How milk is produced in the milk industry strikes a very primal chord in me. A male calf is taken from his mother at birth and thrown away to die, cold and alone, never to know a mother's warm nor suckle at her nipples. The mother cries for her baby but he is never returned. Some mothers forget fast but others mourn for weeks and months. The cow is forcibly artificially inseminated again. She becomes pregnant and gives birth once more. Her calf is taken from her yet again as she is milked to cater to the booming milk industry.

This is not fiction. Pick up any book on the milk farming industry and you'll get a similar description on how cows are forced to stay pregnant to maintain lactation and their calves torn from them at birth. Cows are emotional creatures (another reason I am staying away from beef) and having their children taken from them is the most distressing thing a mother can experience. You can read more about it here: The Dairy Cow, Milk: A Cruel and Unhealthy Product, and Veal: A Byproduct of the Cruel Dairy Industry. Note that organic milk is produced the same way.

I am pleased to say Rice Milk has grown on me. :) The addition of B12 helps all on vegan diets. I haven't touched milk although I still eat cheese. While I still had some ham and shrimp (shrimp trawling bad I know) the past 2 days, awareness of what I eat and where it is from is a step towards a humane diet.

Technorati: milk bad, milk cruel, dairy industry, cruel dairy industry