Milk??...please answer?

Question

Ok well ive been a vegetarian for about 3 weeks because of the horrible things they do to animals.

I was wondering if anyone knows a milk brand where they don't store the cows in tiny crates for their whole life and give them unnatural hormones to produce more milk...so basically its animal cruelty free. Any one know any brand like that?

Answer 1

They don't keep milk cows in tiny crates...just their male babies.  There is no cruelty free milk.  I suggest you try very vanilla soy milk.  Then when you get used to it you can work your way up to plain.  Good luck:)

Answer 2

Well organic milk is probably the safest or one that says ont he label or cap "contains no hormones"

But you could try soy milk. I hated silk soy milk but I like 8th continent. B/c there is still cruelty to the cows and their offspring such as the males being killed just because they are boy cows.

Answer 3

I have done a lot of studying and research over the past several years on the subject, mainly because I have two degrees in Dairy Science and I live on a dairy. Cows are not kept in tiny crates. Cows are fed 2-3 times a day which accumalates to about 100 lbs of feed per cow per day. It is pretty much a buffet line. They are also given fresh water everyday, they never run out.  They are given bedding to sleep on which usually is sand, some even have waterbeds believe it or not. They are given plenty of shade, fans, water soakers, and room to move about and graze. I don't see how eating all you want and sleeping on waterbeds with sand in a cool environment is rough.  They have it better than some people. If a cow is not comfortable or well taken care of, she will not produce milk like she should.  Dairymen will spend thousands of dollars a year on vet bills, because they want to keep their cows healthy, some even hire their own personal vets.

There has been a lot of misconception about milk and what is in it. Most people today think organic milk is healthier than non-organic milk. This is not true, organic milk and non-organic milk is exactly the same. Organic is only saying how it was raised. Organic does not effect the quality. In fact, non-organic milk has less bacteria than organic milk. This is mainly due to the fact that organic cows are not given antibiotics, therefore they are not able to fight off the illness or disease as well as cows given antibiotics. Therefore, this increases the bacteria count in the milk, that is why organic milk is ultra-pasteurized. No matter what, it is illegal for milk containing antibiotics to enter the food chain. The milk from a cow given antibiotics is immediately dumped after the cow is milked and does not enter the bulk tank. So the milk sitting on the shelves at the store can not contain antibiotics. Dairymen are only doing the same thing to a cow as if we went to the doctor and he gave us antibiotics.  Dairymen are trying to stop the illness, not prolong it which could lead to other problems.

Hormones, such as BST, is another subject that people think causes milk to be bad. A cow naturally produces hormones and BST is one of them. There is no way of taking hormones out of the cow or milk, because hormones are natural. There are many hormones in milk, but none of them are harmful. This is mainly because our body can not break them down, therefore they can not bind to our recepters in order for us to use them.

Whatever that cow is fed will not effect the quality of the milk at the store, hormones will not hurt you, there are not any antibiotics in the milk, and cows are well treated.

So basically milk is milk, whether it is organic or non-organic. If you are paying the extra bucks for something you think is healthier because it is organic, well you are losing money. The non-organic milk is exactly like the organic milk.

So, every brand of milk out there is from cows properly raised and it is impossible to have milk without hormones.

Answer 4

'Organic' milk is the only way to guarantee that the animals were not fed antibiotics and growth promoting hormones,which,i've read,can be passed on into the milk people drink.Cows who produce organic milk are legally required to be kept outside for the majority of the time.This however,as i presume you do care a great deal about other animals,is still not ideal.To be honest,there is absolutely no way of producing 'cruelty free milk' as even if the cows aren't given drugs and are free to roam outside,the amount of milk that they are forced to produce puts an enormous strain on the cows bodies and they become 'burnt out'.The 'spent' cow is usually sent to slaughter at around 1 1/2 to 2 years.A cows life span is around seven.A cow may be slaughtered because her milk yield is low,or because she has an infection or failed to become pregnant at the right time,often they are slaughtered when pregnant{the unborn calf's meat is particular tender and adds to the farmers profit}Also,the only way to produce milk is to pregnate the cow.Cows milk is meant for baby calf's and if their milk is given to people it means that the calf's have to be removed.Cows can call for their young for days after they are taken.Veal is a byproduct of the dairy industry,there are healthy and humane alternatives to milk.Maybe you could try soya milk/hazelnut/almond/rice or oat milks instead?

