There is no pus in milk
One of the biggest misconceptions I read about milk online today is that milk has pus in it. It’s a common myth that is nearly always pushed by people who want you to stop drinking milk. It’s used to scare people, and play on their emotional fears to get them to stop drinking milk. It plants a very disturbing picture into your mind. After all, who wants to drink milk if it has pus in it!
So you might be thinking – If milk doesn’t have pus in it, how did this myth get started. I mean there must be some truth to it right? Well I will just let you decide.
Where the myth originated
Mastitis is actually a disease that afflicts most mammals, including humans. Mastitis is basically an infection the cow gets in her mammary system. Mastitis occurs when the white blood cells are released in the cows udder to fight the invading bacteria. According to Wikipedia:
Mastitis occurs when white blood cells (leucocytes), are released into the mammary gland, usually in response to an invasion of bacteria of the teat canal. Milk-secreting tissue, and various ducts throughout the mammary gland are damaged due to toxins by the bacteria. Mastitis can also occur as a result of chemical, mechanical, or thermal injury. The mammary gland does not produce any milk. The udder sac is hard, tight, and firm.
This disease can be identified by abnormalities in the udder such as swelling, heat, redness, hardness or pain. Other indications of mastitis may be abnormalities in milk such as a watery appearance, flakes, or clots.
So pus is not actually a symptom of mastitis. Mastitis will only cause the milk to be watery, or have flakes or clots.
The key to curing mastitis is advanced detection. So every time the cow is milked, each quarter of the cows udder is checked by hand before the machine is attached.
When detected, these cows are separated from the main herd and sent to the “hospital” pen so they can get the help they need. Their milk is not sold, and does not leave the dairy. The cow is milked in the hospital pen, where she can be cared for, and be separate from the rest of the herd until she is better. No mastitic milk ever leaves the dairy.
**The milk is checked every day to make sure the cow is healthy**
Treatment
Mastitis is caused by a variety of different bacteria so the severity of the illness can really vary. Some cows that get mastitis will get over the infection naturally without any help. All they need is some rest. But some cows can get a very severe case, and the infection can get out of control. The cow could actually die if she doesn’t get help to fight the infection. So some cows that get mastitis are treated with antibiotics.
Antibiotics are used responsibly though, and no antibiotics ever get in the milk. It’s actually illegal for dairies to sell milk with antibiotics. You can read more about it here. After treatment, most cows experience a prompt and speedy recovery.
On our farm, we also use some other methods though, besides antibiotics, to fight infections. We use a natural remedy with vitamins that helps boost the cows immune system so they can fight the infection naturally. You can read about how we use alternatives to antibiotics at the dairy here.
Prevention
All in all though, prevention is always the best solution. In fact, because mastitis can hamper a cows productivity so much, most dairies make it their priority to prevent mastitis. In fact, there are 3 ways at our dairy that we use to try to prevent mastitis.
Dry, comfortable bedding
At the dairy, it is our goal to make sure the cows have a dry and comfortable bed. The bedding in the stalls is routinely added to make sure their beds are nice and full. We also use a tractor to till each bed each day to make sure the bedding is nice and fluffy. Dry comfortable bedding makes sure that there is less of a change of the cow getting an infection.
**A cow enjoying her dry, comfortable bedding**
Showers every day
The cows also have the luxury of taking a shower before every milking. This ensures that the cow is nice and clean before every milking. A clean udder means less chance of bacteria getting in the cow’s udder. (more here)
Teat Lotion
Every time the cow is milked, her udder is first cleaned with an antimicrobial lotion. The lotion makes sure to kill any bacteria. It also softens and moisturizes the teats to make sure they do not get too dry. After the cow is milked, the lotion is applied a second time to make sure the cows udder stays bacteria free. It’s really like a protective shield that is used to fight off any potential infection from happening.
Milk does not have pus!
Furthermore when cows do come down with this illness, we move them out of the milking string to a separate “hospital” pen where they can receive treatment and rest. So this milk is doesn’t enter the bulk tank, or leave the dairy.
With so many other articles online loudly proclaiming that milk has pus in it, I hope this article gives you some insight from someone who works with cows every day. Milk is one of natures most healthy beverages, so don’t let others tell you otherwise.
If you agree or disagree, please feel free to let me know in the comments below.
Thank you for posting the facts on this subject. You are a fantastic blogger!
Thanks for the complement, I’m glad you liked it!
Clearly this website is BS. It is a WELL ESTABLISHED FACT that the hormones put in cows make ALL of them sick HENCE WHY ANTIBIOTICS ARE USED in 100% of them. Non-organic milk is TOXIC DO NOT DRINK IT.
I am actually just a real dairy farmer explaining reality. Why would we make our cows sick so we can give 100% of them antibiotics? Antibiotics cost $$$. We only treat the animals when they are sick not when they are healthy. In that way, organic farming is cruel to animals as you cannot give them anything to help them when they are sick. Other than that, organic and non-organic are virtually the same. It just depends if you like to pay more for you milk
Hi dairy guy,
I feel I have semi balanced view on farming in general but what gives with hating on organic dairy farmers? The only thing different about organic is they feed their cows organic feed and can’t keep selling their milk as organic if they need to treat them with antibiotics. When I was learning about agriculture I was told never to look down on conventional farmers. Why are you doing so to organic farmers?
I appreciate the blog post as it has expanded the information I have to draw on. I enjoy milk the best is from a friend who has a few cows that are grass fed and fed organic alfalfa. I also enjoy nut milks but, my big draw to animal milks is that they don’t have a long list of ingredients (preservatives, stabilizers etc).
My husband and I lived and worked on a big dairy in Salem Oregon the cows were not confined they ranged freely in a beautiful green pasture not fed antibiotics. The milking barn was cleaner then a lot of houses I had been in. Cows were showered before milking and teats checked and cleaned with antiseptic. After milking teats cleaned and antiseptic applied. These cows were not abused or mistreated in any way whatsoever. The calves were raised to be milkers not for veal not all dairies mistreat their animals fact is I named some of them and made pets of them
So who impregnated the cows, over and over
Again ? In order for you to continue getting milk you would force the cow to get pregnant then take the calf away so you can profit off of her utter milk that was provided for her calf, not for you. No harm? I find it amazing how it’s no big deal. Most of the countries milk comes from factory farming cows which never get to feel grass, not from a mom n pop farm in oregan. It’s impossible for a calf to drink from her mother while being hooked up to a sucking machine. the contamination between the calf and mother it’s not profitable so you put the baby to work too. When do they get to act like a dog or a cat or any kind of pet? They are animals just like our so call house pets. Then to top it off you have to give the cow a BATHTUB of water a day!? 100 pounds of food a dayear to get 7 gallons of milk?????? Does that make any sense? Calcium and protein is in so many vegetables, it’s like ignoring what we have right in front of us. We cannot digest animal milk. Why do people have a lactose problem? Why not giraffe milk, dog milk… it’s all the same.
