Dairy farming is an industry, cows its suffering cogs

David Brown dismisses Jenny Moxham’s compassionate letter, in which she states, “From childhood we are taught that cows give us milk. As adults, we are cleverly duped by the dairy industry into believing we need dairy for good health and strong bones. So we blithely go through life consuming dairy, never stopping to think how absurd it is to be suckling from a cow.” 

Dairy cows are the most overworked farm animals in the world. They are forcibly impregnated, and when pregnant are milked, which places them under enormous stress, causing metabolic exhaustion and hunger to support the foetus and lactation. 

They are genetically manipulated to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally produce to nurture their calves. They suffer digestive disorders from rumen overload, painful soft-tissue foot pain from the weight of their massive udders, and excruciating mastitis (bacteria infection of the teats and udder). 

The dairy industry is a supreme example, and has been extremely successful, in misleading consumers into believing we need dairy. So, Mr Brown, I wholeheartedly agree with Jenny that “we should be giving cow’s milk the flick and switching to wholesome, delicious plant-based milks especially formulated for humans – not calves”.

Diane Cornelius

Adelaide, South Australia