The FARM BuzzThe World Dairy Expo will be happening again on October 2, 2022, and FARM will be there to spread the word about dairy’s inhumane practices. It has been five years since FARM first attended the World Dairy Expo in 2017. The simple message carried on signs, posters, and even a rolling billboard was, “Humane Milk is a Myth: Don’t Buy it.” This message is just as valid today as it was in 2017.
Ditch dairy and help FARM protest the World Dairy Expo in 2022.During the event, attendees witnessed neglect and abuse, despite a warning that FARM and other activists would be in attendance. Cows were chained to cement walls, forced to stand the event’s entirety. An attendee abandoned a calf in a tiny trailer with only dirty water to drink in one instance. If these maltreatments are visible when the world’s eyes are watching, what is happening behind closed factory doors?
Cows make milk to feed their newborn calves, so cows must give birth to produce milk, and this process is far from natural in the dairy industry. First, the cows will be artificially inseminated by a farmer. After the birth, the calf is taken away from the grieving mother. The calf is never allowed any of their mother’s milk. Calves are bottle-fed a supplement formula from day one, so the farmers can harvest every drop of the mother’s milk for profit. For the mother, this process will be repeated over and over until her body gives out. She is slaughtered and sold for meat when she can no longer make milk.
As for the fate of the calf, that depends upon the sex. Female calves have the same future as their mothers. They will be artificially inseminated, give birth, have their calves stolen, and then hooked up to machines that drain the milk from their bodies. They will endure this process repeatedly until it is time for slaughter, just like their mothers before them. Male calves have a different fate. They are not valuable for the dairy industry since they are not milk producers. Instead, male calves are killed immediately or placed in tiny crates that prevent them from moving and building muscle. Immobility keeps their meat tender. They are slaughtered at a very young age and sold as veal.
Undercover investigations have revealed cows’ horrible treatment and living conditions in the dairy industry. Videos show workers stabbing cows with pitchforks and screwdrivers, dragging them by the neck with a rope tied to a tractor, and more. Calves are mutilated and abused. Cows are punched and kicked by workers. They spend their short lives confined to small pens or milking stalls.
While the World Dairy Expo seeks to glorify the dairy industry, FARM and other animal advocacy organizations seek to shed light on the injustices and abuses endured by the animals. The dairy industry claims that animals are treated humanely. They claim that these animals are given a “good” life, and consumers often choose to take the industry at their word. If they do not witness these atrocities firsthand, it is easy to envision an ideal fairy tale dairy farm. They do not have to acknowledge the suffering caused by their choices.
No matter how humanely dairy farmers claim to treat their animals, the result is always the same. Sooner or later, the cow ends up at the slaughterhouse. Their entire life is spent being used and abused at the hands of humans. There is never a positive outcome or a light at the end of the tunnel for them. They experience only suffering and death. No matter what we are told, there is no such thing as a “good life” for a dairy cow in today’s profit-based industry.
Animals cannot speak for themselves. They can’t say how much they suffer or beg us for a happy, peaceful life. Bringing the animals’ plight into the open allows consumers to make informed decisions about their food choices. Some people may not mind animals suffering for consumption, but others don’t know what the animals endure. Protesting during events like the World Dairy Expo is one-way organizations like FARM to give these sentient beings a voice.
If you would like to help FARM send representatives to the 2022 World Dairy Expo, you can support FARM by donating on our website.
The FARM Buzz
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