Why don't vegans...?

Question

...Drink milk? I mean, cows aren't tortured by being milked. If they weren't milk, they could get sick!

I'm really confused. Plus, milk is good for you.

Help?

PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!

Answer 1

Like all mammals, a cow has to be pregnant to produce milk.  And she produces the milk for her baby.  However, on industrial dairies, the baby is taken from his/her mom within hours of birth so the milk can be collected for sale.  The male calves go to the veal crates, while the females eventually wind up on the dairy line like mom.  So there's several forms of cruelty right there: separating babies from their mamas and shoving baby calves into dark, dank wooden stalls and fed some liquid sludge with no nutritional value to keep their flesh white.

Then the cows are given hormones, antibiotics, and steroids throughout their constant pregnancies.  Because of the hormones, they produce far more milk than they would otherwise.  The constant pregnancies and being milked takes a toll on their bodies.

And eventually, when they don't produce enough milk to be profitable, they're slaughtered for hamburger.

And sure milk is good for you--if you're a baby calf.  But if you're a human, you don't need milk after you stop nursing, and you don't need milk from a mother cow!  Besides saturated fat and cholesterol, what can you get from milk that you can't get from plant foods?

As for the cats who will drink milk, that's due to the action of misguided humans.  Domesticated cats still retain a bit of kitten in them.  My cat will drink soymilk.

Answer 2

Hello there, I understand your concerns, the reality of the milk industry is something most people are confused or ill-informed of.

Dairy cows are repeatedly forcefully impregnated (as they have to have babies in order to produce milk, just like humans) with equipment referred to as the 'rape rack' by farmers themselves. The newborn calf, each year, is sent off to be malnourished in a small, dark crate, and killed after several weeks - it's dead body sold as veal. The dairy cows are milked so intensely that their mammary glands become very swollen, many can hardly walk and are in immense pain. Also, this often causes mastitis, a painful udder infection, adding traces of blood and pus to milk. The cows are forced to do the equivalent of around 6 hours of jogging a day, and become completely knackered by 4 years old, before they are even adults. Their milk production declines and they are of no more use to the farmer. 'Spent', the girls are sent to the slaughterhouse, some still pregnant, spilling milk on the killing floor. This cycle is the same, no matter what 'humane' system the cows are exploited in, be it 'free-range' or 'organic'.

The specific and well-defined reason why many vegans do not drink milk is animal rights. The animals in this world exist for their own reasons. They are no more put here for humans than black people were for whites, or women for men. All animals are conscious beings, they are aware of their own existence and fear their own death. They see the world from their own viewpoint and value their own lives. That makes them deserve their life, to do what they want with. They have the birth-right to life, liberty and freedom from suffering. Animals are here for themselves, not to be your breakfast, entertainment, hunting pleasure, lab experiment, shoes, belt or hamburger. This is what animal rights is about, not about treating animals slightly better and that being ok, but rejecting all use of non-human animals as if they were objects.

I don't think milk is very healthy either, as well as causing cows to be exploited and suffer and be killed. Colin Campbell, a leading biochemist, says that "cow's milk protein is the most carcinogenic substance exposed to man on a day to day basis". This is a growing concern in this field, and something we should all be wary of. It's hardly surprising, considering milk is intended for the infant of another species, not the fully-grown members of our species. Drinking it is like telling your feet to grow into hoofs! So it's no wonder it causes cell mutations that can lead to cancer. The protein and calcium in milk can easily be obtained in a vegan diet, so there's no good reason to continue drinking it.

There's a lot more information about all of this on the Internet, so don't just take my word for it, do a little research yourself if you like. But I hope this helps clear things up a bit for you.

Tim

Answer 3

There's no proof that milk is good for you.  Everything you can get from milk you can get from other non animal foods.

Let's start here:  milk is another specie's baby food.

It'd be gross enough for an adult to drink his mother's milk, but another species???  EW.

And actually, the dairy industry is far more cruel than the meat.  The cows are like...fake.  

If you're actually interested, there's lots more info.  I personally abstain from dairy because it makes me feel sick.

Answer 4

because they thionk it is not right

Answer 5

Maybe because it comes from an animal. Not too sure. I love milk though.

Dave

Answer 6

Yeah, same as above--many animals, including cows, are not treated properly, and keep in mind that the ones that are milked may later become ones that are hung upside down and slaughtered alive, probably not in the most humane ways.

Answer 7

Dairy cows are kept pregnant so that they will continue to produce milk.  When their baby is born, if male it will either be left to die or will be raised for about 6 months then slaughtered for veal.  Dairy cows can live for up to 25 years naturally.  But cows that are milked intensively and impregnated every year only live until about 5 years old before they become to sick, their bodies too exhausted to produce any more milk or babies.  Then they are slaughtered.  That's right, dairy cows are slaughtered for meat too.

http://acinvestigations.org/images/Chino...

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

http://hsus.typepad.com/photos/uncategor...

http://www.hsus.org/web-files/Cow/281x14...

Answer 8

-cows are kept in cruel conditions

-retired milking cows often killed

-to produce extra milk, a calf is born and killed.

-vegans feel it is baby food for the calf, not the human

-would you go up to a cow and suck it's udder? it seems very unnatural

-it's high in fat and saturates

-many are lactose intolerant and many aren't even aware of their intolerance.

