one.

Eliminating dairy from your regular diet does not have to be difficult, here are a few guides to follow to make the process stress free:

- http://freefromharm.org/food-products/your-guide-to-going-dairy-free/

- http://www.godairyfree.org/news/nutrition-headlines/six-simple-steps-to-successfully-going-dairy-free-or-gluten-free-for-good

- http://www.vegan.com/dairy-free/