(With permission. Originally published by Sentient Media in their Newsletter Series ‘100 Voices - Day 5’)

Many believe dairy is cruelty-free, but the dairy industry is no less cruel than the meat industry.

There are approximately 250 million cows producing milk around the world. An estimated 10 million dairy cows in North America, 23 million in the EU, and 6 million in Australia and New Zealand. Milk production is also on the rise in countries not traditionally known for their milk, such as China—which now has over 12 million dairy cows.

Many believe dairy is cruelty-free, but the dairy industry is no less cruel than the meat industry. Some believe it is even crueler since dairy cows suffer for longer periods than those raised for meat. Cows in the dairy industry live up to 6 times shorter lives than they normally would. Cows can naturally live up to 25 years, but in the dairy industry, they are overused.

Cows—like all other mammals on Earth—produce milk for their babies. And in order to produce milk, they must have offspring, so the standard procedure on most dairy farms is artificial insemination. Moreover, dairy cows carry their young for 9 months, like humans.

Calves are separated from their mothers soon after they are born; either immediately, or within days. Female calves will be cycled into the dairy industry, while male calves will be killed or sold into the veal industry. Dairy cows are typically killed for meat around 4-6 years old.

Sustainable, cruelty-free dairy alternatives are becoming more popular, and will likely continue to grow as more people learn about modern industrialized dairy practices. More about these in our next post.

For a more detailed analysis of the life of dairy cows, please visit our “Life of a Cow” page.

Sentient Media’s ‘100 Voices’ Newsletter is a creation of their Social Media Fellowship program sponsored by VEGFUND.

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