The fact of the matter: Where does dairy come from?

You've clicked on this post because you want to know where your dairy comes from. I promise to tell you the honest truth, without exaggeration or fabricating, of where your dairy comes from. This does not represent an isolated incident. No graphic pictures or videos, just words.

Like humans, cows must become pregnant and give birth to produce breast milk (2). They do not continuously have milk in them at all times. The milk is produced for the baby cow to drink. It is made so that the tiny baby cow can grow big like his/her mother. Cow milk is also addicting so that the baby wants to drink it (5).

The cows in the dairy industry are not naturally becoming pregnant . A worker must stick their arm far into the cow's rectum to position the uterus for artificial insemination. Then, an instrument is inserted into her vagina to inseminate her. This process takes place in what the industry refers to as a "rape rack" (1).

Of course, the semen must come from a male cow, a bull, who lives his entire life in darkness and is "jacked off" (for lack of a better term) with an artificial cow vagina (1, 3, 4).

The cow then goes through with her pregnancy until, 9 months later, she gives birth to her calf. But, because the calf would drink all of her breast milk if allowed, workers must separate the mother from her calf. This separation process is stressful for the animals, who cry out in obvious distress (1). Often the calves will cry out so much that their throats "become raw" (2).

If the calf is male, he is of no use to the dairy industry and will be sent to slaughter for veal (1). If the calf is female, she will likely be grown until she can become a dairy cow like her mother.

The mother cow is then artificially inseminated again, and the process continues. She has babies over and over again until she physically cannot anymore or her milk production decreases. The cows sometimes become depressed, or birth damages the nerves in their legs, and they become "downers". Downers are cows whose legs collapse underneath them (2). It's also common for dairy cows to start producing less milk at age 4-5 because of the stressful conditions, at which point they are sent to the slaughterhouse (6).

This is the simple truth about where dairy comes from. Want more information?

To see this truth with your own eyes and bear witness to how humans treat animals, watch Earthlings.

To learn why animal agriculture is destroying the planet, watch Cowspiracy. (My reaction video to Cowspiracy is here.)

To learn why a plant based diet is optimal for your health, watch Forks Over Knives (on Netflix).

If you have any questions about anything mentioned, be sure to leave a comment on the home page of my website or click "Contact Me". If you liked this post, feel free to share it so that others may have information on where their dairy comes from.

Works Cited

"Behind the Myth: Happy Cows." Behind the Myth: Happy Cows. James LaVeck & Jenny Stein, n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2016. <http://www.humanemyth.org/happycows.htm>. Cited as (1).

Capps, Ashley. "10 Dairy Facts the Industry Doesn't Want You to Know." Free From Harm. FreeFromHarm, 30 July 2014. Web. 11 Aug. 2016. <http://freefromharm.org/dairyfacts/>. Cited as (6)

"Farm Sanctuary." Farm Sanctuary. Farm Sanctuary, Inc., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2016. <http://www.farmsanctuary.org/learn/factory-farming/dairy/>. Cited as (2).

"How to Collect Bull Semen | Cuteness.com." Cuteness.com. Demand Media Inc., n.d. Web. 11 Aug. 2016. <https://www.cuteness.com/article/collect-bull-semen>. Cited as (3).

Moran Barwick, Emily. "Is Cheese Addictive?" Bite Size Vegan. BiteSizeVegan, 11 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Aug. 2016. <http://bitesizevegan.com/vegan-health/is-cheese-addictive/>. Cited as (5).

Rouge, Melissa. "Semen Collection from Bulls." Semen Collection from Bulls. N.p., 2 Sept. 2002. Web. 11 Aug. 2016. <http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/reprod/semeneval/bull.html>. Cited (4)

Image Credit: http://biohomecares.com/4-reasons-quit-eating-dairy/

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