They Haven’t a Clue! New Poll Shows Most Americans Don’t Know How Milk “Happens!”
For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2026
Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382
A new survey shows that Americans are udderly clueless about where dairy milk comes from—or that mother cows and calves suffer greatly on today’s dairy factory farms. According to the survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of PETA, 73% of American men don’t know that the primary requirement for a dairy cow to begin producing milk is giving birth. And, surprisingly, while many American mothers breastfeed their infants, 77% of American women don’t know that cows, like all mammals, must give birth to produce milk that is meant for their infants.
Should you imagine that those with higher education levels have a better understanding of how—and why—cows make milk, think again. After nearly 80 years of relentless dairy marketing—from classroom lessons promoting milk consumption to celebrity “Got Milk?” milk mustache ads—68% of college graduates don’t know that the primary requirement for a dairy cow to begin producing milk is giving birth, compared to 81% of those with a high school diploma or less. And 85% of Americans (including 80% of college graduates) don’t know that in the dairy industry, calves are permanently taken from their mothers—often within hours after birth—and bottle fed a milk replacer so that the milk intended to feed them can be sold to become things like pizza topping, ice cream, and yogurt for human consumption, instead.
“Most Americans don’t know the most basic facts about cows used for dairy—or the heartbreak mother cows endure when their babies are taken away so that humans can use the milk meant for them,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “Aside from the health benefits of plant-based milks, when people realize that dairy breaks the mother-infant bond, many decide they’d rather choose oat, soy, or almond milk instead.”
In the dairy industry, cows are repeatedly forcibly impregnated (raped) by workers who insert an arm into their rectum and a metal rod into their vagina to deliver semen. Mother cows have been known to frantically chase after the trucks hauling their calves away and cry out in grief for days after their babies are taken from them.
Nearly half of Americans (47%) say that health and digestion benefits would likely encourage them to choose plant-based milk —which is naturally cholesterol, lactose, and antibiotic-free, and helps reduce inflammation and assists with weight management—over dairy milk. In addition to sparing nearly 200 animals every year1, each person who goes vegan slashes their risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and obesity2. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
Survey Method:
This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of PETA from July 23 – 24, 2026, among 2,007 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact PETA at 757-622-7382 or [email protected].
1https://all-creatures.org/articles/ar-killedfor.html
2https://www.mdanderson.org/cancerwise/the-benefits-of-a-plant-based-diet.h00-159780390.html
