Milk of kindness
January 2024
The story “Milk switch turns sour” promotes cows’ milk over the kinder alternatives.
Cows’ milk is for calves to grow into large animals that thrive on grass.
Humans are the only species that drink another species’ milk.
We have been led to believe we need another animal’s milk to be healthy.
We obtain vitamins and calcium in abundance from plant-based food including greens, dried fruits, soy products, and inexpensive, versatile dried beans which when soaked overnight and then cooked increase in volume fourfold and can be added to most recipes.
To cherry-pick non-dairy “milk” and plant-based foods as the culprit for malnutrition is missing the important fact that our Western diet of meat and dairy is responsible for many of our health issues, including heart attacks, high cholesterol and colorectal cancer.
Importantly, plant food has a much lighter footprint on our environment than animal agriculture.
Fay Mathews
Let’s sup-plant dairy dairy
September 2023
Referring to the article in The Advertiser, “Med diet is whey healthy”, zeros in on a one-sided, narrow-focused research.
Funnily enough, funded by Dairy Australia, shows how beneficial dairy is to gut health.
Of course, Dairy Australia would not fund research that included how animal agriculture adds to environmental and atmospheric destruction and contributes to climate change.
There are so many plant-based foods that achieve even better human and planetary health than dairy.
It’s time to move A’whey from animals in our diets.
Phil Cornelius
Let’s sup-plant dairy.
September 2023
Referring to the article “Med diet is whey healthy,” zeros in on a one-sided, narrowfocused research.
Funnily enough, funded by Dairy Australia, shows how beneficial dairy is to gut health.
Of course, Dairy Australia would not fund research that included how animal agriculture adds to environmental and atmospheric destruction and contributes to climate change.
There are so many plant-based foods that achieve even better human and planetary health than dairy.
It’s time to move A’whey from animals in our diets.
Phil Cornelius
Care for calves
October 2021
Dairy farmer John Hunt has about 350 cows that have just been milked, munching loudly on thick grass on his property south of Mt Gambier.
His paddocks are lush, green and rich with the pasture on which his cows will be fed.
What a beautiful scene this would be. He loves his life as a dairy farmer, calling it a simple process of producing from grass to glass.
But what we don’t see is the process that comes before this picturesque scene.
Where are the calves that have been born to produce this milk? Where are the male calves? Calves are taken away from their mothers so they can be milked for human consumption. Females may be kept for future breeding but are artificially fed the milk they should be getting naturally from their mothers.
When will the dairy industry become more transparent and tell us the truth behind that glass of milk? Not such a beautiful scene after all, is it?
Moira Ferres
Ditch the dairy
July 2021
I was pleased to read the decision of Dave Hughes to become vegan in“ The menu is changing.”
Although many consumers don’t realise the suffering caused by the production of animal products.
In this instance I refer to milk.
Dairy cows don’t give milk, they have their milk taken from them.
Their calves are removed after birth and males considered “wastage” by the industry are sent to slaughter.
Dairy cows are subjected to having to give high milk yields, resulting in oversized, heavy, painful udders and mastitis.
They are forcibly impregnated for repeated calving to maintain their milk supply.
This cruelty can be easily avoided by choosing the many plant-based milks now readily available to us.
Good on you Dave.
Diane Cornelius
Farmer “support?”
March 2019
How many of those supporting dairy farmers are aware of the enormous suffering this industry inflicts on cows and their calves?
Each year dairy cows are forced to give birth and each year their beloved babies are torn from their side within hours of birth.
Cows are devoted mothers and the continual theft of their babies causes them immense distress. They cry and search for their babies for weeks on end.
The majority of these sweet, newborn calves are callously trucked to slaughter in their very first week of life because, to the industry, they are nothing but an unwanted by-product.
They are brought into the world for the sole purpose of immediately killing them to steal their baby food for profit. With the vast array of healthy, cruelty free plant milks currently available, how can we justify putting cows and their calves through this enormous grief and pain?
