Good Morning!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY to ALL the mom’s out there! Moms of human little ones, and moms of furry, feathery, four-legged, hooved, webbed, toed and flippered ones!!

I imagine this may be a challenging Mother’s Day for many. Some folks may not be able to visit their mom due to COVID or some may have recently lost their mom. Some may have been separated at the border, others being separated for captivity and human entertainment. I feel extremely fortunate to be one of those who is able to spend time with my mom today. This Mother’s Day I’m feeling particularly fortunate.

I would like to tribute this post to everyone who isn’t able to be with their mom today, whatever the reason may be.

And, I would like to share a little bit of a story with you, and a special tribute this Mother’s Day to all the cattle who make up our dairy system.

I worked at the University’s dairy I attended for over 2 years, when I was in college. Waking up at 2:30 am in order to be at work before the sun came up to start herding cows in to the building to be milked. The early mornings were magnificent; watching the sun come up with the dew on the grass and the cows laying down, chewing their cud was magical. I am not sure how many cows were at this particular dairy, but there were a lot. The milking was all machine automated so it went quickly, but there were many shifts of cows that would all go in twice per day. Among herding the cows in, I cleaned the indoor spaces and mixed the formula together for the calves. The young adult cows were kept on large chains attached to metal bars. There was enough room for the cows to step into the small rectangular shaped space and lay down, but they could not turn around or lay with their head tucked, which they like to do (just like a dog), and often their back end hung over the moat that ran along the floor to channel their waste through. Some had big holes the size of a basketball cut into the sides of them with a plastic disk and bag that went down to their stomachs, that scientists were using for some type of study. The “show” cows who were breed to have a perfect udder and stature, worth lots of money, had individual stalls with straw beds and a bit of space to move around, but they all lived alone. After all the milking and cleaning was done, it would be time to mix together some sort of milk type powder with water in a big bucket and I would fill 30+ bottles to give the calves in their hutches. The older ones knew how to drink from the bottles, but the new born calves didn’t, so we would have to teach them to suck on our finger and then move it to the bottle, teaching them how to drink from it to get their “milk.”

I loved working at the dairy. I loved being with the cows…walking, singing, whistling, and petting them. I loved watching the sun come up in complete stillness and quiet. I loved the manual labor of shoveling, cleaning, and driving the skid steer. And I loved being with the baby cows… they are babies… adorable sweet, cuddly, who wouldn’t?!

It wasn’t until over 10 years later that I connected all of those things I loved and a job I took pride in with the realization of the overall suffering that was happening and why. It feels embarrassing and a bit difficult to admit, that I never once remember really questioning our daily practice. Why were cows living in spaces they couldn’t turn around or lay in a natural comfortable position? Why were cows chained most their life except when being herded in to be milked? Why did we isolate cows and make them live alone when cows are incredibly social, emotional animals? And for heaven sakes, why was I herding cows in to be milked by a machine twice a day, yet turning around and mixing a powder together with water for their calves to drink? Why was I teaching calves how to drink from a rubber nipple? Why were calves taken from their moms almost immediately (literally within a few hours) and put alone in big dog style type houses after she had carried her baby for a 9-month gestation, like a human? Why were there no male cows? How did the females get pregnant? How often were they impregnated? How many calves did each cow have to have? Where did all the calves go when taken from the hutches? And ultimately, why did I not have or ask ANY of these questions at the time??

I guess I had lost my ability and desire to critically think. Some might like to call it brainwashing, but we as a society have normalized this industry (and others) to the point that we accept it as the “normal” and the necessary. My co-workers and I just took everything as the status quo and it was just the way things were done, despite the suffering and cruelty. Marketing has made us believe that we need milk and other dairy products to be healthy and strong. But, now I ask… what could be healthy about us drinking another mother’s milk, which is produced with the proper nutrients to grow a 600-1000 lb. cow?

Scientist are now finding that it is actually not so healthy for us. It is not proven to help protect against osteoporosis, and they are even finding that with high intakes it may even be harmful to us. A high intake would be considered 3 cups a day, as advised by our recommended Food Plate. Milk and dairy products are often advertised for their calcium content, but in dairy products that calcium comes with cholesterol and saturated fat which lead to our number one killer in the US, heart disease. A whole source of calcium like leafy greens, as well as some other vegetables, contain a lot of calcium without the cholesterol and saturated fat. If you’re lactose intolerant, which a large portion of the population is, it’s an added bonus for you!

So, why are we keeping cows, who have a very similar central nervous system to our own, are socially intelligent, emotional, sentient beings, confined in unnatural environments causing unnecessary stress, pain, and suffering? Why are we artificially inseminating the majority of them (horribly invasive and painful) to then just take their babies away from them soon after birth? Why are we sending the males to slaughter at a few weeks to months of age? Why are we keeping their mothers to continually inseminate them, until they are about 4 years old when we consider them spent and send them to slaughter themselves? Why? All for something that is unhealthy for us and completely unnecessary? Just because we’ve been told we should consume something, even though it may harm us? Just because we have learned to like the taste? Maybe, you are thinking…well, cheese. I can’t give up cheese! Let me tell you, from someone who’s favorite snack is crackers and cheese or bread and cheese, there are plenty of delicious plant-based cheeses out there that are delicious and so much healthier for us too, and cruelty free. Some of our favorites are Miyoko’s, So Delicious shredded, Follow Your Heart, Violife, and Chao.

It may not be an overnight change, as you can see it unfortunately, took me a long time to realize, but any change for less dairy or no dairy, is a great one. It will benefit your health, the planet, and all of those loving mothers out there who instinctively carry her young for 9 months, after forcefully being impregnated only to have her new born taken from her. Cows mourn the loss of loved ones and can even cry.

So, for all those mommas out there, today is in tribute to you that you will no longer have to suffer.

We invite you to try plant-based cheese, ice cream, milk, yogurt, butter, mayonnaise, cream cheese, whip cream, cottage cheese (is that still a thing?) and strive for dark chocolates, with no milk in it!

Let this Mother’s Day inspire the compassion in you to create change and limit unnecessary suffering as it did for me 5 years ago today.

~ Namaste

Happy Mother’s Day

Sukah’s Surgery

We have a New Member of the Family