Fruitarian | Fruitarian Diet

Those new to the vegan ways of eating may just shun eating the meat of any animal but consume by-products such as milk.  If you think drinking milk does not go against the principles of not inflicting pain on animals, think again. Milking cows progressed from the olden days when farmers get up before sunrise to perform their duties gently by hand.  Even though cows aren’t slaughtered to get their milk, there’s so much more that they go through that can make you think twice about drinking that glass of milk before sleeping.

Treatment of cows for milk production

Cows used for producing milk are subjected to different conditions and treatments to get them to produce the milk for mass consumption. Often, these milking cows are housed in cramped and unsanitary conditions, and are dosed with hormones and stimulants so that they become fertile, give birth to calves, and produce milk often.  However, when calves are born, these are taken away from their mother cows.  The male ones are raised to   be destined at the slaughterhouse while the female ones grow up to be just like their moms.

Some vegans believe that consuming the meat and partaking of products coming from the slaughter and mistreatment of animals is inhumane, but drink milk and eat cheese and eggs.  However, the harvesting of these products still inflict some measure of pain to the animals that produce them.  Mother cows have an emotional bond with their young and will mourn or feel anguish at the loss of their young ones. The electric pumps attached to their udders,as well as the forced fertility, breaks their spirit as well as their natural cycles.  And when they have reached that age when they can  no longer bear calves and produce milk, off to the slaughterhouse they go.

Effects of mass-producing cow’s milk

Sustaining these milking cows is also taking its toll on our environment, with water resources running out and becoming polluted, and even the ozone layer suffering from the methane they excrete.  A cow’s milk is for it’s own, just like how a human mother’s milk is for her child.  Studies have actually shown that children nursed on cow’s milk were less healthier than those   who were raised on mother’s milk.  Though cow’s milk may have been proven to be a valuable supplement for the whole human race for so long,  maybe  it’s time to rethink our sources for nutrition.  The nutrients in cow’s milk can also be found in other sources, such as vegetables and plants (that cows consume).  Why not skip the cow and just go straight ahead to the green and leafy sources of nutrition instead?

Photo Credit : law_keven