The reality is that cows that are given the best care are the most profitable. Karmic rule of the universe to ensure animals are given good care. Put the baby calf to work? calves don’t work and Cows live a pretty chill, stress-free lifestyle. You know whats not in vegetables though- fats. Fats are needed by your body and brain. Living on vegetables is impossible unless you buy your food from factories that process and refine your food in unnatural ways.
“When a cow is infected (Mastitis), greater than 90% of the somatic cells in her milk are neutrophils, the inflammatory immune cells that form pus. The average somatic cell count in U.S. milk per spoonful is 1,120,000.” USDA reports 1 in 6 American Dairy cows are infected.
#realfacts
I can argue those facts, but the simple point is that white blood cells are cells, and not puss. You eat them trillions of them in meat and nobody is complaining about them. Why, because they don’t measure the number of cells in meat. You also eat ligaments, red blood cells, arteries, ect. when eating meat. Is consuming these things gross,it just depends on how you want to spin things
‘Pus’ is a name given to white blood cells produced in infections. It is a proper word with a proper meaning and it’s not for you, me or anyone else to change or deny that definition; it is what it is, it’s good old PUS and it’s in your milk! Here’s an official definition for you: “a thick yellowish or greenish opaque liquid produced in infected tissue, consisting of dead white blood cells and bacteria with tissue debris and serum”. So, denying that white blood cells are in fact ‘pus’ makes you look silly and uneducated, which I don’t believe you are. I think your obvious denial comes from a different motivation, where you are desperate to avoid any negativity regarding milk, even if it means denying the truth, and yes, PUS in milk is a disgusting thought. Rather than denying its existence, a better question for you to answer Dairy Guy would be how does so much pus, which is produced in sores in response to infections, get onto dairy in the first place? Could it possibly be that a cow’s physiology did not evolve over millions of years to be continually milked day-after-day, by the likes of you, without consequences, and that the painful sores on a cow’s teats are viewed as an acceptable part of your business? Perhaps you can remind us what the acceptable legal limit for white blood cells (pus) in milk is?
I love the fact that in trying to defend the true horror of ‘pus’ in milk, you have lamely compared it to eating meat, implying that this is an even more disgusting thing to be consuming. Based on the way you routinely treat animals, I’m guessing you’re a meat eater Dairy Guy (forgive me if I’m wrong), so enjoy munching those ligaments and arteries, washed down with pus-milk, yum!
lol when the apocalypse happens, I’m glad your belief system will keep you occupied. I will not have to compete with your for food. We will see who survives longer. Good luck my friend!
Pus is made up of dead white blood cells, dead skin cells, and bacteria, not one type of cell.
Somatic cells are not puss. They are white blood cells.
I found this page because so many vegans and activists claim there is pus in milk. It bothered me so I did some research, part of which brought me to this page. So the confusion is comparing somatic cells SSC to pus – which it isn’t. The dairy guy has explained the immune response well. So it got me thinking surely human milk also have this immune response? Answer is yes of course. So human milk contains somatic cells as well, when the milk is healthy and more when they get mastitis. So if mum gets mastitis, which the majority of mums will experience at some point, the amount of somatic cells increases to fight the condition. The advice for mums is massage, heat and most important to keep feeding the baby to help drain the blocked ducts. So if you want to use the definition of ‘pus’, then every breastfed baby is also drinking pus too! Ridiculous isn’t it!
“…myth that is nearly always pushed by people who want you to stop drinking milk” .
Would you please elaborate on who those people are ?
Water supply companies ? Tea manufacturers ? coffee growers ? 🙂 Or maybe something even more far fetched ?
There is no hidden benefit in telling people to stop drinking milk. The only reason is: milk is not healthy.
On the other hand, why dairy industry tells us that milks is good and safe – that is very clear.
And those clots and flakes you refer in mastitis milk… what do they consist of ? Leucocytes. Dead leucocytes used to fight infection. Well, that is pus !
Pus is very rarely green, it is usually white or yellow. Even if pus was green, when diluted in milk it wouldn’t turn the milk green.
worst thing is, people keep thinking milk is good because some a-hole with a degree says it’s so.
humans are the only stupid animal who drink another species’ milk after they have weaned off mommy’s breast.
even if it’s proven to have detrimental effects on health, but since it’s more important to keep on sustaining fat men in suits who don’t give a rat’s behind about health issues, we keep on contributing to the death and slavery of millions of cows.
just so we can keep on drinking pus.
how stupid are we, really?
Not the only stupid animal, Ants do it too https://www.dairymoos.com/ants-milk-aphids/
Ants and aphids evolved a mutually beneficial relationship, duh!!
It is nothing like the same as humans genetically selecting cows with unnaturally large udders, artificially inseminating them so they constantly produce milk, keeping them confined against their will and steeling the milk which they most definitely did not produce for your consumption. This is blatant exploitation not mutually beneficial evolution, or can’t you see that? Better science please Dairy Guy!
So ants can have mutually beneficial relationships with other animal species, but humans cannot? No science needed in this comparison, just some good ol’ common sense..
Did you even read my post Dairy Guy? Please explain to all of us the ‘benefits’ a dairy cow enjoys? We all know the ‘benefits’ you enjoy ($$$$$$$) from your mutual relationship with your cows. I listed real ‘facts’ that make a dairy cow’s life a misery, which you have not tried to deny. I would love to know what MUTUAL benefits you refer to???
I think what you mean is that we are the only species that “can” drink another species’ milk. Many animals will drink/consume milk from any source if given the chance, because of the incredible nutritional value that milk has.
The anti-milk pushers are usually the same as the anti-meat, anti-leather, anti-hunting, anti-honey, etc. pushers: vegans and animal rights extremists (i.e. PETA).
Thumbs up to AbbyJ. Gosh I just wish they would all go away. I mean honestly people have been drink milk for God know how long. If there were any credible health risks involved, we would definatly know about them. It wouldn’t just be some fanatics claiming milk isn’t healthy when they have never seen or studied mastitis. The dairy guy is a cow farmer… Cows are his living. As in: how he makes it through his life…. I think he knows what he is talking alittleeeee bit more than the fanatics making their claims.
Yes because all vegans are extremists and push this wrong information onto you…
All vegans are extremists? Where do you get information like that? I believe most vegans like me are just doing things which we think are right and we never force people to do anything.