Jenny Moxham
Public don’t ‘deserve’ fresh milk
September 2018
In her letter of support for dairy farmers Debra Gibson says, “Queensland is 184 million litres of drinking milk short every single year” (Farmers’ hard work must be rewarded)
The truth is, we can’t be short of something if we don’t need it. We can be short of oxygen because we require it to breathe; we can be short of money because we require it to buy essential items. But we can’t be short of a calf’s baby food because we have no requirement for it.
Debra says the public “deserve” fresh milk. No they don’t. The only ones who deserve fresh cows’ milk are calves.
Tragically, the sweet dairy calves for whom this milk is intended are slaughtered in their first week of life so their milk can be sold for profit to humans who have absolutely no need of it.
Please open your eyes to the truth.
Jenny Moxham
Cruelty stalks dairy industry from beginning to gory end
August 2018
Robin Grant says cruelty is not standard practice in the dairy industry. Wrong. This entire industry revolves around cruelty because it revolves around bringing baby calves into the world for the sole purpose of immediately killing them in order to steal their baby food.
It revolves around forcing cows to endure the agony of giving birth each year, only to endure the greater emotional agony of having their beloved babies immediately stolen from them.
Just as a human mother will do all in her power to prevent her precious baby from being kidnapped, so too will a mother cow. Tragically, for cows, they are no match for man and, thus, must endure this anguish year after year.
Forcing cows, by selective breeding, to produce 10 times more milk than nature intended is also cruel because the great weight of the udder often causes painful stretching or tearing of ligaments and foot problems.
And does the mother cow receive any reward for her years of “faithful service”? Not on your Nelly! When her milk supply wanes, she and her other “spent” herd mates are callously trucked to the slaughterhouse. As they are prodded towards their death, they drip milk on the killing floor.
Consume dairy if you wish, Robin, but don’t kid yourself into believing that it’s derived without cruelty.
Jenny Moxham
Praising veganism
August 2018
Thank you to the Sunday Mail for the wonderful Body and Soul supplement. Veganism is the way towards a kinder world, and a safer one environmentally. There is nothing silly about veganism. It makes good,logical sense.
Alice Shore
Heifer triplets
August 2018
We’re told the adorable heifer triplets pictured in yesterday’s Herald are “doing well in the calf shed”. By rights they should be with their mother. I’m sure she went through agony to give birth to them and I’m sure she desperately wants to be with them and nurture them. But that’s not what the dairy industry is all about is it? Sadly these three baby girls will, like their mother, be forced to produce babies every year, only to have them stolen shortly after birth.
If they are male calves they’ll be trucked to the slaughterhouse within days. This is the cruel reality of dairy farming and the reason why caring people are switching to plant milks.
Jenny Moxham
Being vegan isn’t really that difficult
August 2018
Robin Grant makes some misleading statements in defence of his appetite for animal products in his letter. He obviously understands about the cruelty involved in the dairy industry and its impact on the environment and people’s health. Yet he hasn’t bothered to look on the Internet at the availability of vegan information at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Easy, delicious, much cheaper vegan recipes from main meals to desserts also abound on the Internet! With our sustainable food choices, future generations will have a liveable planet.
Diane Cornelius
Mother cows robbed of offspring
August 2018
Robin Grant, you may be unwilling to acknowledge the fact that you are breastfeeding from a cow when you drink her mammary secretions – but you are. And the fact that humans have been breastfeeding from cows for centuries doesn’t make this practice any less bizarre. And we certainly can’t justify brutally killing millions of newborn calves simply because their baby food tastes “delicious”.
Not only does the abhorrent dairy industry kill babies, it also subjects mothers to the very worst pain. A grieving mother orca, who has been carrying her dead baby for more than 10 days, has been in the news lately. Well, mother cows grieve for their babies too. Some call to them for days and nights on end and some stop eating and drinking.
Some search feverishly and some withdraw in silent grief. Many refuse to give up and will return to the spot where they last saw them, again and again. Concerning the orca, one person wrote online, “My heart is aching and I am powerless to help.”
Clearly we can do nothing to alleviate the anguish of the mother orca, but we can all help alleviate the anguish of the mother cow simply by refusing to buy dairy products.
