The Ugly Side of Milk
It’s hard to imagine that when we pour ourselves a glass of milk, in a lot of cases, it has come to us via tremendous suffering endured by dairy cows who spend a huge chunk of their lives traumatized, terrified and in a great deal of pain.
Instead, we think of dairy cows as animals who gladly give their milk for us humans to enjoy. We might picture the cows being happily led to their clean milking sheds and being hooked up to machines that gently milk them without causing any discomfort or pain whatsoever. Certainly, dairy cows can’t be mistreated by their owners in the same way that other animals being led to the slaughterhouse are mistreated… can they?
The short video below offers a startling insight into the horrific lives of dairy cows. As if it wasn’t enough that each poor cow is continually kept pregnant in order to produce 400 times her natural amount of milk per year solely for our consumption, she also endures horrendous abuse. For example, did you know that cows have part of their tail cut off, so that it doesn’t interfere with the milking machine? As the video shows, this can often be done cruelly and without any pain killers for the cow. Can you imagine suffering the amount of pain this procedure must cause the poor cows?
The milk produced by each cow over the course of a year can reach as high as 10,000 liters. Many dairy cows never get to see the light of day and have to walk around in dark and dirty manure-filled sheds. They are simply treated as nothing more than milk-producing machines. How heart-breaking.
We have been conditioned into believing that milk is good for us, but actually, studies have suggested that the milk produced by cows is fit only for the baby calves. Drinking milk, we believe, helps to develop and maintain healthy bones. However, on the contrary, some scientists have concluded that drinking milk actually leads to bone problems later in life.
In any case, humans are the only species to consume milk beyond infancy, when there really is no need for us to do so. Calcium sources are readily found in fruits, nuts, beans and vegetables (especially raw vegetables) and every single nutrient that we require can be found in alternative, non-dairy foods. If we look closely at our eating habits, we can clearly see that our choices – which greatly affect the well-being of billions of animals – are simply made to satisfy our own taste buds and stomachs.
Sadly, we have become experts in providing excuses, while dedicating the merits of our daily practices to ALL sentient beings. This doesn’t make any sense at all. We can produce wonderful excuses and say we can’t change anything and that really, we’re doing our best, but these are all excuses. And all the while that we are providing others with our expert excuses, countless animals continue to suffer – it’s as simple as that.
Yes, it can be hard to give up dairy foods. If you have grown used to eating delicious buttered toast for breakfast or dining on ice-cream for dessert, it can feel almost painful to give these things up. However, if you watch the video and imagine that you are one of the poor terrified cows that are shown in the footage, you have to ask yourself: who endures the most painful experience – you or the poor cow that has to have her tail twisted and chopped off?
Tsem Rinpoche
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My mom told me that I don’t drink milk at all since I was a baby. For now, I still don’t like the smell and taste of milk. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article.
Billions of people worldwide consume milk and milk products. The consumption of dairy products has been linked to obesity, heart disease, diabetes even may contribute to the risk of certain related diseases. Reading this post had me learn something, anything, about what happens in the dairy industry. Sadly cows are impregnated in an unrelenting cycle of production to produce milk for human . Small calves were taken away from their mother to the slaughter house while the milk goes directly to human. Watching the video will one will realised confronted with the reality of where food comes from. Like so many, I have never fully understood, exactly what happens. Now I know for sure , thank you Rinpoche for sharing this to bring awareness to many the ugly side of milk.
After reading and watching the video ,i realised its such an ugly cruel act the people at the dairy farm are doing to those poor cows just for their milk industries. Heart breaking to see how the cow are subjected to such a barbaric treatment. it is sad that farms like this do exist….cutting the tail off without sedation is bad and cruel already.
Cow’s milk is perfectly suited to the nutritional needs of calves, but not human. The cow’s milk is doing more harm than good. like abdominal discomfort, lethargy and eczema.in some case. I have seen a number of such cases before .
Humans are stealing and taking cow’s milk by the force., that what i see. Do hope more people will be aware of such cruelty is happening in dairy farms and stop comsumming it..There are other milk alternatives to look for. Wish the authorities in the milk industries concern do look into in the animal cruelty in the milk farms.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
First of all, cow’s milk is meant for her calves. Humans are the only species on earth that consume milk after infancy and only species that drink the milk of another animal. Calves stop drinking cow’s milk between the ages of six to eight months, and now due to milk farming, they do not get to drink milk after few days of their birth. You will never see a kitten drink milk from a goat or a dog drink milk from a bear. However, humans have been conditioned to think that we must drink milk from cows and goats.
