Have you ever had a lightbulb moment? I don’t mean a passing moment when you say to yourself, “Oh, I get it.” I mean a moment when time seems to stop. When everything you thought you knew is suddenly so wrong. So wrong that you have to make a change. So wrong that you won’t be able to look at yourself in the mirror UNLESS you make a change.
For me, that moment came when I clicked on a video showing baby calves being rescued from the dairy industry. As a woman, as a mother, and as a sexual assault survivor, I knew this was a turning point in my life.
I sat at my computer weeping uncontrollably. I mean sobbing as I have never sobbed before. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing. How could I have not known about this horror? I was 40 years old, and never knew that a cow had to have a baby in order to produce milk. How was this possible? The dairy industry.
I, along with most of society, have been brainwashed by the dairy industry. They throw “happy cows” in our faces on TV and product packages. They indoctrinate the public with slogans like “Milk, it does a body good!” They feed us these lies, day in and day out. It’s a generational, endless cycle. Until someone breaks it. In my family, that someone was me. Now I know the truth, and I hope to enlighten others. I hope to switch that lightbulb on for the world to see.
Forget everything you have been taught or told. Here is the hard truth.
A cow on a dairy farm is forcibly impregnated, or to put it simply, raped. She carries her baby for 9 months. The same as a human. She bonds with that baby she feels in her womb. She anticipates the birth. Just as a human would. The day comes for her to give birth. Within hours of her trying to nurture and bond with her newborn, sometimes before she has even been able to completely clean the placenta off, a farmer comes and snatches that baby away. He forcibly drags that baby, or puts him in a wheelbarrow to take him to a separate pen, far away from his mother. That mother mourns. Just like a human would. That mother has lost her child and will cry out in misery for days. Before long, she will be forced to birth another. And another. And another. Each time, she will have her baby stolen from her. Why? So her milk can be stolen and sold for human consumption.
You may be wondering, what happens to those babies?
The female calves will endure the same terrible fate as their mothers, while the male calves will be sold for veal. You see, males are a byproduct of the dairy industry, serving no purpose since they don’t produce milk. So the dairy industry brainwashed you into thinking that veal was a delicacy. That way they could turn a profit on something they actually view as trash. These male babies are deprived of nutrition, kept in tiny cages, and horrifically slaughtered at a few weeks old. A few WEEKS.
Every cow in the dairy industry will eventually end up at the slaughter house. Just like humans, a cow can only give birth so many times before her body gives out. Before she is “spent”. That usually happens around 5 years of age. So these mothers are, in actuality, just babies when they are sent to slaughter, because a cow should naturally live to about 25 years of age.
What about nutrition? Isn’t cow’s milk an important part of a healthy diet?
Cow’s milk provides no essential nutritional value to humans. Do you drink dog milk? Do you drink elephant milk? Do you even drink milk from your own mother beyond infancy? There’s a reason why you answered ‘no’ to those questions. You don’t NEED it to be healthy. The same reason you don’t need cow’s milk to be healthy. On the contrary, drinking cow’s milk has been associated with an increased risk of health issues including heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer. Milk does NOT do a body good.
So now you know the truth, what can you do?
Stop consuming dairy. It really is that simple and easy. There are so many dairy-free products today that will give you the same satisfaction. Almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, oat milk, and more. Not just milk, but yogurts, ice creams, coffee creamers, and everyone’s beloved cheese, all made WITHOUT dairy. They are free from some of the harmful components found in dairy-based products and you can be proud of the fact that you are no longer funding a cruel, vile, torturous industry.
If you are a woman, ask yourself, how would you feel if you were forced to give birth over and over, only to have your baby stolen every time? How would you feel to have your milk harvested until your body just gave out?
If you are a man, how would you feel watching your wife or mother go through that? How would you feel being viewed as trash, and sent to death at a young age for simply being born?
Make the connection. See yourself in them. See them in you.
Stop listening to the lies.
I don’t know if I have flipped the switch for you today. I hope I have at least screwed the lightbulb in.
Written By: Danette Godinez, 2nd Street Hooligans Volunteer Coordinator
Some of Our Favorite Vegan Dairy-free Brands:
Silk, Miyokos Creamery, Follow Your Heart, Chao, Daiya, Earth Balance, So Delicious
Sources:
Keon, Joseph. Whitewash: The Disturbing Truth About Cow’s Milk and Your Health New Society Publishers, 2010 Print.
Forks Over Knives. Directed by Lee Fulkerson. Virgil Films and Entertainment, 2011. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005K23RS0/ref=as_li_tl? ie=UTF8&tag=forovekni-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B005K2 3RS0&linkId=59797ad3aa16ee6566576aedeb6204f4.
Health Concerns About Dairy Fact Sheet by The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, https://p.widencdn.net/mwhzyu/Health-Concerns-About-Dairy-Fact-Sheet.