I am what they call an Ovo-Lacto vegetarian, apparently the most common type of vegetarian in the western world. I eat eggs (free range) and dairy products.
I decided to stop eating meat about 7 years ago now. I wanted to make the change because I wasn’t comfortable eating animals in a time where we don’t need to kill to survive, it isn’t even good for us, and it’s cruel.
Its not an easy road to animal salvation though. There is so much to avoid, so much to think about. If its not cheese made with rennet (cow stomachs) then its yummy lollies made with gelatin (boiled animal bones and cartilage), and now palm oil is in everything- including chocolate (the habitats of the Orangutan and Sumatran tigers are being destroyed to plant palm plantations).
Its tough, and now after years of feeling OK about my food choices, I am forcing myself to look at my Ovo-Lacto label and question if I am taking the easy way out on the lacto side of things. I have ignored this for years because as we all know, dairy is used so much in everyday life. Cutting it out isn’t going to be easy.
Even though I drink milk in my tea, and eat cheese, yogurt and ice cream I have always felt that there is something not quite right about cows milk, to the extent that my children drink soy. I admit I have turned a blind eye to it, much like many have about sow stalls, but after looking into a dairy cows life, the facts are hard to ignore.
Have you ever thought about what a dairy cows life is like, or what has to happen to get milk into the bottle at the supermarket?
Well as with all other species, a cow has to give birth to start producing milk, but unfortunately the dairy cow doesn’t get to keep her calf and feed it.
A dairy cow will give birth for the first time at about 2 years of age. The calf is taken from the cow after about 24 hours and the milking starts there, she will be artificially inseminated soon after giving birth and will continue to be milked while pregnant. The cow is milked for 10 out of 12 months, including 7 months of her pregnancy. She will be allowed to have a rest for a couple of months prior to the birth of her calf and then the cycle starts again. A cow will give birth between 4 and 10 times and are then slaughtered at around 8 – 10 years, even though naturally they could live till 20.
At the height of milk production a cow can produce 10 times the amount of milk she would usually produce to feed her calf, so the stress on her body is tremendous.
Surplus male calves (bobby calves) will be slaughtered at around four days old for veal. Some calves will be kept and hand reared until weaned, then either used for milk, beef, or breeding.
Not only that but
- Cows are also put through painful procedures such as castration, de horning and tail docking.
- 6 % of New Zealand 4 million plus dairy cows will suffer lameness at any one time due to poor tracks to and from the milking sheds, and poor quality races.
- Many cows are left in exposed paddocks without shelter
- Most cows suffer mastitis at least once in their lives
As a woman who has been pregnant and breastfed both my children, it is probably easier for me to relate to these animals. I know the strain breastfeeding puts on a body, and to think of having to do that for almost my entire life is unimaginable, not to mention having a baby then immediately having it taken away. Sure I am putting human emotions into a cows situation, but you can’t tell me a cow wouldn’t suffer having her calf taken away. It is natural instinct for a mother to bond with her offspring.
In the end its about personal values and responsibility. We need to stop burying our heads in the sand and become food intelligent. Next time an animal cruelty story breaks about intensive farming practices will you take responsibility for what you are choosing to eat and be able to say ‘I am doing what I think is right and I feel good about it?’
I will eventually become an Ovo Vegetarian, it may be done in baby steps, but for me personally it is the right thing to do – unless of course I decide to get a pet cow. Sounds crazy but anyone who knows me will know I may just do it.
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