posted February 23, 2004 09:19 PM         

1) The moral issues

Intensive farming turns herbivorous cattle into carnivores, resulting in BSE. Unnatural high protein food boosts milk production. The modern day cow produces 10 times more milk than her calf would naturally drink. When a calf is born, he will be separated from his mother just within a few hours, which causes tremendous emotional distress (read 'Star Signs', the Apple a Day chapter). Due to overworking, many cows suffer from mastitis, laminitis which cause greay pain (MAFF) and they would secret pus. Cows are kept in a constant cycle of pregnancy and lactation. While having a life expectancy of 25 years, most cows are killed at four to seven years after becoming worn out, their lactation and fertility decrease. Their meat then become soup, burgers or processed food. If the calf is a male it is very likely that after only a week, he will be shot, being nothing but an unwanted by-product of the dairy industry. Before Mad Cow Disease he would have been crammed into a lorry with hundreds of other calves, despatched on a long journey, often deprived of water, food or rest. On arrival he would have been placed in a veal crate.

2) The health issues

Milk is linked with prostate cancer and lactose may cause heart dis-ease. Now, you may find it hard to believe, but after being pasteurised and homogenised, the structure of dairy milk is severly altered and the calcium in it becomes useless for human beings. Casein is hard to digest and constantly results in indigestion. Studies have shown that people who obtain most of their calcium from cow's milk have more fractures than those who drink little or no milk- thanks to pasteurisation. The vital mineral calcium can be easily obtained from beans, dark green leafy vegetables, such as broccoli and watercress, nuts (especially almonds), seeds (especially sesame) and dried fruits. Even cereals, white bread (but personally, I would recommend brown bread and brown rice), soya milk, rice milk and some orange juices are fortified with calcium. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables also contribute to the maintenance of bone mineral density.

PS. Yoghurt (except absolutely natural yoghurt) contains gelatine, which is boiled animal bones or skin tissue. Cheese (except specially made vegetarian cheese) contains rennet, which is a calf's stomach extract, and under statory law this may not even be listed in the ingrdients.

3) Dairy substitutes

There are calcium-enriched soya milk and calcium-enriched rice milk. Vegan yoghurt and vegan cheese can be found at your local health food shops (definitely in Holland & Barretts, England). Soya cream is also available. You name it.

You can enjoy baked food without eggs and dairy. Search for the book 'Vegan Baking' by Linda Majzlik at
www.vegansociety.com
www.viva.org.uk
www.amazon.co.uk
www.amazon.com

It's not hard to give up dairy. Try.

(Based on and quoted from information from The Vegan Society, UK, Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation, Bristol, England, UK and other sources)

posted February 24, 2004 11:17 AM         

1) Dairy cows are NOT turned into Carnivores. They DO NOT eat meat. What happened in the case of Mad Cow was a FEW dairymen fed bonemeal to their herds. Bonemeal carries the protein / prion responsible for Mad Cow. THE US has banned that type of feeding in our herds for over a decade. The facility in Canada was not sanctioned by the government that the dairyman responsible for the infected herd WILL be prosecuted. Current Science indicates that BSE is not found in the beef or dairy products that we eat. In an infected cow BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis: the causitive agent of CJ in humans or Mad cow) is found primarily in central nervous system tissue such as in the brain and spinal cord.

BSE spreads as a result of feeding bone meal protein supplements from cattle with the diseasse. In 1997 the FDA banned the feeding of ruminent derived protein supplements to ruminents.

2) Mastitis is most often transmitted by insects, specially the house and stable fly. It is painful and once an cow is infected, they are treated and pulled out of the herd, put into a Hospital pen and taken care of. The last thing these dairymen want is sick cows. They spend a ton of money keeping their herds healthy.

3) You do not have any credible scientific data to support your cancer claims. I have not yet seen "the Surgeon General's warning" on milk as I do on such products as tobacco and alcohol.

posted February 28, 2004 07:02 PM         

This idea, besides the fact the mental image sends me into fits of giggles, IS NOT going to happen.

Its bad for them- oh yes, WAAAAAY BAD- but this is not going to turn them into roving predators (what would they need with 4 stomachs?) Its bad corportate farming practice. In pholisophical theory (Ohmigod, that means they are cannibals GACK!) its a REALLY scary image.

However, they aren't carnivores. It's brilliant spin, designed to drive people into ethical fits of apoplexy.

Nice to see the ad firm's marketing technique works.

posted March 06, 2004 12:44 AM         

The last link has a little information on the link between dairy and cancer.

Whether or not a cow is turned into a "carnivore" is not the main issue to me ... a cow being fed animal products/byproducts is just unnatural.

The "Surgeon General" doesn't issue alot of warnings he/she probably should. Also, the FDA approves of lots of chemicals/fertilizers/preservatives etc. that are not exactly entirely "safe" for humans, plants, or animals.

Whether or not dairy farmers keep their herds healthy is, to me, a matter of opinion. Certainly, they are kept healthy enough to turn over a decent profit. Perhaps not all farmers do this, but I have seen images of dairy farms where the cows are kept in disturbingly cramped conditions, to say the least. Also, like humans, an animal's state of health is not limited only to their bodies ... animals have minds and souls as well.