-soya, rice, almond and oat milk are examples of healthy alternatives that can be drank without saturates, reduce cholesterol, and do not contribute to animal cruelty. before some of you meat eaters say soya is bad because its growing is destroying the rainforest, do your research. soya had by vegetarians and vegans in the form of 'fake meats', tofu and soy milk are from rainforest friendly destinations. the soyu grown in the amazon is used to feed livestock in europe for human consumption, and produce cheap processed meat by combining it with cheap meat, such as nuggets at kfc.  

Answer 9

There are so many things wrong with what you just said!

First of all we don't drink milk because it comes from an animal and we don't use anything from animals. Second cows aren't living the happy life you may think while being milked. They are chained up to machines for months on end and are very miserable. And even if cows did get sick from not being milked (I don't believe they do) if they were in their natural habitat giving their milk to their babies everything would be fine! And last time I checked steroids, and drugs weren't good for you, it's in that nice glass of milk you have, or that nice bowl of cereal with milk. Don't believe me? Do some research!

Answer 10

its how they are treated . im a veagan but i buy horizon milk some time . but they have to live in a box ther hole life and farmers give them pestisides and stuff its not normal!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Answer 11

Consuming the breast milk of another species is unnatural, unnecessary and repulsive. (Would you suck an udder?)

The U.S. has consumed more calcium in more forms in the last forty years than any other culture on earth, and yet it has the highest rate of osteoporosis. Why? Simple. Excess protein inhibits calcium absorption. This has been proven and published in medical journals time and time again. Eat less protein, and the calcium found in leafy greens, nuts and lentils is more than enough to satisfy dietary needs.

Dairy cows are injected with hormones and antibiotics, and their food is laced with pesticides. (This is to decrease the amount of insects attracted to their f***s, a major problem in industrial dairies.) Residue from the hormones, antibiotics and pesticides are found in milk. These have been linked to cancer and compromised immune systems.

All milk from grocery stores is from corporate operations, and all of them, even Horizon Organic, keep cows continually pregnant, milk by machine and take calves away at birth. (The male offspring, by the way, then have the genuine thrill of becoming VEAL!)

Answer 12

You say cows are not tortured by being milked when that statement isn't completely accurate. The amount of milk required, the equipment used to milk, the equipment/handling used to get the cow to the equipment to be milked can be cruel, the ethics behind pumping cows with antibiotics and what not is questionable, and then having those cows, once useless, sent off to be tortured then murdered (not including some of their offspring that many will never get to nurture) can all accumulate to a very miserable existence.

Also, like many other things that we believe for substantial periods of time- milk being 'good' may come to light in the view of better technology and scientific studies as not being so good. After all, Americans recieve more calcium from dairy sources than elsewhere and yet have the highest rates of low bone density and osteoporosis. Without the help of say Vitamin D, the absorption rate isn't something to brag about.

Now, considering vegans go vegans for many reasons a prime one is the treatment of animals as I addressed in the first part. Secondly, a person shouldn't partake an any diet or regime, etc. without getting the facts. And so, vegans DO need to make sure they get the proper nutrients without consuming dairy. That said, there are a LOT of HEALTHY vegans not consuming milk or dairy products. Reason leads me to say then that if you can live a healthy life without harming an animal in any way- why choose to live otherwise? The only excuses I see is that too little is known or accepted about the health benefits, lack of scientific evidence or understanding of data, laziness, or pure idiocy (meaning those who don't know and don't care!).

And as for cows needing to be milked or they get sick? 'Mother Nature' is a magnificent thing. The cows produce milk for their babies. No babies= no milk. Therefore, if the cow needs to be milked, there should be a baby there to milk it...not a human being. Not too mention, I don't look at a dog, a cat or any other animal and go "mmmm I'd really like some of their milk right now" and push their baby out of the way- that is such a selfish and unecessary way to live. Despite that, humans were designed to have milk from our mothers and then CEASE milk consumption at a certain age. On top of that, the things that milk contains...like pus...well...if that makes you thirsty, by all means...enjoy!

Answer 13

They say it's because the milk belongs to the baby cow not to people.  

Answer 14

milk is not good for your, moron.

the cows are tortured and hurt as they are kept in a small pen a milked at the milkers convience, not the cows.

read your god d**n facts before you go around thinking your all smart you dumbass.

Answer 15

Cows are absolutely tortured for their milk. They are forcibly inseminated in order to give birth, because they cannot give milk without giving birth. A dairy cow gives up to 10x the amount of milk she would naturally. The udders often swell, causing them to drag on the ground and suffer from untreated sores and lesions.

Cows do NOT have to be milked. If they aren't kept on a farm to give milk for human consumption, their milk goes to their calves- it's the exact same thing as human breastmilk. Humans are the only species that drink milk from another species. I bet you wouldn't drink the breastmilk of a random woman, but you'd drink the milk of a random member of another species? Not my idea of a delicious drink. :S

Milk really isn't as healthy for you as the dairy industry would like you to think. Even skim and 2% milks contain anywhere from 20-30% fat calories. Fortified soymilk is a much healthier alternative- 70 to 100 calories per glass with 2g-4g fat.

Answer 16

Milk is an animal product.

Yes they are treated badly.

their milk should go to their calf's

If you visit a place where they make dairy you will probably change you mind. =)

PROUD VEGAN! =)

Answer 17

Many dairy cows are in fact treated inhumanely.