The Dairy Industry's Dirty Secrets

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This little calf...

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Young calf shot in the head

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... is taken away from his mother shortly after birth, so that the milk meant for him can be bottled for us to drink Disease More than half of UK dairy cows go lame each year and many suffer from laminitis – an agonising inflammation of the feet. This is due to their unnatural diet, the build up of faeces in their hard cubicle housing and other factors.

Dairy’s dirty secret The calves’ fate is one of the dairy industry’s dirty secrets.

Many females replace their worn-out mothers in the herd.

But the males are often regarded as waste by-products because demand is limited for the ‘low quality’ beef for which some are reared. Surplus calves are shot in the head shortly after birth.

A worn-out cow leaking milk and blood from her infected udder

Natural?

All female mammals (including humans and cows) produce milk for their young until they are old enough to eat solids.

But, unlike other mammals, we have been conditioned to continue drinking milk long after weaning. Odder still, the milk we drink is not from our own mother or even from the same species!

Milk-producing machines

One in three British cows suffers from mastitis – a painful infection causing swollen, weeping udders.

Traces of pus from infected teats seep into the milk. Current regulations permit us to consume milk containing millions of pus cells per litre!

Zero-grazed

Overworked

Our desire for cheap milk products means an increasing proportion of the total UK milk yield comes from ‘zero-grazed’ animals who are almost permanently confined in barren sheds.

Cows would naturally live for as long as 25 years, but by the time they reach five on modern farms, they are likely to be physically exhausted, lame and infertile.

These worn-out animals are sent to a slaughterhouse.

Goat and sheep milk

To feed our milk habit, cows are continually made pregnant, invariably by artificial insemination. Through selective breeding they are forced to produce as much as 50 litres of milk every day – many times more than is natural. Their swollen udders may prevent them from standing and walking properly, which can result in lameness.

Milk from other animals, such as goats and sheep, is produced in a similar way, with most goats being zero-grazed.

Zero-grazed cows

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Healthy?

Just as human milk is designed for babies, cows’ milk is designed for calves and contains powerful hormones that spur the calf into growing quickly. One growth hormone in particular, IGF-1, is reported to accelerate the growth of malignant cells in people and is linked to the development of prostate, breast and ovarian cancers.

Dairy products are associated with a number of other human health problems, including allergies, asthma, eczema, juvenile-onset diabetes and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Milk contains high levels of protein, which can cause calcium to be leeched from the bones. Countries whose populations eat low levels of dairy (and meat) have lower rates of osteoporosis and hip fractures.

There are no nutrients in milk that cannot be obtained from non-animal sources. And crueltyfree alternatives are available to all dairy products, including milk, margarine, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, custard and cream.

Investigate your local health food shop and supermarket ‘free from’ sections, or contact Animal Aid for advice.

Some of the many dairy-free products available in high street shops

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