Dairy is NOT for Humans

Ga Maleven

Milk: An opaque white fluid rich in fat and protein, secreted by female mammals for the nourishment of their young.

Milk is produced by all mammalian female animals who have given birth to their young. Depending on the species and how much the offspring is nursing will dictate for how long the mother will lactate and how much she will produce. Enzymes within the baby allows them to break down the milk, helping them get all their nutrients until they are developed enough to consume other food sources. Different species produce different types of milk, which aids in ensuring their baby grows the proper amount at the right pace. Mothers have been found to even produce different types of milk depending on the sex of their offspring. Milk also contains antibodies from the mother that helps to protect the baby by giving them an extra immune system boost (although it is not as strong as vaccines). Milk contains puss, blood, lipids, and other bodily fluids and nutrients from the mother. Nursing also builds a stronger bond between the mother and her offspring, and creates trust. A baby nursing from their loving mother is a beautiful sight regardless of species. Something created for those two to share for the time required until the baby can be weaned.

Milk is for a baby and only babies, but for some reason humans have taken to drinking it even after being weaned and their bodies developing to no longer being able to process it. Worse, humans are taking milk from other species.

Dairy, no matter the form it comes in whether as the liquid, in baked goods, as cheese, yogurt, icecream, etc. is always milk and contains all the puss, blood, and animal protein inside of it. Regardless of what species it is taken from, when you are not the infant of that lactating mother, and especially if you are already weaned, consuming milk is catastrophically detrimental to your health.

While dairy is a primary cause of climate change, it is also the source of horrific abuse and many illnesses within humans. In order to produce milk, the cows, does (female goats), or any animal must have had a baby. The dairy industry exploits the female reproduction system by using artificial insemination. This practice of raping the females begins by taking semen from the males of the species. Bulls in the dairy industry are bred and raised in a separate location from dairy farms. The bulls are kept locked in small pens, often chained. They can’t turn around, are often beaten, and receive no attention or time outside. They are let out only to be made to mount a fake cow or another bull. Their penis is placed into an artificial vagina to collect their semen when they ejaculate. They are never allowed to mount females because the constant mounting and humping would cause a female to receive hip damage. A bull is stronger and can handle far more mounting. Handjobs are given to the bulls and other male animals to ensure they are properly stimulated.

The semen is kept frozen and sorted before being delivered to the dairy farms. Metal tubes are forced into the vaginas of cows, does, and other female animals, placing the semen inside of them. The females are restrained with chains, ensuring they can’t escape as they are violated. The animals struggle, not consenting or enjoying the feeling. It hurts, especially with cows who have an entire arm shoved down their anus to open up the cervix.

The females become pregnant and are forced to live in often filthy and tight conditions throughout it. When they finally give birth, it is in the same gross location with urine and feces covering the ground. Their babies are taken from them immediately after birth or up to a week later. Calves are taken to become veal, and babies from other species used for dairy are killed for their flesh or simply thrown out to die. The veal industry is a direct consequence of the dairy industry.

Veal calves, who are all males, are taken to farms where they are locked away in small crates and often chained. Their movement is restricted, ensuring their muscles do not properly develop so their flesh stays soft. They are killed a week to two weeks of age, often suffering horrible abuse, neglect, and left to the harsh elements if kept in outdoor hutches. They are either killed by being sent to a slaughterhouse, or are stomped on, shot in the head, or simply neglected.

The mothers and daughters don’t fair any better. Female calves and kids will be forced to live out the same lives of their mothers. Dairy cows have been genetically manipulated to produce far more milk than they naturally would. This leads to udders much too large and causing pain, illness, and inability to walk. Cows and goats are kept in crowded, filthy conditions, being forced to defecate and urinate in the same place they eat, sleep, and walk. They are covered in sores, often injured from self inflicted stress wounds, and in pain from being beaten by workers. Fire is used to burn off the extra hair on the udders, which hurts and singes the cows’ legs often. Horns are sawed off with a chainsaw or cut off with powerful tools. This caused immense pain since there are blood vessels that run through the horns.

