Why is drinking milk bad?

Question

I realize that it is an animal bi product, but milking cows doesn't hurt them, right? People can milk cows without actually killing them for meat.

I'm a vegetarian working on cutting out other bi products, but I'm just unsure about the milk. Can someone please explain it to me? Thanks.

Answer 1

Cows are fine with the milking. It comes natural to them already.

Answer 2

The actual milking doesn't hurt the cows, but nature intended for the calf to drink the cow's milk (i.e. cows milk is for cows)

But to produce milk a cow must first be pregnant. But when the calf is born, it is taken away within a few days, and this causes both the cow and calf distress. The calf is then killed for veal after approximately 5 days. After about 5 years of being artificially impregnated and milking (cows usually live for 20) the cow is killed for meat. So yes, people can milk cows without killing them, but they don't. While the cows may not be killed immediately (they have to have 5 more calves), after 5 years the cow is killed.

There are alternatives to milk such as soy milk, rice milk, soy cheese, soy ice cream etc.

Answer 3

Ok the cows are not harmed when being milked. Besides milk leads to so many other glorious things...creamer, milk varieties, cheeses, and butter. Milk is good for us and yes we were meant to drink it and use it to nourish our bodies. I respect everyones vews and choices but we were made to consume animals and their products. Simple food chain ideology. Are you mad at the other animals who eat other animals? Are we not all gods creatures meant to interact and live and thrive dependant on one another. You don't want to eat meat, great. Truth is life as we know it would crumble.imagine a world over populated by every animal and no land left to farm because of it. blah blah..go have a big cold glass of milk and cookies, just like at grandmas house.

Answer 4

Milking cows shouldn't hurt them, but when suction tubes are hooked up to cows on factory farms wounds can develop from the irritation. Even ranchers who milk their cows by hand have to be careful not to pull to hard. There are also emollient products on the market to prevent the utters from getting chafed from too much pulling.

The problem with milk is that it is only produced when a cow is pregnant. To increase milk flow, ranchers give their heifers hormones to stimulate lactation. Another sad reality is that many baby calfs are taken away from their moms at a young age for veal production. Mother cows are used as machines, pumping out calves for someone's schnitzel and being sucked of the nutrients they need for survival.

An interesting fact is that humans are the only animals that consume milk after weaning. Other adult animals cannot digest the lactose. This is a problem we see in a lot of people, too, especially people of Nordic descent. The rate of lactose intolerance is much higher in northern Europe than in Africa. Thats because in many parts of Africa, pastoralism is a main lifestyle. People live with their cows. Maasai even write them love ballads (no joke). In northern Europe, the trait to digest lactose was lost to other more beneficial ones.

If you are able to tolerate milk, its a wonderful thing to drink. This is especially true if you are female.  There are plenty of other foods you can get calcium from, like green leafy vegetables. But you can still enjoy milk and other dairy products as long as they are ethically produced, without the use of hormones. You can find ethical milk at specialty and health food stores.

I hope I helped a bit.

Answer 5

Ok people, farmers do not pump cows full of hormones to make them milk.  There is no economic way to induce milking without the birth of a calf.  If you are thinking of rBST then you should know that it is only used for a small portion of the lactation.  Also rBST is a protein hormone which humans have no receptor for.  It breaks down into amino acids just like every other protein you eat.  I agree, rBST is not necessary.  But, research everything before you go making crazy allegations.  Also on the veal thing, you do realize without the veal industry, the bull calves would have no value and therefore be disposed of?  We shall not waste.

Also milking does not hurt the cows.  They are hooked up for like 5-10 min. twice or thrice a day.  They get very upset if they are not milked or are milked later than normal.  Trust me, you do not want upset cows!

Drink milk, it's good for you!

Mandee:  Apparently you don't know any dairy farmers.  As my boss says "The cows come first, they are our bread and butter."  If you take care of the cows, they will take care of you.  That is our motto!

And one more thing:  THERE ARE NO ANTIBIOTICS IN YOUR MILK!!!!!!!!!!!

Cows are not killed on their 5th birthday.  They haven't even had 5 calves on their 5th birthday.  We have plenty of cows over 5 as do most dairies.  Quit listening to extremists.  Get on the farm and find out for yourself.

(veal calves are harvested around 300 lbs or 4-6 mos.)

Answer 6

two words CALF SLAUGHTER. Only female cows can give milk so as soon as they female cows give birth they rip all the baby's away and then raise the female cows for a constant life of being pregnant and having hormones and your babies taking away and the males are slaughtered for veal. Thats why I'm Vegan. Soy milk all the way!!!!

Good Luck at cutting out all the by products  

Answer 7

Like your momma would have said, " Drink up your milk, and stop complaining. "

Answer 8

hormones (injected and preexistent), antibiotics, homogenization, tranquilizers, chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, puss...

http://drjoeesposito.com/radio.html - "12-29-07 Got Milk?  I hope not!!"