I see you haven’t read the comments on some of these topics lol
It’s like having compassion is bad now??? Raping cows daily is okay but not hurting ANYTHING is extreme? I wish they would go to a vegans farm (all natural from Earth kind of farm) and pick whatever , then go to a slaughter house and pick and kill there own flesh also. It’s only okay when you hand someone money to murder a sick animal for you.
What do you think cows do in the wild- I don’t think the bull asks permission. Cows cycles are actually longer on the farm because we actually give her time off. The bull in the wild will breed her right after the calf drops.
Weather milk is healthy or not, it is certainly not humane. A cow must have a calf in order to produce milk, but then have that calf taken away from her. Another common thing in the dairy industry is genetic manipulation which is genetically manipulating the cow to produce more, unnatural amounts of milk. There are other things happening too, such as forced insemination, and with your point on people drinking milk for a long, long time, that does not make a difference on your argument. Think about it, people have been doing other things for a long, long time too, such as rape and murder.
Genetic manipulation is not a bad thing.. Dairy farmers actually try to improve the quality of life, health, and longevity of the cows. It is much more than selecting production qualities, it is about balancing all aspects of the cow. Health traits and longevity are equally important when breeding cows. It makes sense right because what is the point of a high producing milk cow if she will only be around a few years. You try to breed the strong bulls to the weak cows to give them the strength they need. That cow will stay in the herd for years. It is all about bringing balance.
Hi, Thanks, for commenting! Of course your comment will appear!! I’m not a dictator, but want this to be a place where real discussion can take place.
Unfortunately there are people who don’t want you to drink milk. They aren’t tea manufacturers or tea growers, but are instead animal activists. You can search the web and find these groups. Animal activists hate dairy farms, and want to force everyone to believe what they do. These activists will not rest until the family farm goes out of business. The sad part about this is that while these activists claim to be acting in the best interest of animals, they often end up causing real suffering for animals. http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/14-cattle-trucks-burned-in-arson-at-Harris-Ranch-2455411.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nathan-j-winograd/peta-kills-puppies-kittens_b_2979220.html
Cows that have mastitis are separated from the milking herd so their milk is separated from the milk that leaves the dairy. The milk from these cows does not go into the bulk tank, so there is no pus in milk.
I love milk. I grew up on it. But I no longer drink it often in exchange for almond or soy milk because of issues like these. I am certain you are the best of dairy farmers, but I don’t know all the different dairies whose milk is combined with yours. If they aren’t as high in their integrity as you, that’s a real problem. So any stick cow is sent to the hospital. I’m sure at your farm they are. The other guy just wipes off the udder with a dirty rag and keeps milking. Then there are the pesticides & antibiotics in the milk. We don’t need that. I love milk a lot. But I loved smoking too, till it just wasn’t worth it anymore.
Thanks for your comment. I’m sure there are other people with the same concerns. I can assure you though that our dairy is really no exception. Other dairies do a really good job on milk quality too. It’s a really tough business to be in, and if you’re not producing top quality milk, the creameries will not take your milk.
Plus then there are also a lot of regulations monitoring milk quality, and cleanliness. We have the state milk inspector come to our dairy regularly to inspect our facilities to make sure everything’s top notch. You have to score over 90 points out of 100 so there’s no room for sloppiness. If you fail 3 times, you will be shut down and will lose your license to produce milk. So there’s definitely some encouragement to do the best jobs possible
I grew up on milk. You are obviously paid to keep people ignorant, and all warm and fuzzy inside when it comes to drinking NON-ORGANIC milk. The industry should be ashamed of itself putting profits over humans. By the way, I’m NOT AN ACTIVIST. I’m an active duty US ARMY GREEN BERET that thinks its wrong of you to lie to people.
First, I’d like to thank you for your service to our county. It’s insulting that you say I lie though. I am not being paid by anyone to write this blog, I do it because I want to spread truth about what we really do on the farm. When you are sick you consult your doctor, when you need legal help you consult your lawyer, when you want to build a house, you consult an architect so why should it be any different when you want to know about your food. Why not consult the one who actually worked to produce it.
Many people claim they know more than a doctors, lawyers, and architects, but do they. Its your choice to choose who you believe. I just want to share my perspective as a dairy farmer
Dairy Guy, I’m not sure about the milk-pus, but just the idea of it has scared me (almost) milkless over the last few years. I just wanted to tell you: thank you for taking all the name-calling and internet-yelling (typing in all-caps) so nicely. Some of the commenters here: RUDENESS. We can disagree, debate the merits, fact check, and so on. But there’s no need to “talk” to each other online in a way we would never talk face-to-face. I’m glad you take care of your cows, but I believe you may be in the minority. And your point is well-taken about organic milk and not being able to treat mastitis in those cows with anti-biotics. 3% of organic-milk-producing dairy cows die compared to 1% of conventional-milk-producing cows, who are able to take anti-biotics. But organic farmers do have other treatment methods to use besides anti-biotics, and their cure rates are about the same.
Thank you Katherine
This is completely idiotic and is completely manipulated. Animal Rights activists do all they can not to harm animals in ANY way. They don’t gain a profit, like you do, and vegans are not the same as health nuts, always. People want organic because its healthy, animal rights people want big farms to go out of business, not family farms. Unless you’re abusing your animals. It seems to me that you are extremely opinionated on things that hold much more evidence against your cause than for it. Milk may or may not have pus, but it is not healthy for adult human consumption, and that’s fact. Big farms DO have blood and puss due to machine milking. This leads to infections, which is, by definition, staph and thus pus. Spread facts but you’re wrong about animal rights, so maybe keep your opinions to yourself, ya?
I don’t even know where to start, but i will encourage you to do more research. I’m probably not going to convince you, but talk to a dairy farmer, even visit a farm if you can. Be open minded enough to consider that your facts may not actually be facts
I love milk. It’s awesome, I used to go through a few blue cap 4 pinters (full fat in the UK) a week.
However I have a condition called MCAS that makes me develop allergies. About 2 years ago I became lactose intolerant. So I can no longer drink milk.
My health has not changed one tiny bit from drinking milk, to not drinking milk. If it was so awful and bad for me, I’d have experienced a huge change when I stopped drinking it. Nope, nothing, nada. Still the same.
Nut milk and Soy milk actually make me more sick than lactose.
When I’ve gotten over the ahhh milk with give me allergy stuff, I’m going to switch to lacto free milk which is what my partner occasionally drinks as he has ulcerative colitis. Lactose tends to kick of flares in that condition, so he switched to lacto free. Apart from his illness not being set off my the lactose, he has not changes at all, he went through a period of no milk, now he uses lacto free products and feels good. There was no awakening when he drank no milk that made him feel awesome.
The 100% healthy, active and shiny person, drinks blue cap milk daily. My mum drank at least a pint a day and she was full of energy, enough for a tiny 5″2 lady to run a pub single handedly with and look after the house upstairs and look after the rest of us.
