Many people believe that cows are not harmed if they are kept only for milk production, “they even enjoy being milked.” In the modern world, the percentage of the urban population is growing every day and there is less and less room for traditional farms where cows graze in the meadow, and in the evening a kind woman milks a cow that has returned from pasture in her yard. In reality, milk is produced on industrial-scale farms, where cows never leave the cramped stall assigned to each and are milked by soulless machines. But even no matter where the cow is kept – on an industrial farm or in “grandmother’s village”, in order for her to give milk, she must give birth to a calf every year. A bull-calf cannot give milk and its fate is inevitable.
On farms, animals are forced to calve without interruption. Like humans, cows carry a fetus for 9 months. During pregnancy, cows do not stop milking. In a natural setting, the average age of a cow would be 25 years. In modern conditions, they are sent to the slaughterhouse after 3-4 years of “work”. A modern dairy cow under the influence of intensive technologies produces 10 times more milk than in natural conditions. The body of cows undergoes changes and is under constant stress, which leads to the emergence of various animal diseases, such as: mastitis, Bovin’s leukemia, Bovin’s immunodeficiency, Cronin’s disease.
Numerous medicines and antibiotics are given to cows to fight disease. Some of the animal diseases have a long incubation period and often resolve without visible symptoms while the cow continues to be milked and sent to the production network. If a cow eats grass, then she will not be able to produce such gigantic quantities of milk. Cows are fed high-calorie feed, which contains meat and bone meal and fish industry waste, which is unnatural for herbivores and causes various metabolic disorders. To increase milk production, cows are injected with synthetic growth hormones (Bovine Growth Hormone). In addition to the harmful effect on the body of the cow itself, the hormone also causes serious defects in the body of calves. Calves that are born to dairy cows are weaned from their mother immediately after birth. Half of the calves born are usually heifers and are bred to replace rapidly deteriorating mothers. Gobies, on the other hand, end their lives much faster: some of them are grown to an adult state and sent for beef, and some are slaughtered for veal already in infancy.
Veal production is a by-product of the dairy industry. These calves are kept for up to 16 weeks in cramped wooden stalls where they cannot turn around, stretch their legs, or even lie down comfortably. They are fed a milk replacer that lacks iron and fiber so that they develop anemia. It is thanks to this anemia (muscle atrophy) that “pale veal” is obtained – the meat acquires that delicate light color and high cost. Some gobies are slaughtered at a few days old in order to cut down on maintenance costs. Even if we talk about ideal cow’s milk (without added hormones, antibiotics, etc.), according to many doctors, and in particular Dr. Barnard, founder of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), milk harms the adult body. No mammal species feeds on milk after infancy. And none of the species naturally feeds on the milk of another animal species. Cow’s milk is intended for calves that have a four-chambered stomach and double their weight within 47 days and weigh 330 kilograms by the age of 1 year. Milk is the food of infants, it in itself and without artificial additives contains the necessary growth hormones for a growing organism.
For patients with tumors, many doctors consider dairy products even dangerous, since growth hormones can stimulate the growth and reproduction of malignant cells. An adult body is able to absorb the necessary vitamins and minerals from plant sources and synthesize them in its own mode, characteristic of this organism. Human consumption of milk has been linked to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and even osteoporosis (low bone density), the very disease the dairy industry advertises so heavily to prevent. The content of animal proteins in milk binds the calcium contained in the tissues and brings it out instead of enriching the human body with this element. Developed Western countries occupy a leading position in the world in terms of the number of cases of osteoporosis. While countries where milk is practically not used, such as China and Japan, are practically not familiar with this disease.