Dairy animals are kept pregnant constantly to ensure they are always producing milk. Pregnancy and labor puts the body through a lot of work, changing hormones dramatically, and causing illness. Due to this, the abuse, and the antibiotics pumped into the animals to ensure they do not become diseased, dairy animals often are too ill to walk. These animals are referred to as “downers” in the industry, and receive even worse treatment, sometimes being moved around roughly by a forklift. While cows can live to be 20 and goats to 18 years, in the dairy industry they are often killed around 3-5 years old due to not producing as much milk from being so worn down.

The animals are then tightly packed into trucks and sent to die horribly at slaughter, which I will go into more detail about in an upcoming journal.

Dairy is simply not meant for humans to consume. Even if milk can be taken from an animal without harming them, the fact remains it harms us. Animal protein has been found to be a leading cause of many illnesses in humans from cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, etc. Dairy also contains high levels of estrogen, which causes adult females who drink it to develop breast cancer, ovarian cancer, bad menstrual cycles, and other health concerns. Men develop enlarged breasts, and eczema, severe acne, migraines, skin conditions, osteoporosis, and many more illnesses result. Milk has been found to actually cause brittle bones rather than strong ones. While milk is often stated to be high in calcium, the opposite is true. Calcium is best taken in from plants such as kale, broccoli, soybeans, spinach, kelp, collard greens, and many more. Here are more health concerns on dairy.

There is a chemical inside of all milk called casomorphin that caused a nursing baby to become addicted. This ensures that the baby keeps nursing and nursing a lot so they grow up quickly. When an adult consumes this chemical, they become addicted all over again despite being weaned. Thus, literal cheese addiction. This addiction causes many to pause at the thought of going vegan when the solution is simple: Stop consuming dairy products and in 2-3 weeks the addiction will be completely gone. With plant-based alternatives to everything, it’s easier than ever to ditch dairy and still eat yummy food!

While dairy is bad for our health, the planet, and for the animals themselves, we mustn’t forget that cows, goats, camels, and other animals exploited for their mammary secretions are sentient. Bovines, domesticated from the Aurochs, are playful and smart as canines. They have strong social bonds, hold grudges, have friends, love to cuddle, and are very clever at figuring out how to escape from gates. Goats are curious, hyperactive, love attention, and enjoy being played with. Every animal is an individual who thinks and wants to be loved. No one should be exploited when we simply don’t need to.

Animal rights and humans rights are connected, and the issue of feminism plays strongly when discussing dairy. Feminism is about the equality of males and females, and nothing exploits the female reproductive system more than dairy. The entire industry is built on using what only females can produce, which is milk. Dairy exploits and abuses the vagina, uterus, mammary glands, and motherhood. A mother is raped, her baby stolen from her, and forced to live having the milk produced for her offspring taken away to be given to someone else to get sick off of. To claim to want equality between male and female while also promoting the female body to be used as a commodity and slave is hypocrisy. In order to have respect for the female body of one species, respect for ALL female bodies must be achieved.

Dairy is on the decline as more become aware of the abuse and the negative effects on the body and planet, and thus dairy is losing money fast. It losing so much money that the dairy industry has been taking government bailouts in the USA in order not to completely crash. The tax money of US citizens is used to purchase cheese that is thrown away. Dairy uses up much of the Earth’s resources due to the need to feed millions of cows every year. The expense of dairy is an astronomical waste of money, water, food, and land.

You can still eat all your favorite foods without dairy. There are numerous plant-based milks from almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, hazelnut milk, cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk, and many more. They all can be drunk straight, used in baking, turned into yogurt, icecream, cheese, and many other goodies. It is all delicious, healthy, compassionate, and saves the planet. Some websites to help find alternatives are here, here, and here.

I personally suggest trying “So Delicious” icecream/yogurt/cheesecake, “Smart Balance” butter, “Daiya” cheeses/pizza, and “Earth Balance” mac ‘n’ cheese/cheeseits/cheese puffs/butter. But, there are many, MANY more dairy free options to choose from if you don’t like those. There are recipes online, and joining vegan groups on facebook to find more products, tips, resources, and recipes is a great idea as well.