Oh and about pus. Somatic cells do not equal pus.
Pus is made up of dead white blood cells, dead skin cells, and bacteria, not one type of cell.
All milk, including human milk, naturally contains somatic cells.
I have read many facts and arguments pertaining to this article, and it is very clear milk is harmful for us. We as humans have no business ingesting any form of animal protein. Period!
I only wonder what you’ve been reading about milk because I must have missed it…
I urge anyone to purchase organic or nonorganic milk and bring a sample to a laboratory of your choice, and if the test results come back with 0% pus I will personally eat a steak and cheese sandwich… gross
guaranteed every test will have pus in it. Florida has seen results as high as 19% pus content.
My family has been in the dairy business for over 50 years and our milks been tested. We’ve never gotten any results back with pus. You should test some milk, and let me know your results. I can’t wait for you to tell me how delicious your steak and cheese sandwich was haha
Thank you for your perspective. Your critic above not only gets her facts wrong about pus but her statement about milk not being a healthy drink flies in the face of decades of research (and, no, not all of it is “milk industry” funded). In short, populations that drink milk are healthier on essentially every relevant index than people who don’t. It is one of the most persistent findings in all of nutritional research. Those who deny this invariably fall back on cliches (“only calves should drink cow’s milk”) or rely on falsehoods like the pus myth.
I wholeheartedly agree haha
Wrong. Populations that can afford to purchase milk are generally healthier. Guess what? I bet you that you could make the same claim about people who can afford to buy tuxedos and those who can’t.
Actually China traditionally didn’t consume milk and they were healthy and lived long. Now Chona drinks milk together with adopting other Western thing and it gets sicker by the day. Diabetes, obesity, depression etc…
I m not attributing those effects directly to milk, just want to point out that your statement ” populations drinking mill are healthier” is wrong
your spelling is wrong in so many ways and that leads me to think any statement of yours will be the statement of an uneducated follower of whatever “fact” he’s told first.
America consumes the most dairy in the world, yet America also has the most people diagnosed with osteoporosis, by the way long time vegans don’t get osteoporosis like dairy consumers. That’s weird because milk supposedly strengthens bones? Hmm also, you need to take in magnesium in order to get the smallest benefit from animal milk. Why not get it straight from the source? A bowl of Broccoli has as much calcium and protein as a cup of milk, and it’s digestible. There’s plenty more vegetables that are the same.
lol America is hardly the largest milk consuming country, far down on the list. See my milk facts article. Milk consumption has actually declined over the last decade here in America, people should be healthier if milk was bad but like you say, now there is more osteoporosis. Milk also has those other vitamins needed to absorb calcium. Milk is a naturally high source of magnesium. You also need vitamin D and look they’re all in milk. Veganism isn’t natural and is a modern day fad. Only factory’s and laboratories can make veganism possible. You eat broccoli for a week and i’ll drink milk. We will see who is healthier
I actually have to take extra supplements since I became lactose intolerant. My vitamin d levels were critically low when I was already taking supplements. This has happened in the last 2 years. Before that my bloods were perfect for vitamins found in milk.
If milk is so awful, My health should have improved since I stopped drinking it. But it didn’t, not even a tiny bit. It actually got worse.
And I’m on a very, very specific diet designed to keep me going for stuff I can digest and not cause my stomach to shut down. A lot of vegetables make me very, very sick. Even when I grew then myself to prove it isn’t evil pesticides. Broccoli will have be hurling for hours and on fluids for 4 days. Heck, if I drink milk I’m only sick a few times and fine after 2 hours and in bloody allergic to it.
If there is no pus in milk why is there the need to have it regulated? “one cubic centimeter (cc) of commercial cow’s milk is allowed to have up to 750,000 somatic cells”
Somatic cells are not pus, there’s no such thing as a puss cell. Somatic cell count is a measure of white blood cells that are present in the milk. It’s basically a measurement of the cow’s immune system. Keep in mind that white blood cells are in all animal products. Meat has white blood cells in it because there’s blood, and white blood cells are in blood. It’s nothing to be grossed out about.
Welllllll there goes your whole argument, white blood cells ARE pus, doh! I’m curious if you’ve ever taken a science class? What do you think pus is if not white blood cells lol. And to say research hasn’t indicated milk is unhealthy is false, just because you don’t stay up to date on scientific studies doesn’t mean they don’t exist. I consume dairy, but you are totally off base and not very educated on the facts. Anecdotes =/= data
I don’t mean to sound like a smarty, but with that logic, wouldn’t that mean that your body is full of puss! gross 🙂
The dairy guy. I truly appreciate your logical and thoughtful responses. Watching people make such egregious accusations and personal attacks is telling.
As I’ve often said, “An assertion is not a fact. It’s not even an argument.”
Your humor and willingness to engage is beautiful to behold.
And “white blood cells are pus”.. with the added “doh” – is an amazing comment! Too funny!
Thanks Matt for the positive comment. You don’t know what it means to have a positive responses every now and then. Even if you disagree, no need to be routy. I really appreciate it
and the link that you provided for the burning of trucks.. there were no animals aboard. Why would you post that to support the idea of animal activists causing suffering? Yes PETA does euthanize… But just like David Koresh was an extremist, it doesn’t mean all Christians are bad…
I think its great if you provide a better environment for animals.. for something (milk) that world is not ready to give up. Baby steps are good… and the fact that you guys are supporting separating cows with mastitis and not using hormones.. that insinuates that you, even within the industry realize that there are some major things going on that are not good. Kudos.
If you destroy the feed trucks, you can’t feed any animals. And that’s just not right.. I’m not insinuating anything though, just letting you know what all dairies do 🙂
Milk does have pus in it. I’m sorry, but the blog of a dairy farmer, if that’s what you actually are, is not a non-biased source of information when it comes to this issue. Of course you don’t want anyone to think badly of milk, if you are a dairy farmer. Unfortunately for you, I’ve been in factory farms. I’ve seen how disgusting it is. And to correct you, if milk is so good for you, ten why do countries that regularly consume dairy products have the highest rates of osteoporosis? That doesn’t quite add up. Also, those same countries usually consume the most meat, and likewise have higher rates of heart disease and diabetes. Some connections should be made her by intelligent people. Human milk is tailored to humans for a reason. Let Bessie feed her kids with hers.
I am a dairy farmer, did you read my about me page! I don’t know what farm you visited, but on our farm and every other farm I’ve visited the cows are given the best care, and treated with respect. The farms work hard to make sure the milk is clean and safe for human consumption. Our families drink the milk too so that’s why we understand that it matters.
