Comments on: Do You Drink Bovine Infant Milk?

By: Zarr

Zarr — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:01:21 +0000

I’ve been trying to switch to vegan diet for about a week now, though I AM a believer and trying to find some sense in what god gave us as a gift to use animals for food, and at the same time what some believe to be cruelty concerning the way we use them. I study agriculture and I’ve seen it with my own eyes the way they keep the tiny little calves in cages in just 2 hours after birth while the mother is still bleeding from her delivery, well that’s the worst way for it. But the morning or half a day type seems to be more tolerable, though I still don’t know if it hurts the calves to be separated from their mother in that way, but after all they don’t want to drink milk all the time, IF it doesnt result in lessening the milk the calves need for themselves, does it?

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 15:31:59 +0000

Two thoughts from me: 1) my grandfather made his living as a dairy farmer. I prefer to buy local goods when possible and support our local farmers, dairy and produce.

2) I’m not trying to be a Bible thumper here. But as a Christian, I believe that animals were given to us by God for our use (not abuse). I support the ethical treatment of animals, but they are still a food source for me and my family. So we do enjoy products made from cow’s milk (we also eat meat).

Just my thoughts…

By: Vinaya Gopal . K

Vinaya Gopal . K — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:27:29 +0000

Milk is always good for any one, since it contains many natural immune boosting substances including calcium. Why then doctors provide many calcium supplements during one get’s old. Instead of taking such synthetic supplements which never improves one’s health, drink lots of milk, take milk products like curd, buttermilk which are natural immune boosters and calcium builders, if one is not suffering from lactose intolerace. For them they can dilute the milk with water and try. Donot take milk with any other drugs, since it interferes with each and every food ingredient

By: Alicia, Mental Health Notes

Alicia, Mental Health Notes — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:11:45 +0000

Yes, I think it’s cruel and unethical to separate calves prematurely from their mothers so we can have the milk. There are so many other sources of the calcium and vitamins we can get from milk; it just doesn’t make sense to rip a calf away from its mother. Too, I’m a vegetarian and don’t wear animals (I also don’t buy products from companies that test on animals), and I don’t really feel like they’re entirely different issues. For me, it’s all about not contributing to animal cruelty. Stressing out a cow family to get the mama’s milk, to me, is cruelty (not to mention some of the horrible conditions cows suffer in big farms).

On the matter of God, I don’t know whether he wants us to eat/wear animals or not, but I feel fairly confident in saying that he most likely does not smile upon the horrors of today’s animal food/clothing industry.

By: jayzee

jayzee — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:04:30 +0000

I have been buying milk straight from the farm for the past couple of years and have seen several different arrangements for the way the farms are handling their milk cows. I prefer it when they aren’t weaning the calves to the bottle at a few days old but are keeping cows and calves together most of the time. In those cases, they either keep them separated all night and milk in the morning or separate all day and nurse in the evening. It is my understanding that they start this at a month or 2 old when the calves are old enough to eat some grass on their own. For some people this is probably still not acceptable, but it is for me. Cows aren’t human, and while I think we should interfere as little as possible with nature, it’s not exactly comparable to separating moms and babies at a young age, not even quite similar to separating babies from their moms for extended periods when the baby is eating significant amounts of food. Still, I think it’s best all around if we interfere as little as possible, even if getting cows milk does require some intervention on our part. We interfere at least a little to get any food that we eat, whether it is plant- or animal-based.

That said, I don’t buy any milk, meat, eggs from anyplace that is using “conventional” factory-farming methods, and I buy as little produce as possible from large faraway farms as well.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:10:15 +0000

We do drink milk, I try to buy organic when I can afford it. I love cheese and ice cream. My daughter drinks soy milk because of a little bit of lactose intolerance. I occasionally drink some of her soy milk. I was curious about your comments regarding soy and thyroidism- I have Hashimotos and my mother in law has Graves. So my daughter has a really good chance of having some type of thyroid issue in the future. I thought soy was supposed to be so good for you? Enlighten me please!

By: Maria

Maria — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:40:29 +0000

I’ve hesitated in replying because I am constantly battling this in my mind. We use less than a gallon of milk per month in our house. I, generally, believe it to be unnecessary (from a dietary standpoint) and continue to nurse my son, which in itself eliminates his “need” for cow’s milk. However, we do eat cheese, which we love. We don’t eat much meat at all (maybe 1x/wk at most) and participate in a local CSA.

When my son stops nursing, I will not be adding milk back in to our diet, and I am trying to find another food (other than cheese) for our family to enjoy. Hopefully it happens soon!

By: Half Pint Pixie

Half Pint Pixie — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:10:13 +0000

No, we don’t drink cow milk, and won’t be giving it to littlepixie. We don’t eat meat, eggs or wear leather either. I think many people are very disconnected from the reality of the dairy industry, the fact that male cows usually are slaughtered as a by-product is overlooked even by many vegetarians.

I also find it hard to understand how any mother who has nursed her baby can support an industry which rips babies away from their mothers and keeps the mothers in a constant cycle or pregnancy and lactation with regular mastitis and similar issues just so humans can have milk in their coffee or cereal. It’s very upsetting when you consider it from that point of view.

I know people have their reasons for drinking it, and there are always plenty of people who get milk from the “farmer down the road who loves his cows”. I guess it’s a choice we all have to make based on our own moral compass.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:40:09 +0000

We drink organic milk. I’m not opposed to it at all, I think God created animals for humans to use for food (in this case, drink).

By: Sarah

Sarah — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 23:23:54 +0000

My dh and ds drink milk. I started avoiding dairy when my dd showed sensitivities to it through my breastmilk. I’ve been off dairy for 18 months now and I will probably not go back! I didn’t realize how dairy affected my system and I am much healthier now that I’ve eliminated it. I read that over 75% of adults worldwide have lactose intolerance and you can’t help but wonder if that’s just a sign that we shouldn’t be consuming cow products!