Answer 5

Nobody stores their cows in tiny crates,

Answer 6

My  family has been in the dairy business for 40+ years.  The cows are not left in "crates" their whole life.  They are out to pasture the majority of the days and evenings and the ONLY time they are in "crates" is when they are being milked. The cows look forward to going in the "crates" because they know they are getting milked which relieves the pressure to their t***s. Secondly, they are NOT given hormones to produce more milk, they are fed specialty feed mixes that contain corn meal, cottonseed meal, citrus pulp (from oranges, this gives it a sweet taste), hay, and  grains, etc ALL natural feeds, (we also deliver these kinds of feeds to dairies.)  Milk products are safe and the cows are treated humanely.  I hope this has helped!

Answer 7

chances are you wont find any organic milk in normal stores, but if you go to an Amish community they will probably have some

Answer 8

I'm not in the farm biz, but I do believe calves intended to be used as veal ARE kept in crates to avoid them developing untasty things called muscles.  My understanding is that the milk and veal industries are connected, as the milking cows have to keep having babies in order to have a supply of milk, and the calves are then used for a variety of purposes, veal among them.

I don't think you would be able to find cruelty free milk, except perhaps if you were able to purchase milk directly from a local farmer with a small operation that you could visit and check out.  When I was a kid, my mom used to buy farm milk - I remember the farmer would deliver it every week in a big jar.   (I didn't really like it....but then, I have never been one for milk)

As others have mentioned, give rice or soy milk a try....I much prefer it.

Answer 9

look for organic milk

Answer 10

Organic Milk Such As Horizon Or Natural Valley I Dont like the things they do to animals either! Its Cruel!

Answer 11

Dairy has quite a history that few people know about including being a city-based activity related to distilling booze:

http://www.sustainabletable.org/issues/d...

Distiller's grains not actually being very good for animals:

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/3/...

The least cruel is going to be organic such as Organic Valley or a local small producer close to you. Organic Valley is actually a co-op of 1,200 of small dairy farmers who often have herds of 60 to 100 cows, on pasture and growing their own feed, giving the girls names, etc., versus the 1,000 to 5,000 found on the corporate organic dairy farms owned and operated by Horizon.

Horizon is actually owned by Dean Foods (which also does Silk Soy milk). Dean Foods controls about 35% of all milk and as much as 80% in many states. Dean is also responsible for buying up processing plants and closing them causing small dairy farmers to go out of business since it requires more gas (therefore more $$) to get their milk to the processors that are left. Dean Foods also works closely with Dairy Farmers of America which is considered quite corrupt at the expense of the farmers.

http://www.grist.org/comments/food/2007/...

http://www.familyfarmdefenders.org/pmwik...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/busine...

Horizon which also sourced from Aurora is under scrutiny and observation by the Cornucopia Institute (an organic milk watchdog group) and the USDA since their milk is skirting the organic laws. For instance they have huge lots in the desert with no pasture around and about the only time a cow gets pasture is when she is trucked to it which doesn't make sense while she is producing which she does for 11 out of 12 months. To produce as much milk as they've been bred for they must supplement with grains to get enough calories. The majority of dairy these days uses Holsteins which produce a far greater volume than Jerseys for instance but not as tasty.

http://cornucopia.org/

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/8/...

It's actually a myth that animals need to be treated well to produce and in fact, volume makes up for loss due to mistreatment. One of these is the Monsanto hormone which increases volume but at the expense of the animal. But, given she has to calve every year she's birthing her replacements so doesn't have to last long. The cows that were in that downer cow video that led to the biggest recall ever earlier this year were mostly dairy cows.

http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/2/...

http://www.hsus.org/contact_us/farm_anim...

Plus, the cows we see are the visible ones that are being treated better. We don't see the majority until they end up on an undercover video. Some non-organic operations have as many as 20,000 cows:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_farmi...

It takes 8 gallons of water and 8 pounds of feed to produce 1 gallon of milk.

However, organic milk, like all organic foods, is much healthier and nutrient rich than standard milk:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/415395...

Cornucopia Institute, the watchdog group that busted Horizon, Aurora and others has a Dairy Scorecard that might help you find a local producer you can feel good about such as Straus Dairy. Eat Well guide can also help and they might know of even smaller farms you can source directly or at a farmers market just by entering your zip code.

http://www.cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/in...

http://www.eatwellguide.org/

But, as with eggs, there is still the issue of the male offspring.

So, I would recommend Organic Valley or a like local producer but at the same time begin to acclimatize yourself to using alternative plant-based milks such as soy, almond, hazelnut, oat, rice, hemp, etc. Try different brands (both refrigerated and shelf-stable aseptic boxed) Organic Valley actually does a stunning soy milk too using the whole bean. I really like vanilla for drinking and putting in tea but plain is better for cooking purposes. Their chocolate makes a great hot cocoa like drink.

http://www.organicvalley.coop/

http://www.strausfamilycreamery.com/

http://www.organicvalley.coop/products/s...