Countries that consume large amounts of dairy products are among the healthiest in the world. Cultures like the Massai practically exist on milk, and heart disease and osteoporosis are non-existent. Milk has even been scientifically shown to reduce incidence of osteoporosis. I don’t think you can blame milk for these health problems. These health problems are caused by our whole diet. You can read my previous article on fat to learn about the nutrition misconceptions that have caused the health epidemic today
Masai don’t drink cows milk.
What??? Yes they do, Se! AND they will sometimes mix it with cow’s blood from a nicked vein. Pick up a back-issue of National Geographic, for gosh’s sake.
Dairy Guy, you’re fighting a losing battle, I’m afraid. Many of these people could have the evidence presented to them on a platter and they’ll still rather believe the myths “cuz ah red it on the Facebook!”.
It does seem hopeless at times, I do my best lol
nice one. well said
I’m not a dairy farmer, nor is anyone is my family, but I did raise dairy cows in 4-H as a youth. I have visited almost every dairy farm in Florida as well as several in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wisconsin and New York. In all of those visits I saw only ONE dairy that farmed without integrity–out of hundreds. It saddens me to see such hatred towards dairies–especially when I know from years of experience on these dairies that farmers work so hard to raise happy, healthy cows.
I’ve never known a dairy farmer use growth hormones, it wouldn’t make sense to now that creameries label whether or not milk contains rBGH. It’s simply a bad idea economically. And I can confirm that sick cows are separated from the herd and that their milk is flushed. In Florida, milk is tested for antibiotics and high somatic cell counts before it is even put on the truck to go to the creamery. If anything is detected, its flushed immediately and never leaves the farm. That’s a pretty high incentive to make sure farms are in compliance. Also, I think any woman who has ever breast-fed can tell you that poor health, poor diet and stress will result is lessened milk production. The same applies with dairy cows; if they aren’t healthy they aren’t producing as much milk as they could be. It would be bad business for farmers not to treat them well. And finally, almost all text that I have read about dairy and meat consumption causing health issues and cancers are in comparison to developing countries that are too poor to consume them. Unfortunately the life expectancy in those countries is so young that people never grow old enough to get cancer/heart disease/osteoporosis. So it doesn’t make sense to compare the two when the age populations are not the same.
I grew up in agriculture and I am the first person to admit there are problems. We do need reform and change in some areas. However I think dairy farms are unfairly lumped in with poor practices other livestock industries. Thank you for being brave enough to write this blog.
@The Dairy Guy. I have lots of respect for Dairy farmers. It’s hard work and Cows don’t take the Weekends off, so it’s a 24/7 , 365 days a year job.
I used to love my Cafe Lattes, Hard and Soft cheeses, Greek Yogurts and what not, but as part of turning Vegan for a brief period of 4 weeks a few months ago, I unfortunately became aware of the negative long-time effects of Dairy consumption on our Health (e.g. increasing bad Cholesterol, antibiotics intake and more) as well as aesthetic aspects of Somatic/pus cells in milk, and have not been able to make myself consume Dairy again since (really unfortunate because I loved everything about it).
Here is an Article on the Subject from a Doctor who (I should ‘warn’) is a fanatic Vegan advocate: http://nutritionfacts.org/2011/09/08/how-much-pus-is-there-in-milk/
Anything you can say in addition to the article above, to mitigate my fears/distaste will be welcomed. I would love to add Dairy back to my Diet but articles like the above really put me off.
Yes, I will try to write a rebuttal or opposing viewpoint for you 🙂
I finally wrote a rebuttal piece opposing the vegan doctor from Nutrition facts .org. Read it here https://www.dairymoos.com/debunked-nutritionfacts-org-puss-in-milk/
I’m sure your dairy farm is as you say it is, however, I have seen many videos where the cows are treated horribly – kicked, stomped, hit with bats, jabbed with pitch forks, and calves drug away from their bawling mothers!!! These dairy farms do exist!! The workers on some of these farms have no feelings or concerns for the cows and I find it disturbing the way cows are brutalized. You sound like you are very dedicated to the well being of your cows, unfortunately, not all dairy farmers are.
You’re right, like in everything, there are always a few bad apples in the bunch. But I can assure you that abusing cows is not the norm. I’m friends with many other dairy farmers and they love their cows just like I do, plus they are family farms also. Activists want you to believe that farmers are abusing their cows, but its not common at all. They flood the internet with staged videos of abuse which I also find disgusting. They just want to to fall for fallacious thinking, in this case an availability heuristic which meaning that media prevalence doesn’t equal actual prevalence. Think about it farmers are just like you, they have a heart. My heart cries every time I see one of those videos..
Are your cows hormone free?
You mention that you are friends with people who own family farms, and while I can understand that you and your friends may treat your cows as respectfully as possible in the circumstance, have you managed or tried to visit any factory farms? I was also wondering what the average size is your operation and those of your friends.
If you do respond, thank you for your time!
Yes our farm and my friends family farms are all sizes, they range anywhere from 100 to 5,000 cows. It doesn’t matter the size, dairy farms are not factories. The quality of care is equal or greater on larger farms. I am hoping to discuss farm size in a future post
I guess a better way to ask that is do you inject or give additional hormones to your cows in any form?
No artificial hormones – sorry, I didn’t respond because I was planning to do an article response. Just keep putting it off 😉
No response to the above question? Really??
lolololol
This article screams of bs. Maybe on a nice family run, small farm but not the huge corporate farms
Milk produced on larger farms has been proven to be cleaner and higher quality. I will prove in a future article
I knew it couldn’t be true when I heard it from a friend who seened it on u-tube. Thank’s for the info.
If your dairy farm is as legitimate as you make it sound, which i highly doubt. Then congrats, your one of the few that arent feeding children infected cows pus and blood. But all the other farms are. You sound just a bit too good to be true, my dairy farming friend. There is what can be called pus and blood in most milk and certianly in milk from cows treated with rbst. Your only representing your tiny (probly imaginary) farm. All the the other farms give ZERO fucks about their livestock or their customer.
Let’s be real, I wouldn’t farm if I didn’t LOVE cows and the consumers who enjoy our produce. Do some real research before you spout offensive rants like this. It is truly heart-breaking that you, and other people, would think things like this.. but that’s why I blog. Remember farmers are humans too
Hi dairy guy, well done for maintaining your composure after dealing with some of the comments above it must be hard. You seem like a decent guy who works hard to take care of your cattle which is refreshing. I drink a lot of milk (gold top 5% fat lovely) about a litre a day. i do however think that the life of many dairy cows probably isn’t very nice particularly the ones which produce milk at rock bottom prices.. But that’s just the world we live in where animals are bred specifically for food – humans have just evolved so much now that we aren’t natural anymore!