Jenny Moxham
Meaning of ‘milking’
August 2018
ALL mothers produce milk for one reason only and that is to feed their newborn babies.
The milk of each species is specifically designed to meet the needs of the individual mother’s baby. Noone else needs it and noone else has a right to it.
Unfortunately for cows, and now sheep, (‘‘Sheep milk trial to start’’, 9.7.18) greedy humans discovered they could make money by mechanically extracting the mother’s milk and selling it. The fact that the mother’s babies were the only ones who needed the milk was irrelevant.
The farmers didn’t care one iota about the babies. They were simply a means to an end — a useless ‘‘byproduct’’ to be disposed of.
Almost two million sweet and fragile dairy calves are ruthlessly and mercilessly slaughtered each year in New Zealand.
The verb ‘‘milk’’ actually means ‘‘to exploit’’ or ‘‘take advantage of’’, so it’s no secret that this is what dairy farming is all about.
Jenny Moxham
Breastfeeding adults
August 2018
August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week.
Now, when we think about breastfeeding we naturally think about babies don’t we? But, ironically, most of those who breastfeed are adults. Oh, we may not view it as breastfeeding because the milk comes from a mother cow and she is mechanically suckled but, even if we drink her milk in a glass we are still technically breastfeeding. If we recognise that a human mother’s milk is specifically designed – and intended – for no one but her newborn baby, why do we fail to see that a mother's cow’s milk is likewise specifically designed – and intended – for no one but her newborn baby?
And, since no adults of any other species on the planet drink breast milk after weaning, why on earth do we think we need to?
Jenny Moxham
Dairy industry practices shock
August 2018
The news story about an orca grieving for her dead calf has been picked up by newspapers all around the globe. But every single dairy cow grieves for her lost calf too, which is why the dairy industry is such a cruel and heartless industry. When their calves are stolen from them dairy cows will call and search feverishly for them for days on end. Some stop eating and drinking and many return, again and again, to the spot where they last saw their baby.
Jenny Moxham
Still milking it
June 2018
The Cameron’s claim I inserted the word “their” when giving the dictionary definition of milk as a fluid secreted by female mammals for the nourishment of their young. (Still milking it, June 16) What nonsense!
This is exactly how the Oxford Dictionary defines it.
But common sense alone should tell us that the milk mothers produce after giving birth is intended for “their” babies not the babies of another species and certainly not the adults of another species.
By stating that cows milk is intended for a cow’s newborn baby I am hardly “misrepresenting the facts”.
The Cameron’s seek to discredit PETA by saying their shearing shed cruelty video was “fake”.
Actually four of the men in the video pleaded guilty, in court, to 60 animal cruelty charges.
John and Jenny say I “put little importance on the lives of orphaned animals whose lives were saved by the milk of other species”.
I think it’s wonderful if a nursing mother allows a baby of another species to suckle from her.
But what a stark contrast this is from the dairy industry that mercilessly kills millions of sweet baby calves despite the fact that they have mothers who are bursting with milk and longing to feed them.
A “thinking person” has no need to “visit a farm” to recognise that bringing baby calves into the world for the sole purpose of immediately killing them in order to steal their milk for profit is an abhorrent and cruel practice.
Jenny Moxham
Dairy industry is hiding a dark truth
June 2018
If there was an award given to the industry that had most successfully hoodwinked the greatest number of people it would surely go to the dairy industry. So skilful has their advertising campaign been, we now have doctors and dieticians warning us about the “serious consequences” of not consuming cow’s mammary secretions.
Have these people ever read the dictionary definition of milk?
It’s “an opaque white fluid rich in fat and protein, secreted by female mammals for the nourishment of their young”. Easy enough to understand, you would think. It means a cow’s mammary secretions are meant for her calf and no one else.
The word milk, used as a verb, actually means “exploit” or “take advantage of”, so it’s no secret that the ruthless dairy industry exploits cows for profit.
