Got Milk? Dead Calves Left to Rot Along the Road
This photo shown here is just one off the many reasons that I chose to ditch my gallon-a-week milk drinking habit about four years ago, just months after I first gave up eating meat. The calves in this photo are dead. They are rotting along side of the road and are covered in flies and other insects. These baby cows are not a rare occurrence. This happens daily in the dairy industry.
Calves are an inconvenient necessity in the milk production process, especially males. Any females born on a dairy farm may replace their mother, who is slaughtered when her productivity drops. They may also be shipped off and slaughtered for the rennet in their stomachs, a by-product that is used for cheese. Males have traditionally been shoved into veal crates and slaughtered for meat at a young age. In fact, the veal industry was born out of the dairy industry. But today, it often costs too much for farmers to crate and ship male calves and so alternatives are sought.
Calves are dumped “to avoid rendering costs or hauling them to auction”
But my reasons for switching from cow’s milk to soy don’t stop there. Hearing that cow’s milk contains pus and that it is bad for my health was enough to make sure that I am never tempted to return to my milk chugging days.
According to Milk Sucks, dairy products “contain no fiber or complex carbohydrates and are laden with saturated fat and cholesterol. They are contaminated with cow’s blood and pus and are frequently contaminated with pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics.” They have also been “linked to allergies, constipation, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and other diseases.”
Soy milk doesn’t immediately take the place of cow’s milk on your taste buds, but eventually you will become accustomed to the flavor and will wonder how you ever drank such a think cream that is bad for you, cows, and the environment.
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