Anyway going off on a tangent a bit, i know you’re probably based the US not the UK but keep up the good work 🙂
Thanks for you polite comments, I really appreciate that 🙂
Vegans are the weirdest creatures in the face of the earth.
Yes, somehow NOT killing/eating the flesh of a living creature is weird, I guess compassion is weird? Or maybe it’s weird that vegans aren’t dying from malnutrition. Or how weird it is when your cholesterol drops dramatically from being a vegan for a couple of weeks. I’ll take that as a compliment, thanks
Compassion does exist outside of veganism. And yes vegans do struggle with malnutrition. Cholesterol is good for you and you need it to function, 25% of your bodies cholesterol is in the brain. But everything does drop when you’re on a fast
Hi thanks for posting the pics of your cows and their lively clean beds! I’ve seen countless pics of cows in horrible muddy/manure filled barns which is horrible. Do your cows go outside? Not having a go, my preference is that animals live in their natural environment but yours sound positively pampered. Good work!
Thanks! Yes, they go outside. The barn is best though during the winter months so they can keep dry 🙂
Ok, let’s face it, most of your milk does not come from tiny family farms (even so, that milk is still robbed from her baby) but if there was not pus in milk THEN WHY DOES THE FDA ALLOW FOR 750 MILLION PUS CELLS PER LITER. They have studies and statistics by state to show you have many million pus cells you are drinking. You can find plenty on just YouTube showing EXACTLY what really goes on in most Dairy farms. What happens to all those babies who never get mother’s milk?? They are tied down to prevent muscle growth then at around 4 months old we kill them and call it veal. Milk is disgusting and horrifically unhealthy & cruel – anyone who say different is selling you something (like milk?)
Bob – you seem to be confused about somatic cells – they aren’t puss. You can read my post about SCC https://www.dairymoos.com/what-is-somatic-cell-count/. Instead of going on the YouTube why not talk to some real farmers
I’ve been to plenty commercial dairy operations, when there is localized inflammation, redness a open sores we call that pus. Milk is not even healthy nor can we absorb the calcium – countless studies show that the rate of OSTEOPOROSIS IS HIGHEST IN COUNTRIES THAT CONSUME THE MOST DAIRY likewise those counties with considerably less dairy consumption had significantly less osteoporosis. Why don’t we hear about these things? (they are available in science and medicine journals) Because there’s just so much money being made; animal agriculture, massive gov’t subsidies lets not forget that doctors, hospitals and “big pharma” DON’T MAKE MONEY OFF HEALTHY PEOPLE.
I’ve done my research and the difference between us is that I’M NOT TRYING TO SELL ANYTHING.
“In the new NutritionFacts.org video-of-the-day, I note that the antiseptics used to disinfect cow teats can provide a source of iodine, but have been found to boost the level of pus in the milk of cows with staph-infected udders. Today’s dairy cows endure annual cycles of artificial insemination, pregnancy and birth, and mechanized milking for 10 out of 12 months (including 7 months of their 9-month pregnancies). This excessive metabolic drain overburdens the cows, who are considered “productive” for only two years and are slaughtered for hamburger when their profitability drops, typically around their fourth birthday, a small fraction of their natural lifespan.
Turning dairy cows into milk machines has led to epidemics of so-called “production-related diseases,” such as lameness and mastitis (udder infections), the two leading causes of dairy cow mortality in the United States. We all remember the Humane Society of the United States investigation showing sick and crippled dairy cows being beaten and dragged into the California dairy cow slaughter plant en route to the national school lunch program, triggering the largest meat recall in history. That loss of body condition is a result of the extreme genetic manipulation for unnaturally high milk yields.
Because of the mastitis epidemic in the U.S. dairy herd, the dairy industry continues to demand that American milk retain the highest allowable “somatic cell” concentration in the world. Somatic cell count, according to the industry’s own National Mastitis Council, “reflects the levels of infection and resultant inflammation in the mammary gland of dairy cows,” but somatic cells are not synonymous with pus cells, as has sometimes been misleadingly suggested. Somatic just means “body.” Just as normal human breast milk has somatic cells—mostly non-inflammatory white blood cells and epithelial cells sloughed off from the mammary gland ducts—so does milk from healthy cows. The problem is that many of our cows are not healthy.
According to the USDA, 1 in 6 dairy cows in the United States suffers from clinical mastitis, which is responsible for 1 in 6 dairy cow deaths on U.S. dairy farms. This level of disease is reflected in the concentration of somatic cells in the American milk supply. Somatic cell counts greater than a million per teaspoon are abnormal and “almost always” caused by mastitis. When a cow is infected, greater than 90% of the somatic cells in her milk are neutrophils, the inflammatory immune cells that form pus. The average somatic cell count in U.S. milk per spoonful is 1,120,000.”
Bob – did you even read the link I recommended? Just because you copy and paste propaganda and put things in capital letters does not make it truth. You are trying to sell something – you’re selling your beliefs. Anti-agriculture groups (like nutrition”facts” . org) you reference are bias and do have an agenda. (making money/ taking donations) They want to eliminate animal agriculture. They see humanity as a scourge on the earth that needs to be eliminated. They will tell you any lies that you are willing to believe. To them it doesn’t matter if its the truth or not as long as it moves the bigger agenda. Cows today are treated so much better than in the past. I’m frustrated though by all these things people write. It’s one of the reasons why I started this blog – because I was so fed up with people spreading nonsense like all the ramblings you pasted here..
Sorry bud, but YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON “SELLING” ANYTHING HERE. Very little of what I posted is “cut & paste”, I was even generous enough to site my source. The rest is simple facts, basic knowledge. Dairy cows must be forcibly impregnated (for humans we’d call that rape) in order to lactate like any mammal. In pretty much all commercial (for sale) dairy operations the calf FOR WHOM THE “MILK” WAS CREATED never get a taste. The calves are separated from their mothers, who cry for their taken children until they lose their voice. NO OTHER MAMMAL ON EARTH drinks milk past infancy much less STEALS THE MAMMARY SECRETIONS OF ANOTHER SPECIES. Two thirds of the population cannot properly digest milk due to the lack of proper enzymes which decrease after weaning. Many scientific studies have shown the numerous deficiencies and autoimmune disorders caused by drinking “milk” or other dairy products and the benefits of NOT DRINKING THE MAMMARY SECRETIONS OF ANOTHER SPECIES and other than your indignation, you have no facts to back you up. So, the next time you are elbow deep in a cow’s vagina, please tell me how “normal and natural” it feels. Fact is, you hold these animals captive, shorten their lives DRASTICALLY by keeping them pregnant by force, steal their milk, imprison their daughters and slaughter their sons. If someone did to a member of your family what you do to these cows, you’d file charges or retaliate yourself. Why is it “ok” to do this to another species when it’s not healthy or beneficial to either the cow or consumer? Some day you will be looked upon with the shame of any slave owner. Get bloody honest with yourself.