As strange as it seems, we continue to feed this wrong view and influence others to think likewise. Because of this, we stopped the newborn calves from drinking its mother’s milk so we can pump her milk for money. This is very wrong and very harmful to our fellow earthlings and the environment we live it.
This article provides sufficient information for us to rethink the consumption of milk and its benefit. Please read and consider to stop mass milk consumption for the sake of our fellow earthlings.
Wow, i never knew that people are doing this! Even milk? What can we trust in the food industry now? Nothing! I am happy that some places are banning this and since this is getting bigger, I hope more people do so.
Gosh so sad to see the cows mistreated and suffering. I am glad I have stopped taking milk due to lactose intolerance and have substituted with soy milk and almond powder….
I didn’t know that by drinking milk will cause so much pain to the cows. I’m very surprised that the cows who live in the factory are treated so badly, I have always thought that milk comes from the cows who live in farms, being milked in a more humane way. I’ve never liked drinking milk since young, it gives me gastric.
Thank You for sharing Rinpoche.
I never thought that milk caused so much pain to the cows. And they are treated like milk making machines, as said in the video. And they are also kept in a very dirty, manure filled area. And they can never see sunlight. This is really bad what they do to cows. And what really surprised me, was when i found out that humans cut the tails of the cows so that they do not mess up with the machines. AND WITH NO PAIN KILLERS! This is giving me second thoughts about milk.
My daughter grew up drinking only soya milk. She is allergy with dairy product. A few years back she became a vegetarian. I rejoiced for her. For nutrition point of few, soya milk is actually better than milk. Perhaps switching from milk to soya milk will be a good idea of cutting down the sufferings of the cows. You may not like it from the beginning but after a while you will love it.
Quero divulgar este blog. Muito boa a história do campeão vegetariano-vegano alemão.
I think it is not possible to consume milk without causing pain to animals doesn’t matter in wich country they are kept or how they are looked after. it’s because every time when the calf is taken away from mother – it causes stress for both of them, and where to put all the calfs, that must be born in order to produce milk??? They (along with their mothers later on) usually all go to slaughterhouse… Meat and milk industry is so much bounded :/ and funatelly it is no problem to stop consuming milk, there are so many tasty vegan alternatives to everything these days 🙂 even milk, cheese, cream, ice-cream…
The video shows what’s happening in the U.S. farm houses. One shouldn’t generalize that the cows and chickens are being mistreated to increase milk and egg production in the farm houses that belong to other countries. That is just plain unfair.
thanks so much for this thought provoking post ~
and the many other ones
i’ve just given up milk, started drinking soya
instead.
Although I have replaced milk with soybean milk in my daily diet, I still consume cofee or nescafe with milk when working. Few days ago I’ve mixed soybean milk with nescafe and it tasted funny. But my conscious was clear that I did not benefit myself at the sufferings of another being.
Dear Rinpoche,
This article and video is heart-wrenching and amazing for the self-deception that people willingly uphold simply for profit and for food. I am not a fan of milk but I do enjoy creamy ice-creams from time to time. It is time I cut it out in favour of other types of similar desserts.
After all, there are other sources of milks that originate from plants, I am sure. I think soya, oats and almond are alternative sources of milk. They may not taste the same but it is way better than the guilt of having our glass of milk knowing it was extracted cruelly from a suffering dairy cow. Thank you rinpoche for posting this up.
From what i’ve seen in 30 years visiting farms in the uk, cows are kept in much better conditions here, none are kept in all year round, though they are kept in barns and yards in the winter when there is little grass for them to eat and the ground is too soft.
I have never seen or heard tails cut short either, though the de horning process is not pleasant at all… look it up.
If you are going to still consume milk and cheese etc, then at least pay a decent price for it, that way farmers can afford to treat the animals better.
I’ve never been so happy to be lactose intolerant! Sadly, that’s the only reason I don’t buy dairy. My husband is from Japan where milk really isn’t a part of the diet and my daughter can’t stand the taste of it. I’ve never given it much thought, out of sight, out of mind I suppose. I will share this on FB. Thanks again Rinpoche.
I have given up dairy products, in fact anything that comes from animals like honey, although I love desserts such as cakes, ice-creams, waffles and etc. It is just an addiction I have to overcome, just the same as how I quite smoking. It is not easy, but it is possible with determination. I might seemed to be an individual whom by being a vegan will make no difference in reducing the pain of these animals, but when all individuals decided to do the same, we can definitely create history in the 21th century! Please cut dairy out of your diet, whether for your own health or for the loving-kindness you have for animals!