As Eric Bahrt points out, we’re the only species on Earth who think we need to drink the baby milk of a totally species. Isn’t it time we took off our blinkers and recognised that the billion-dollar dairy industry doesn’t care one iota about our health. All it cares about is making as much money as possible, regardless of the enormous suffering it inflicts on millions of mother cows and their calves.
Jenny Moxham
No animal safe
June 2018
I don't know why it's so difficult for Bryce McGregor to understand that mothers' milk is a baby food.
Even the dictionary tells us it is "an opaque white fluid rich in fat and protein, secreted by female mammals for the nourishment of their young”.
Clearly, cow's milk is intended for the nourishment of baby cows.
The word milk, used as a verb, actually means "exploit” or "take advantage of”. It's no secret that dairy farmers exploit cows for profit.
The farmers are well aware of the anguish and pain they inflict on cows by forcing them to give birth each year then immediately stealing their precious babies.
And they are well aware of the suffering they inflict on the babies when they truck them to the slaughterhouse in their first week of life.
But all they care about is making money.
Just because you buy your milk in a carton, Bryce, doesn't alter the fact that you are nursing from a cow.
And yes, we are now stealing milk from various other animals - including camels.
Sadly, no animal is safe from man's ruthless exploitation.
Jenny Moxham
Milking it
June 2018
Milk is defined as “an opaque white fluid rich in fat and protein, secreted by female mammals for the nourishment of their young.” Clearly, breast milk is a baby food, and this is why females only produce it after giving birth.
But humans have found an immensely cruel way to exploit females because of this milk-producing ability. Each year dairy farmers force cows to endure the agony of giving birth, and then mercilessly kill their precious babies so they can sell their milk for profit. The word milk, used as a verb, actually means "exploit" or "take advantage of" so farmers are not unmindful of what they are doing.
Every year in Australia 450,000 of these sweet newborn babies are trucked to the slaughterhouse in their first week of life. The females who are retained for herd replacement will, after about 5 years of "faithful service", be rewarded with the same terrifying fate.
The Cameron’s say we're not the only species to drink cows milk - dogs, cats and chooks do too. (Lots of animals drink cow’s milk, 9/6) But that's only because we feed it to them. If an orphaned baby animal suckles from a mother of a different species it can hardly be compared with what we do.
Our practice of suckling from bovines is, undeniably, bizarre - but the worst aspect of it is the cruelty involved. Bringing babies into the world for the sole purpose of immediately killing them in order to steal their milk is surely as low as you can go.
Jenny Moxham
Picture yourself at a cow’s teat
June 2018
A news item picked up by papers around the world last week reported that a mother in the UK was still breastfeeding her five-year-old daughter. Bizarre – that was the inference, but feeding a human child with human breast milk is not bizarre at all.
What truly is bizarre, however, is adults breastfeeding from cows. Just because we pay someone to extract the milk mechanically and sell it to us in cartons, it doesn’t alter the fact that we are nursing from a cow.
Now picture this: You’re driving along a country road and you spy a smartly dressed couple clambering through a fence and heading towards a cow.
The woman shoves the calf aside then crawls underneath the cow, grabs the udder and suckles. When she’s had her fill, the woman rolls from beneath the cow and her well-dressed partner takes her place.
On seeing this, would you think to yourself, “Oh, that couple are having a drink of milk”? Or would you stare in utter disbelief and think, “Those people must be crazy!” I imagine you’d think they were crazy, and you’d be right.
It is crazy to suckle from a cow. No other animal on the planet suckles from a totally different species and no other animal continues to suckle right throughout adulthood.
Isn’t it time we took off our blinkers and recognised the absurdity and abnormality of this practice?
Jenny Moxham
Different situation
June 2018
Julie McCullough defends our bizarre practice of suckling from cows (Cow’s milk is good, NM, 05/06) by saying baby animals sometimes suckle from mothers of other species.
But this is because breast milk is a baby food and these animals are orphans, so it’s a different situation.
You will never see an adult animal naturally suckling from another species.
I agree that animals will drink the milk of another species if we serve it to them.
My point is they don’t do naturally.