Bob – I disagree – you are a salesman, and you are selling your paradigm. Vegans, like yourself, try to frame dairy farmers as being cruel and horrific, but really we are people with hearts and a conscious just like everybody else. We have feelings and deeply care about animals. In fact, we care about animal so much that many of us farmers work our whole lives with animals because we enjoy spending time with them. We make decisions with the best interest of the animal in milk because on farms we realize we have a symbiotic relationship with the animals and nature. They weird fact is that the better care we take of the animals and the earth, the better our yields and returns. That is why it is nonsensical for you to say we don’t care, because even if we were greedy and money hungry – it would not give us any incentive to mistreat animals. It is easy to spread lies, but harder to admit truth. You can do it though
I don’t understand why you keep saying that its not pus. Dead white cells are pus. Pus is not the correct term it’s a slang for drum roll please……. dead white blood cells which are in milk. Pus does not need to look like it came from an opened wound. I look up what’s in milk….dead white blood cells….then I look up pus and the definition is dead white blood cells. Then you look up dead white blood cells in milk… yes they have dead white blood cells BUT no pus? It’s like running in circles.
Biology isn’t that confusing- cells are cells not puss. What is meat- dead cells, not puss. It’s not gross. Milk is milk and meat is meat. The whole puss in milk debate is nothing but fearorism
Bob, you make my heart happy. Thankful for people who don’t ignore the truth, regardless of how ugly it is. Humans are evil.
Bob is ignoring the truth lol
I am looking for some answers to a few questions. Dairy guy, I’d appreciate your honest answers to my questions as I seek for more clarification on milk. I have no agenda. Other than wanting facts to then decide what I feel. 1) do you artificially inseminate your cows? 2) roughly what age does a dairy cow live to? 3) how many cycles of pregnancy would an average dairy cow go thru (obviously to produce milk the cow has to be give birth etc and repeat the cycle) 4) what percentage of your Bobby calves go to slaughter and at how many days old? 5) do the Bobby calves on your farm get to feed from mum or are they removed immediately and the colostrum bottle fed? 6) are your dairy cows grain fed or grass fed? thank you for your time and hopefully answers 🙂
Hi Hannah – I’m glad you are keeping an open mind. Cows are artificially inseminated, but while some people try to make sound bad, it is actually not so. AI helps stop the spread of disease and it allows better genetic selection and mating. You can mate a frail cow to a strong bull to give the next generation more strength and a better life, and you can also select bulls with better health traits. Genetic testing can show us which bulls have the best propensity to transfer more longevity to their young. So Bulls can actually be selected that will give their young a longer life. Lifespan is highly dependent on the cow’s genetics. Cows with better health traits will live longer than their herdmates. It is hard to estimate how long a cow will live to because many farms will sell older cows. A variety of ages are present on our dairy. This goes along with your question on how many calves a cow will have. It is all dependent on her age. A cow will not have a calf until they are over 2 years old. A pregnancy for a cow is similar to a human at 280 days. But farmers will not breed a cow until she has recovered from her previous calving. Typically they are given a few months to rest which is different than in nature. In a natural setting, the bull does not wait and will breed a cow immediately after she has her baby -as you can imagine, a cow in a natural setting like that would have far more babies than one on the farm and it would be more stressful and harmful for her. The bull calves go to a local beef ranch that raises them until they are full grown. Don’t worry, these calves get treated no differently than the females and colostrum is a must. Our cows are fed a variety of grasses. Sorry this is so long, but I hope you find it interesting. Thanks,
Finally someone to put some sense to these issues. A hero for farmers and the working class. Here is a wonderful link which shows these animals are well-suited for the farm, being herd animals and the lies of food extremists are simply untrue. Hope you’ll watch and allow this on the website. I’m rooting for you!
You may have no agenda but “the dairy guy” has the agenda to protect the dairy industry. There’s loads of truth, Earthlings, Cowspiracy, Farm to Fridge (great, well-researched documentaries) and real undercover video of dairy operations available on youtube & Netflix. Basically, the snake-oil salesman is not going to tell you that his product is harmful to your health, unbelievably cruel to animals and is destroying the entire planet. Oh and to answer one question, the male dairy cows are all killed for “veal”, they are tied down to ensure their muscles don’t develop so the cows are always “artificially inseminated” in a device called a “rape rack”. Normally these cows can live 20 years but poor dairy cows literally lay down and die at 4-5 years due to the endless cycle of pregnancies. The industry refers to them as “spent” and banks won’t consider them collateral after just 4 years.
Bob, you’re not a farmers but you claim to know what farmers do. That’s like a person saying they know everything a neurosurgeon does when he is operating on a brain. You can find plenty of non-vegan material actually showing you the reality of dairy farming also. Many of those “undercover” videos are staged by activists. The abuse is being done by the activist themselves. There are interviews on youtube from activists who took part in these operations who have come out and admitted the tactics they use.. To counter bob’s myths – bull calves go to beef ranches where they are raised. Veal is not right, and has nearly been eliminated in the US for good reason. The term “rape rack” is a term created by activists to evoke emotion in you, but it’s not even a real thing. Try googling it and you will find no such device. Cows do not die on dairy farms after 4-5 years.. they can live longer…
You say you ‘care’ about animals yet treat them like objects; like property; like slaves!
You talk about raping your cows in a calculated way, without remorse. It is clear that not only is this horrible invasive practice acceptable to you but totally justified.
When slavery was legal there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people getting very rich from it as a business. They did not care for their victims. They conspired to justify their barbaric and inhumane behaviour. Eventually enough people agreed it was morally indefensible and were prepared to say so and fight for freedom.
Has it occurred to you Dairy Guy that cows and other farmed animals, may not actually want to be kept by you? You talk like they chose this life and somehow agreed to be part of your money-making operation. As you ‘care’ so much, I am curious to know what you think your cows get out of a life trapped on your farm? I assume they are trapped, fenced in and cannot just wander off if they have had enough.Do you ever wonder if keeping animals against their will may be morally wrong?
If a farm animal could talk and object to the way you treat them, would you still do it anyway? Think about it…
Where do you stop pal? In a perfect world i agree with you, but we are far from that! I must admit i am looking forward to developments in artificially grown meat, being able to enjoy it without killing animals (or at least a reduction is awesome)
Lots of people get a shitty deal in life unfortunately, it ain’t right but its the way it has been and always will be for the foreseeable future so try not to let it bother you.
Want to start on something that’s more inhumane first, halal meat?
