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Originally Posted by Uplift  Gidday, I eat anything that doesn't kill the animal, or that I feel can be obtained without cruelty. For me that means I only eat animal products from milk, as I believe and have seen that milking can be done humanely, where the cows are very happy and well cared for, more like family pets. |
Do you go out of your way to ensure that whatever dairy you use is produced in such a humane manner, or do you buy any dairy because it
could be produced that way? Is there a small family farm near you where you go pick it up yourself and maybe even occasionally visit/pet the cows? With commerical dairy production quite a bit of killing is involved, as calfs become veal while their mothers go on producing excess quantities of milk (often increased via added hormones). There are co-ops in many areas where you can gain access to better milk, but it's not the norm by any means (unless you live in rural India, perhaps).
"Traditional small dairies, located primarily in the northeast and midwest are going out of business. They are being replaced by intensive 'dry lot' dairies which are typically located in the southwest.
"Regardless of where they live, however, all dairy cows must give birth in order to begin producing milk. Today, dairy cows are forced to have a calf every year. Like human beings, the cow's gestation period is nine months long, and so giving birth every twelve months is physically demanding. The cows are also forced to give milk during seven months of their nine month pregnancy. In a healthy environment, cows would live in excess of 25 years, but on modern dairies, they are slaughtered after just 3 or 4 years and then used for ground beef. Credit: Farm Sanctuary
"With genetic manipulation and intensive production technologies, it is common for modern dairy cows to produce 100 pounds of milk a day -- ten times more than they would produce in nature. The cows' bodies are under constant stress and they are at risk for numerous health problems."
Dairy, Veal, Milk, Cruelty, Factory Farming | Mercy For Animals