Ridiculous thread about cows milk

[Fantasisa]

I'm prepared to be flamed but I'm contemplating giving up cow's milk (but not becoming vegan/vegetarian) because I can't stand the thought of cow's being separated from their calves and then used as milking machines. I think the fact that I'm breastfeeding DS1 at the moment might be adding to my feelings.

Does anyone else avoid milk for a similar reason but continue to eat other animal products?

Do it if you want. You're not hurting anyone by doing it and you don't need to make a big fuss about it.

Are you also giving up cheese and other cows milk based products? My feeling is that you probably should just to be consistent.

You could always claim a sudden onset of lactose intolerance to justify it.

Fine, so long as you go for high welfare meat/eggs. Dairy, other than small scale production, is far less ethical than lamb and UK grass fed beef, although the whole killing male calves thing is reduced by use of sex selected embryos and semen.

My friend does this! She doesn't drink cow's milk or have it on cereal because of the cruelty of the dairy industry, but she does eat products containing milk and also eats meat. I don't get it, but every bit less milk used is a bit better so I'm all for it!

Like others have said are you also giving up milk based products?

We do buy good quality meat/eggs. I haven't really thought about other cows milk products yet but I expect I should. I probably wouldn't really mention it to people just order things how I want them.

But I find it all a minefield, aren't there deforestation issues with some of the dairy milk alternatives?

Do it.

I visited my husband’s family’s dairy farms over the summer and it was awful hearing the noise from the day old calves separated from their mothers.
I don’t drink dairy because I can’t stand it, but I’m glad I don’t.

Interestingly his cousin was talking about switching to a different method whereby the calves are separated at 6 months old. Obviously you get less milk to sell but it evens out in the longterm as he currently pays several people to feed the calves, so it would save him £££ in wages.
The rest of the family are set against it as it’s not tried and tested.

Either way the boy calves go straight away for beef though.

If doing it on ethical grounds I would probably allow myself small scale artisan cheeses, and goat/sheep cheeses as these are far less likely to be produced intensively, but wouldn't avoid "hidden" dairy/ ask to see allergen menus in restaurants - so would avoid ice cream, cream and custard (well realistically any non vegan desserts) but not worry if something on the main menu contained dairy if not in the description- because I'd be doing it for me rather than let anyone know!

You don’t fancy milk so don’t have any 🤷🏻‍♀️ I don’t know why you would get flamed

I don’t eat lamb because I don’t like the taste, I eat other meat.

Your an adult, eat and drink whatever you like

I think it's a lovely idea OP. We have to start somewhere! I'm always upset by the packaging of almond milk though as it isn't easily recyclable. It usually comes in that tetrapack stuff. Since they market themselves as good for the planet I'd like to see more environmentally safe packaging.

I visit a relative on a farm every week of my life (but am not a farmer myself), when I had my last baby, i asked my uncle, why is that cow crying out like that, it's so loud?
He said, "oh they took her young one away and they are both crying out for each other."

I was like "WHAT?" I had never heard something so sad.

I asked what the calf was eating and he said they gave it formula like the sma type stuff that babies have.

It was probably a combination of hormones and watching conspiracy, I gave up all dairy for a while after that, but I'm sorry to say that I went back on it again. I should have recorded that awful sound and play it every time I want a magnum.
The only thing is, if everyone gives it up, there will be no cows. People will hardly keep them as pets, they are just being kept on earth to use them and kill them.

It's terrible really and hard to put out of your mind once you know the truth.

Tetrapack is widely recycled?
It gets collected in our kerbside collections here

It is for ethical reasons - I love milk - but I realise my perception of a cheerful milkmaid milking a cow for our breakfast milk is far from the reality.

I doubt I would be too strict about it but I would like to start somewhere.

I would like an ethical alternative (that I like) as the recycling issues bother me too. And there is no way I'm about to start making almond milk at home!

I gave up after living near enough to a dairy farm to be kept awake by the wailing of the cows after their calves had been removed. Repeatedly.

Tetrapacks aren't recycled near me. We have to save them and take them to the recycling centre miles away.

@Funghi Do you still eat meat etc? Is it just milk/milk based products you have given up?

Exactly the same thing happened to me when Bf my first! Didn’t keep if up tho

These threads are always filled with ridiculous people.

‘IF YOU WANT TO GIVE UP EATING MEAT THEN YOU BETTER GET RID OF YOUR LEATHER SHOES TOO’

No.

Giving up one thing out of a hundred doesn’t make you a hypocrite, it means you’re making a difference to that one thing. You’re making a change and that’s better than nothing.

It would be like saying ‘don’t bother giving that £1 to charity because they need £10000000’. Go away.

@Passthecherrycoke I'm glad I'm not alone! I think we are so far removed from the process of where our food comes from that we can ignore ethical issues. I don't just mean meat/dairy but the wages paid to local workers where crops are picked etc.

I did too much research about how long calves get with their mum

I had already been veggie for a long time before it and had never considered giving up dairy but I’m glad I did. It’s made zero difference to my life and I don’t miss it at all.

Oat milk - it's great stuff.

Male calves don’t go 'straight' for beef.
Most beef cattle are grass fed in the UK for a few years before they go to slaughter.

I don’t really care about people’s individual choice with regards their own diets.

I DO care about the deliberate spread of misinformation.

I always buy free range eggs but usually buy standard chicken which is similar imo (and very common- especially if you eat out and eat chicken)

I know lots of people who drink non-dairy milk because they prefer the taste or think that the alternatives are healthier.

The welfare of calves of dairy cows in the UK is far better than the welfare of male chicks / female chickens in the production of eggs. Due to the expense of having a cow pregnant with the wrong sex, most farmers use sex selection to opt for a female calf. Egg producers, however, often just throw male chicks alive into a grinder.