Do you even have pets? If you did I can say your keeping your dog or cat as a slave. The comparisons you’re making are plainly ridiculous. The cows are fenced in, but when they get out they aren’t running away. They never roam far away and always willingly go back to their home.. When it’s milking time, the cows joyfully run to the milking parlor. How about when the cows are relaxing peacefully in the barns or the times the cows come up and give you a big lick. I can’t say how cows feel for sure, but by being around them I know they are living a much happier stress-free life than you
Thanks so much for your post. I have been getting a lot of facebook stuff about pus in milk etc (usually the David Wolfe ones) which just looked so unlikely. Good to have it explained so clearly by you. I also commend you for your calm responses to some pretty excitable (ie rude) posts. Nice to see someone waving the flag for the farmers.
Maybe you are the best, a great guy who loves his cows and treats them with respect, never harming them, always showing compassion and making sure you consider their needs and interests. Maybe you hug them, give them special treats and even give them a day off every now and again for all the hard work they do for you. Maybe…
Back to the real world – you make your farm sound like a lovely place to be enslaved, but what about the horrific conditions on industrial sized factory farms? Is your farm like theirs? Do these factory farms even exist? Is all the stuff so readily available to read about them wrong? Is somebody lying? Why would someone lie? That does not even make sense.
Is there any truth in this stuff Dairy Guy?
You are a total fantasist – if lying to yourself makes you feel better that’s fine, but don’t push your bullsh_t on gullible people who also want to justify their own part in human greed and cruelty despite the clear facts.
How do we get to this point, not to be morbid, but we can’t control our health or when we will meet our maker (almighty God) I say eat, drink, and live righteously. Seek Christ Jesus and the kingdom of Heaven and all shall be added on to you. Whether you agree or disagree, misleading or being misled on whether or not there is puss in milk, is not important in the grand scheme of things.. bless!
There are many people who are animal farmers. All of them believe they take great care of their
animals and believe they are treated well. However…it is not normal for a cow to give milk to
anyone but her calf. What happens to the calf when it is born? what happens to the male calf
when it is born? do they spend 9 months bonding and nursing with their mom and her milk
which is normal?. How long in years do your dairy cows live who are forced to give milk?. Do they
go to a nice retirement pasture when they can no longer give milk? There are several former dairy and other animal farmers who have quit the business and become vegan. They tell their stories and they believed they ‘treated their animals well’. Howard Lyman, a 4th generation cattle rancher, thought he treated his animals well, then got ill and became vegan and spoke out against his industry for what it did. Yes some people believe drinking the milk of another animal, after humans have been weaned from their human mothers milk, is normal. More and more people are drinking almond milk because they learn the truth….peace.
Rachel how many cows have you funded for retirement in a pasture. If you or society wants to fund a program like that, farmers would be happy to accept but I haven’t met anyone willing to put their money where their mouth is. Animal rights folks are not better at caring for the animals. PETA kills animals and throws their bodies in dumpsters so they don’t have to live in this world. Under the current system, cows live happy healthy lives and then they serve a purpose at the end. Making their lives more comfortable is always the goal and I have yet to meet a vegan who is contributing towards making animals lives better
Wow! Did I just read that right? You think that because someone else doesn’t pay for YOUR cows retirement, a cow that YOU force-bred, that YOU have repeatedly forced pregnancy on with an invasively procedure, that YOU have repeatedly milked as much YOU feel is feasible to do so and that YOU very clearly profit from, it somehow justifies YOU killing the cow after just a fraction of its natural lifespan. That is a shocking thing to say!! Your PETA claim is silly and bogus as they are in no way the official standard bearer of animal rights; in fact many “animal rights folks” as you like to call ’em, are opposed to PETA. The “purpose” you claim cows serves “at the end” (…of their lives) involves violently killing them against their will, which is plainly cruel and morally questionable. And to say vegans contribute nothing towards making animals lives better, when they blatantly do by not harming them, eating them, milking them, exploiting them, stealing from them, using them, skinning or plucking them, is laughable and I hope everyone who reads your hollow words can see that. The problem is you are not honest about what you do to animals and you seek to blame others.
Forcing other people to do what you will not do is nothing but hypocritical. I take care of animals every day and try to give them the best care I can. If you care about their well-being there are ways that you can contribute
You exploit animals every day for cash and end their lives when you choose. I don’t! How is it that you think I can better contribute to their wellbeing other than opposing what you do?
How are you making the world a better place for cows?
Feeding someone and ensuring their health just so you can keep them captive to exploit them is wrong. Many standard practices on a dairy farm are seen as cruel. By avoiding dairy I choose not to contribute to the exploitation of cows.
I think the real question you’re driving at is ‘how can cows exist if they are not farmed, if it weren’t for people like you’? Maybe the answer is that they can’t, not like this anyway. There are examples of cow breeds living in the wild today that evolved over millions of years, and the selectively bred domesticated cows you exploit are of course decedents of theirs. No doubt cows would survive if left in peace; they would feed themselves and breed naturally. Do you think you too could evolve, to farm something other than animals?
That is a scapegoat answer- how are you making the world better for cows. Contributing time, energy, resources towards making an actual change in the world. Farmers spend their lives figuring out how to give cows the best care with the resources they have. Avoiding it does nothing for the world- it is an illusory contribution. I would challenge you to make real change happen in the world, use your resources. Buy some cows and keep them into retirement, nobody is stopping you from taking part
If we take your illogical argument that animals are better off living on farms than in the wild, why don’t we farm more animals to benefit them, especially endangered ones? If we farmed elephants for example, for meat and milk, there would be millions of them, right? How about rhinos or pandas? There’s a reason farmers like you choose to ‘use’ placid defenceless animals like cows, pigs, chickens and sheep… they are easy to exploit, offer little resistance and provide the best return (profit).
It is unclear why you think avoiding animal products does not benefit animal?? That is a strange concept when you consider they are killed against their will to become ‘products’; that just does not make sense! There are an estimated 75m vegans worldwide who do not contribute to the exploitation and slaughter of innocent animals. Consequently the dairy industry continues to shrink while plant-based milk sales rocket. That means less suffering which is great news for animals! I asked you if you could farm something other than animals, you dodged the question… what is your answer?
I’m afraid I do not have the individual capacity to house ‘retired’ animals but I do make a regular contribution to an animal sanctuary that rescues exploited animal from farms like yours… so, challenge accepted! 🙂
I can’t even drink milk because of lactose intolerance, but I absolutely would if I could. Hey, stupid people who stay away from milk because of “ethical” reasons, I would trade my condition with you in a heartbeat…way to many beneficial things with milk…
There are actually a few options- lactose free milk (they add the lactase enzyme to breakdown lactose before you drink it) and FairLife milk (filters out the lactose)