Dairy Really IS Scary & Here’s Why

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Have you ever taken the time to learn where dairy comes from? I mean really tried to understand the truth & the entire process of a dairy cow’s life. How dairy cows come to produce milk, how they are treated, what conditions they live in and all of the ins & outs of the dairy industry?

It’s ok if you haven’t, many people are completely unaware of how their “food” gets to the grocery stores where they can conveniently & easily shop for milks, cheeses, yogurts, and more. Some choose to be blissfully unaware because they don’t care & don’t want to care. Others, kind of know, but they don’t want to be forced to change their “traditions” or their habits so they turn a blind eye.

But what if I told you that the life of a dairy cow is one of the saddest, hardest lives to live on this planet? Would you want to know more? Would you want to change your habits to help reduce the suffering of these innocent sentient beings?

Here I have curated some videos of other people who want you to also know the truth about the dairy industry. These videos breakdown the lies we’ve been told about how dairy cows are treated, how governments have subsidized & lied to us about dairy’s health benefits, and the lies about the implications the dairy industry has on our environment.

Dairy IS Scary because they’re lying to you

Many dairy farmers & milkers have begun to speak out about the abuse that goes on behind “barn doors”. After witnessing first hand how these beautiful living breathing creatures are mistreated, many of these workers have quit their jobs & tried to reveal the truth, but as you can imagine, dairy farming is a very powerful industry supported by our governments and they do not want us to know the truth.

If we start to figure it out, we WILL put the dairy industry to bed!

Dairy IS Scary because there is immense emotional & physical ABUSE

In my article, Can You Be A Feminist Without Being A Vegan, I break down the horrific life cycle of a dairy cow. I also go into greater detail showing the parallels of all mothers & women from all species. If you’d like to learn more about the interconnectedness of veganism & feminism, checkout my article here.

Dairy IS Scary because we are stealing babies from mothers

• Female cows need to be impregnated in order to produce milk. In fact, ALL lactating creatures need to be impregnated in order to produce milk. Please let that sink in!
• Factory farmed cows are raped by humans as they inseminate them using what they call a “rape rack”. Did you ever wonder how dairy cows keep getting pregnant?
• The female cow carries her calf for 9+ months, gives birth and after a few hours the calf is taken away. Imagine carrying your child for 9 months to have them stolen from you instantly!
• If the calf is male “he will be placed in a veal crate where he is tied at the neck and restrained to prohibit all movement. Because male cows will not grow up to produce milk, they are considered “waste” to a dairy farmer and usually sold to produce veal. The calf will live in the crate for up to 20 weeks, fed only a milk substitute that does not contain iron or fiber. This diet makes the calves anemic, which results in the pale, flesh coloring of veal cuts. Calves are only taken out of their crates when it is time to transport them to slaughter. Most cannot walk or support their own weight because their muscles are so underdeveloped. Around one million male calves meet this fate each year.”
• If the calf is female she “will be raised to become a dairy cow, just like her mother. But first, she has her tail docked, or cut short, at around six weeks of age, often without any pain medication. This can cause permanent nerve damage which will lead to chronic pain for the cow. At around six months old, the calf will be “de-budded” a process that involves burning out the bone that will grow into horns. Since cows are kept in such close quarters, horns can be dangerous!” Then they will succumb to the same rape, impregnation, confinement etc. 
• A few hours after giving birth the momma cow will then be hooked up to a milking machine where her baby’s milk will be taken for dairy production. 
• After a couple of months the childless momma cow will then be raped again to perpetuate her milk production. In reality, calves are just bi-product victims of the dairy industry. 

Dairy IS Scary because THIS is Dairy

Are you able to watch these videos? I know they are disturbing but shouldn’t we be aware of the disturbing choices we make? I have a vegetarian friend that I recently had a small argument with. She believes that one can be vegetarian for the animals, but I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone can think they’re making an empathetic & compassionate choice when the choice that they are making is to exploit animals in this manner. Can you help me understand it?

Dairy IS Scary because we KNOW better

Now that you know the truth, can you continue to fund & participate in the suffering of over 29 million cows each year? That number equates to both the meat & dairy industries but if you consume dairy, you are therefore contributing to the meat industry as well because what do you think happens to a dairy cow once they’re no longer deemed useful?

In fact, there is this incredibly disheartening website called The Animal Clock that has an ongoing annual counter that counts the death of every single animal killed in the United States alone. At the time of this writing the kill clock was 1,180,836,874.

What was the counter at when you checked? Check here. Your number was much higher I’m sure.

Dairy IS Scary because WE can change

If you’d like to learn more about animal agriculture & veganism, checkout my article Veganism Isn’t A Diet, It’s a Lifestyle. I go into greater detail about AG and how we can make easy lifestyle switches to help reduce the abuse that we are all paying into.

Want to learn more about vegan milks & cheeses? My article, Let’s Talk Vegan Milks & Cheeses highlights a bunch of my favourite brands and breaks down how addictive & unhealthy dairy truly is.

Want to make your own vegan cheeses & milks?

Thank you for taking the time to ask yourself these difficult questions. I know it isn’t easy to face these subjects sometimes. It can feel like judgement but know that it is less about me & what I think about you and more about you & how you feel about yourself and your choices.

If you are wanting to know more or want to learn about a vegan lifestyle, please reach out to me. My mission is to help reduce animal suffering by raising awareness to those who may not know.

Dairy Really IS Scary & Here’s Why – A Blog About Stuff – Vegan Wellness