The worst thing about drinking cows milk, however, is the cruelty.
Each year in Australia 450,000 sweet, newborn calves are brutally and violently slaughtered in their first week of life just so their baby milk can be stolen for profit.
This is the hidden cruelty in every glass of milk.
Jenny Moxham
Bizarre ‘breast’ feeding
June 2018
I’VE no doubt the reaction of most people to the news item girl, 5, still breastfed, (1/6) might have been, “How bizarre!”.
But feeding a human child with human breast milk is not bizarre at all. It’s a natural thing to do.
What truly is bizarre, and unnatural, is our practice of breast feeding from mother cows. Just because we purchase their breast milk in cartons, it doesn’t alter the fact that we are nursing from a cow.
Do any other animals on the planet suckle from a totally different species? Of course not. Do any others continue to suckle when they’re adults? Of course not.
If you saw someone in a paddock drinking cows’ milk the natural way – scrambling underneath a cow, grabbing her udder and sucking – I’m sure you’d very quickly recognise how bizarre and abnormal this practice is.
Jenny Moxham
Cow’s milk is not a good source of calcium
May 2018
Really Ms Ferraretto. Cow’s milk is not a good source of calcium. Milk (and dairy products) are acid-forming in our body. When it gets acidic, our bodies try to balance the pH by drawing more calcium (alkaline) from our bones. Over time, more and more calcium are actually drawn out from your bones and eventually lead to osteoporosis.
Cow’s milk contains allergenic proteins, such as casein, which may cause allergies in many people, causing likelihood of inflammation, autoimmune diseases and even diabetes.
Cow’s milk also contains a sugar called lactose that may be difficult for many people to digest, resulting in lactose intolerance symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea, cramps, gas and bloating.
Drinking cow’s milk regularly has been linked to inflammatory ailments such as acne, asthma and gout. Just by stopping dairy consumption, most people find relief in these symptoms.
Studies showed that drinking cow’s milk leads to weight gain. Skimmed milk and 1% milk is not any better than the full-cream milk. Totally eliminate cow’s milk from your diet, if you want to lose fats and weight.
To quote Dr Michael Klapper MD, “the purpose of cow’s milk is to turn a 65-pound calf into a 700-pound cow as rapidly as possible. Cow’s milk IS baby calf growth fluid. No matter what you do to it, that is what the stuff is. Everything in that white liquid – the hormones, the lipids, the proteins, the sodium, the growth factors like IGF-I – are all there to start that calf growing into a great big cow, or else they would not be there. It’s great stuff if you are a baby calf, but if you are a human trying to create a lean, healthy body, it will NOT “do a body good.”
And that’s before we consider the endless circle of artificial insemination, calves taken at birth, producing 10 times more milk than naturally intended, and eventual slaughter at an average of just 5 years old as their milk production declines and they become less “economically viable” to the dairy industry (their natural age is up to 20 years). Oh, and all male calves are routinely disposed of – slaughtered - after just a few months as they are of no value at all.
Morgan Michie
Dairy Industry chooses to exploit
March 2018
Cows are gentle, forgiving animals the Dairy Industry chooses to exploit. In order for any mammal to give milk she must first give birth. Cows are no exception. In intensive factory farms dairy cows are annually inseminated, their newborns are taken away so athletes can drink the colostrum (first milk) as the industry falsely claims that it builds muscles. Exercise does that! This was another clever marketing ploy.
The mothers, after the pain of birth, mourn their calves time and again. Electronically monitored and genetically bred to produce more milk, they are milked by automated machinery, more often than "Daisy and Flo" were in Grandpa's day. So they suffer ligament damage and painful mastitis, because of the excessive weight of the milk and the chaffing of the machines.
They suffer hip dysplasia from hours of standing on concrete floors, and the extra weight, causes laminitis, a painful foot condition. Cows' milk is for calves to grow into huge animals that thrive on grass. Why do humans believe we need another animal's milk in order to be healthy? We have been led to believe we need it for calcium, which we, too, can get in abundance from plant based food.
Diane Cornelius