Milk

So the other day I was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Tom Selleck was on as his guest and shared with the audience that he owns a ranch and at one time had a dairy cow. He briefly mentioned the difficulties of owning a dairy cow, in that you have to get them pregnant before they can produce milk. See the interview here.


This got me thinking. Pregnancy, lactation...are all of the nine million dairy cows across the country pregnant? For how long are they able produce this milk? Do their lives really only consist of standing in stalls, getting mechanically milked, and giving birth over and over again?

I had to find out.

Well, with some investigation...I discovered that it is a 12 - 15 month revolving process that includes insemination, birth, and lactation. After the milk stops being produced cows are re-impregnanted over and over again-- until they are infertile and die.

This just seems wrong.

Many of you know that about a year ago I returned to vegetarianism after a two year meat binging hiatus. My reasons for this were mostly environmental, but during this time I've thought alot about an animal's right to exist outside of our immediate needs. There are an infinite number of living organisms that will never see a human, they reside in the deepest depths of the ocean and among the thickest jungles. The notion that the world exists to sustain humans seems a bit narrow minded, as we are one species among millions.

I'm going to farther my efforts to reduce dairy intake, until reaching a completely non-dairy lifestyle. I believe we vote with our money -- I vote for soy, and against inhumane milk production and damage to the environment. I mean hey, If Pamela Anderson can do it, I can too.