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I drink milk, but we (as in "we in the Western World"), could all do with drinking less of it. You would be surprised by how many people are unaware of how mil
by cirrus-clouds 9y ago
I drink milk, but we (as in "we in the Western World"), could all do with drinking less of it.
You would be surprised by how many people are unaware of how milk is produced. Only a pregnant female cow can produce milk [Edit: as BenjiWiebe correctly states below, cows lactate after they give birth). So a female dairy cow will spend most of her adult life in a pregnant state. Once she gives birth, she is separated from her calf usually within a few hours (sometimes she'll be together with her offspring for 24 hours, but never more than that).
Then she'll be artificially inseminated again (normally within 3 months of giving birth) so she can start producing milk again. And so the cycle repeats.
The reason milk is so cheap (at least in Europe) is because we aren't prepared to pay for higher welfare conditions. We say we care for farm welfare, but our behaviour shows otherwise. Maybe we care a little bit, but we care even more for cheap prices. (And yes, I confess I am as guilty as the rest of us).
In many European countries, increasing numbers of dairy cows spend their entire lives indoors ("zero grazing"). For example, Germany is the EU's largest milk producer and the majority of dairy cows spend their entire lives indoors with no access to outdoor pasture. This is perfectly legal under EU regulations.
- bagacrap 9y agoThis does not make sense. Why would a cow make milk only while pregnant? So as soon as the calf is born no more milk? I'd expect lactation to occur after birth. A cursory internet search suggests the cycle is pregnancy (9 months), birth, milk production of various duration, 2 months of "drying off" and then on to the next pregnancy. How different is that from what occurs in nature? Don't most animals get pregnant every year during the fertile period of their life? Only unnatural part of this is separation of calf and mother as well as other details like diet. If you're concerned with that you can source your milk from responsible dairy farms, the problem there being that most people value cost savings over humanitarian concerns. Also note that 20% (according to some random source) of beef production comes from former dairy cows. If you consider meat a byproduct of cow milk then cow milk is saving us from some of the environmental impact of beef production. (FWIW I don't drink animal milk.)
- BenjiWiebe 9y agoSee my comment for a few more details, such as how long lactation can last. :)
- BenjiWiebe 9y agoUm, the first part of your comment is a common misunderstanding. Female cows produce milk only after they've had a calf. Not during. And they continue producing milk generally for as long as you milk them. Their production does go down over time, but they can be milked for a year after one calf, sometimes two years. Production does go down when they are pregnant, though. :) Source: 20 years on a dairy
- BenjiWiebe 9y agoCorrection: the cow can produce milk while pregnant, but that would then be from it's previous pregnancy.
- amelius 9y agoAlso, typically, only the milk after the second calf is used. Milk obtained between first and second calf contains proteins that are unsuitable for human consumption.