Cow milk is meant for calves, while human milk is meant for babies. End of story. How about the calcium that is actually depleted from drinking milk trying to digest it, whether you've "evolved" or not, hmm? And what happened to all of the "Got Milk?" posters in school cafeterias? Do you want some cat milk with that cookie of yours?

For alternatives you can have rice milk and almond milk, maybe soymilk. Why not get all the calcium you need (which really isn't that much considering people are deficient of a lot more nutrients that need to process calcium anyway) from kale and almonds? Also, with B-12, you can get the whole B complex from nutritional yeast which tastes like cheese (coincidentally).

Plus, pasteurization kills much of the good nutrients in cow's milk anyway (and nullifies the puss and bacteria though).

And this is besides all of the torture the animals go through... in whatever mass-production cage they're in.

I'm not exactly an extremist... (all my friends drink milk and eat meat unfortunately because I never talk about it with them) but think of it this way, the downsides outweigh the benefits. And it's not like milk is going away soon, unless liberals outlaw it; it would probably go away gradually and the market would find other jobs to fulfill the growing vegetarianism sector for the cow overseers in a free economy.

Answer 9

the worst thing about drinking milk would probably be the fat content

Answer 10

well ask yourself if you were a cow would you want to be enslaved and be forced to make babies which you never even get to see? All milk cows are eventually slaughtered. There's no way around it unless you have your own cow which I doubt you have.  

If you really want milk then rescue a cow but remember it won't produce milk unless it has a baby so be prepared to take care of the calf as well. Seems alot of work just so you can drink bovine lactation..  

Answer 11

I'm reading a very interesting book that makes me never want to drink milk again.  The title is, No Milk by Twogood.  I know, funny name.  Google it...interesting.

Answer 12

Cows are pumped with HORMONES in order to constantly produce milk! Farmers don't simply take a cow that "naturally" got pregnant and use it as a dairy cow. They breed dairy cows and force them to get pregnant and produce milk. Also buying milk supports the VEAL industry!! There is a section about it in the video in my sources. Hope this helps.

Answer 13

o miling cows is not hurting them AT ALL! and no they do not kill them to get there milk!!!!! no worries! drink away!( milk!) =D

Answer 14

Milk is overrated.

There are healthy alternatives other than milk.  

Answer 15

Drinking milk is not bad. It is a personal choice.  Choose organic milk.  It will most likely be from humanely treated cows untouched by hormones and fed untreated grass.  

I drink hempmilk.  Hemp is the plant kingdom's number one source of protein and it also provides tons of vitamins, minerals, omega 3's and 6's.

Answer 16

Milk doesn't have to hurt cows but, unfortunately, it does.  They are pumped full of hormones and hooked up to machines that cut them and infect them.  Puss and blood end up in the milk and then cleaned out while the cows are tortured by ignorant, unfeeling people who can only see dollar signs, not the pain they inflict on these helpless animals.  And once they are all dried up they do not get to go to grass covered mountains to graze freely for the rest of their days, they are tortured some more, killed, and sold.

Besides that, humans are the only creatures who drink milk from another animal.  Cows produce milk to feed their calves and fatten them up to survive.  Why would you want to drink something that is supposed to fatten up a one thousand pound animal?  It is unnatural.

The only thing that you need that can be hard to get if you don't drink milk is B12.  You can get that from eating plenty of greens, though, or you can take a supplement.  Other nutrients you can get from milk are easily obtainable by a healthy diet.

This is why I do not drink milk.  If you want some facts from experts, there are tons of books out there. I recommend Skinny ***** to start because it is easy, quick, and fun to read and it gives you facts without being too technical.

Good luck and I hope this has helped!

Answer 17

It isn't. And cows line up to be milked. Go to a dairy farm at milking time and watch it.

Answer 18

drinking milk isn't bad. it builds your bones! milk is dairy, not meat

Answer 19

yes milk is a bi product. milking cows in fact does not hurt them, but cows have feelings and how would you feel if someone locked you in a room and then put "suckers" on your nipples and then sucked milk forcibly from your nipples. i wouldnt like it, and neither do the cows. but the fact is that milk helps a lot with growth and development, and if you dont drink it then when your old you will be very prone to injury.

Answer 20

i'm not sure why it's bad but maybe it has something to do with why you don't naturally want to drink monkey milk...or do you?

peace

Answer 21

Vegetarians don't eat anything that comes from animals. Including eggs and milk

Answer 22

It is not bad, as it does not hurt the cows, but it WOULD be kind of annoying to it. but just think, it is way worse for the cow if it does not get milked each morning. And it gives you strong bones as well, so why not drink it?

Answer 23

They pump the cows up with hormones so that they give milk constantly, keeping them hooked up to machines.  It's not comfortable for them at all.  Personally, I drink organic milk because it's free from hormones.  But I'm not a vegetarian.

Answer 24

I think that if you don't milk cows it hurts them, as they get infected or something and could die.

Answer 25

i give you credit for trying and being a vegetarian . as far as drinking milk DO NOT WORRY their is no harm in milking a cow ,that is just so extreme to say that drinking milk is no good