As far as hormones, even if the rBST/rBGH/Posilac is not injected the milk is still full of hormones meant for a growing calf. Regarding the claims on soy which are smear tactics by the Weston A. Price/Mercola duo and likely the dairy industry (and even the hemp interests) I encourage you to pursue the links found below disputing them and going through point by point:

http://www.compassionatecooks.com/blog/2...

http://www.compassionatecooks.com/all_ab...

It is good to limit soy protein isolates which ironically are being found more and more in meat products:

http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing...

Answer 12

no one puts cows in tiny crates and there are very few that use hormones

Answer 13

Even if that existed and you had access to it (unlikely), every dairy cow ends her life in a slaughter house and every male calf of hers ends his life in a slaughter house after a few weeks in a veal crate.

Is it worth it to you?

EDIT: Horizon is a factory farm.  They've been investigated and sanctioned.  Do some research.

Answer 14

no body makes milk thats not mean to animals

but theres veg milk

try brands silk soydream

and almondbreez there all good milk

Answer 15

I have never heard of a dairy farm keeping cows in a small crate for there whole life just for milk. I live in the country in bc and I have a lot of friends that have dairy farms. The cows are out in a 100 at least acre Field to graze during the day and brought in twice a day for milking. it is done pretty nice. the cows are more then happy to come in for milking. any of the cows that have been given medication for something are still milked but the milk from that cow would be re- rutted into a different tank, and that is discarded. so no need to worry about having milk that is full of c**p ( as I put it ) and the cows are cared for very nice. now beef bought from a store is a whole different ball game. they are kept in a feed lot and left to get fat and fed hormones to grow fast and that is wrong. I get only meat from my dad. His cows are all grazing in a field and fed nice hay and grass! I do know that dairy land has good milk! and the best ice cream! Maybe you got the dairy farms and the hamburger lot ( fed lot )  mixed up! I hope this helps. later

Answer 16

I've never heard of cows being stored in tiny crates. A lot of cows are milked at farms and I'm sure they're completely safe there. I don't get why you wouldn't want to drink milk...it has good health benefits. The vegetarian part I can understand though; I'm against animal cruelty as well and the more I think of it, the more I'm starting to not want to eat meat, but it's so hard to quit and I don't like most vegetables.

Answer 17

it's called soy milk,    start a relationship with it.

no milk from no animal is good.

Answer 18

Well good for you with becoming a vegetarian! They are 'stored' in cramped places not crates. The only way to guarantee that the cows are not being harmed is getting milk from a small farm. Any milk sold in stores has come from cows that were harmed.

Yes even organic milk. Even if they do not put hormones and such in it they machines hooked up to the cows hurts their udders and puss, blood and other fluids get into the milk.

Answer 19

Sprouts is a wonderful store that sells nothing but organic foods. You can also try Whole Foods, which does the same. Good luck!

Answer 20

The only thing I can think of that even remotely resembles what you have mentioned is in Europe, some farmers keep their cows in sheds, because the winters are so cold, the cows would freeze to death.

Look for organic milk, in the dairy section of your local supermarket.

Unfortunately there are a lot of misconceptions regarding the dairy industry. Having grown up on a dairy farm, I can tell you that a stressed cow will produce less, poor quality milk, so most dairy farmers go out of their way to ensure their cows are stress-free, and the average dairy farm in Australia involves several hundred acres of land, and the only thing kept in the sheds is the winter stockfeed.  

The cruel side of the dairy industry is the sale of the bull calves. (Honestly, if we get rid of the dairy industry, what do you think will happen to the cows? They will be put down. Lets work towards a better dairy industry, rather than no dairy industry.)

Soy milk and other various by-products are high in oestrogen have been linked to breast cancer, so steer clear of them.

Answer 21

Like one said,no dairy farmer stores cows in tiny crates. For one thing they won't fit because a full grown cow can weigh up to 2000lbs.

Also, major milk brands do not have one big giant farm for their milk. They get it from many individual suppliers. Some are bigger than others and some treat their animals better than others. So you can't really tell.

You can try smaller, local suppliers. But if you are appalled by the treatment of dairy cows, I would suggest you forgo dairy products as well. Soy milk is not real milk, it is a vegetable extract.

Here are a few pics of dairy cows. the bottom pic may be the one you are referring to:

http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/ikmp/images/3...

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/01Eo...

http://www.uwrf.edu/wiglci/cows2.jpg

http://news.cals.wisc.edu/photos/photo10...

http://www.hsus.org/web-files/Cow/540x36...