9 ms·

Kind of strange, because cows don't just produce milk by nature. Much like humans they have to be impregnated & give birth, after which they produce milk for ab

Kind of strange, because cows don't just produce milk by nature. Much like humans they have to be impregnated & give birth, after which they produce milk for about ten months. Inquisitive people might wonder how the cow is impregnated in the first place and what happens to the calf.

WJW 6y ago
I assume they either use a bull or use artificial insemination and the calf gets taken away to be slaughtered and eaten. Do they do it differently in France?
- nickkell 6y ago
  As it's a monastery we must leave open the possibility of immaculate conception
  - throwaway744678 6y ago
    Immaculate conception refers to the fact that Mary was born free from original sin, not that Jesus was conceived with a sexual intercourse.
    - nickkell 6y ago
      Thanks for the correction! All this time I've conflated it with the "virgin birth"
ekianjo 6y ago
Not sure if this explains everything but we have been selecting species for favorable traits for hundreds of years. That's why you end up with hens laying eggs several times per week too.
Swizec 6y ago
> after which they produce milk for about ten months Which just about brings us from spring 2020 to now. According to a quick google search, cows gestate for 9.5 months. > then the “ideal” breeding season for spring-born calves is 9 1/2 months prior to that or beginning in April but for sure by May. [^1] If you're planning to have baby cows in April 2020, you breed them in August 2019. By the time you find out about COVID it is already too late and you're gonna have a bunch of milk whether you want to or not. As for what happens to the calves: they can't drink all the milk modern cows produce. Also they become big cows. Afaik we don't usually eat dairy cows because they have been selectively bred to produce ridiculous amounts of milk, but not to be tasty. [1] https://beef-cattle.extension.org/when-exactly-is-the-beginning-of-cattle-breeding-season-whats-the-significance-of-having-it-during-a-particular-time/ https://beef-cattle.extension.org/when-exactly-is-the-beginn...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- DanBC 6y ago
  > As for what happens to the calves, they can't drink all the milk modern cows produce. Also they become big cows. Half of them do not become big cows because male cows don't produce milk. We kill the male calves. > Afaik we don't usually eat dairy cows Of course we eat them. They get turned into ground and minced beef.
  - jiofih 6y ago
    > We kill the male calves May have been true a few decades ago, but currently the farmers will buy “sexed” sperm (selected for females). I’ve never seen a male calf being killed for that reason.
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      > I’ve never seen a male calf being killed. Well they don’t turn into veal steaks by themselves do they?
      - throwaway8581 6y ago
        Yum.
    - watwut 6y ago
      All the meat we eat are female cows?
      - ajdude 6y ago
        No, but they’re probably not from male “dairy cows.”
      - mgarfias 6y ago
        No, beef cows make calves. The heifers are kept to make more calves. The males are castrated and get turned into beef.
bengale 6y ago
> what happens to the calf Sold as veal I'd have guessed?
athms 6y ago
Human don't need to get pregnant to produce milk. Lactation can happen with medication or stimulation, which becomes easier as women age. If a woman is not inducing lactation with hormones, she must stimulate the breasts several times a day using hand compression or a breast pump. This is how adoptive and foster mothers breastfeed their babies. Lactation can also occur in men because they have milk glands, which is the reason they too can get breast cancer.

WJW 6y ago

I assume they either use a bull or use artificial insemination and the calf gets taken away to be slaughtered and eaten. Do they do it differently in France?

nickkell 6y ago
As it's a monastery we must leave open the possibility of immaculate conception
- throwaway744678 6y ago
  Immaculate conception refers to the fact that Mary was born free from original sin, not that Jesus was conceived with a sexual intercourse.
  - nickkell 6y ago
    Thanks for the correction! All this time I've conflated it with the "virgin birth"

ekianjo 6y ago

Not sure if this explains everything but we have been selecting species for favorable traits for hundreds of years. That's why you end up with hens laying eggs several times per week too.

Swizec 6y ago

> after which they produce milk for about ten months Which just about brings us from spring 2020 to now. According to a quick google search, cows gestate for 9.5 months. > then the “ideal” breeding season for spring-born calves is 9 1/2 months prior to that or beginning in April but for sure by May. [^1] If you're planning to have baby cows in April 2020, you breed them in August 2019. By the time you find out about COVID it is already too late and you're gonna have a bunch of milk whether you want to or not. As for what happens to the calves: they can't drink all the milk modern cows produce. Also they become big cows. Afaik we don't usually eat dairy cows because they have been selectively bred to produce ridiculous amounts of milk, but not to be tasty. [1] https://beef-cattle.extension.org/when-exactly-is-the-beginning-of-cattle-breeding-season-whats-the-significance-of-having-it-during-a-particular-time/ https://beef-cattle.extension.org/when-exactly-is-the-beginn...

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
DanBC 6y ago
> As for what happens to the calves, they can't drink all the milk modern cows produce. Also they become big cows. Half of them do not become big cows because male cows don't produce milk. We kill the male calves. > Afaik we don't usually eat dairy cows Of course we eat them. They get turned into ground and minced beef.
- jiofih 6y ago
  > We kill the male calves May have been true a few decades ago, but currently the farmers will buy “sexed” sperm (selected for females). I’ve never seen a male calf being killed for that reason.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    > I’ve never seen a male calf being killed. Well they don’t turn into veal steaks by themselves do they?
    - throwaway8581 6y ago
      Yum.
  - watwut 6y ago
    All the meat we eat are female cows?
    - ajdude 6y ago
      No, but they’re probably not from male “dairy cows.”
    - mgarfias 6y ago
      No, beef cows make calves. The heifers are kept to make more calves. The males are castrated and get turned into beef.

bengale 6y ago

> what happens to the calf Sold as veal I'd have guessed?

athms 6y ago

Human don't need to get pregnant to produce milk. Lactation can happen with medication or stimulation, which becomes easier as women age. If a woman is not inducing lactation with hormones, she must stimulate the breasts several times a day using hand compression or a breast pump. This is how adoptive and foster mothers breastfeed their babies. Lactation can also occur in men because they have milk glands, which is the reason they too can get breast cancer.