18 Images Big Dairy Doesn’t Want You to See (but PETA Will Show You)

It’s already common knowledge that cow’s milk is bad for you, but more and more people are beginning to realize that milk is even worse for the cows used in its production.

The following are 18 reasons why no one should ever drink cow’s milk.

1. Cows produce milk for the same reason why humans do―to nourish their young.

Cow with calf

2. To keep the milk flowing, cows are artificially inseminated every year.

3. Nine months later, their calves are born, and a strong bond instantly forms between them.

4. But they won’t have much time together.

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5. Typically, after one to three days, their babies are taken away from them, which causes both cow and calf extreme distress.

6. They will never see each other again.

7. The male calves are usually sold to the veal industry.

8. There, they are kept in tiny crates to keep their flesh tender.

Veal Crate

9. They will be killed after just a few miserable months of life.

10. The female calves will likely follow in their mothers’ footsteps in the dairy industry.

11. But first, they will be dehorned.

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12. Dehorning is a procedure in which cows have their horns removed by means of saws, sharp wires, hot irons, guillotine dehorners, or caustic chemicals.

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13. It is extremely painful.

14. The cows will spend the rest of their lives as milk machines, forced to produce 4.5 times what they normally would for their calf.

15. When not on a factory farm, cows can live to be 20 years old.

happy cows© iStock.com/Basmeelker

16. But cows used for milk are usually slaughtered for low-grade meat when they’re around 4 years old.

Cow at Slaughterhouse

17. That means four years of repeated artificial insemination, udder infections, and having their calves traumatically torn from their side shortly after birth.

18. When you buy dairy products, you’re supporting this cruel cycle.

Don’t let the dairy industry treat these smart, sensitive animals like commodities rather than living beings. Cows deserve better. Please, don’t buy dairy products.

Try vegan today and enjoy a wide variety of delicious vegan milks, cheeses, and ice creams with all the taste and none of the cruelty.

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 Ingrid E. Newkirk

“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE

— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind