I don't get it?

Question

why is it that people tout the "benefits" of dairy...our government has even made an entire food group out of it, saying we need it...yet, a cow's breastmilk would clearly be intended for baby cow's? I mean, even with the nutrients it's spozedly chock full of, how can any rational person really eat or drink the breastmilk from another species their whole life yet only drink/eat the breastmilk of their own species for only the first year or so of life.....and what I really don't get...how can people say dairy helps you lose weight when it comes from an animal that's usually 1000lbs. by the time it's 1yr. old? If someone could offer an intelligent, logical explanation please do....'coz frankly I'm baffled.(plz no "everyone does it", "government says so", "that's just the way it is" answers....) thanx
also, is it hypocritical to eat meat & shun dairy even w/out a dairy allergy? I mean, it happens w/ most species in nature, right? thx 4 the input :)

Answer 1

Their are many benefits for eating or drinking dairy products. Vitamin D, calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc. all come from dairy. Dairy products can also help prevent osteoperosis, and there are studies about dairy preventing certain cancers. Why don't we drink human milk? Human milk is really only beneficial for the first several months that a baby is breast-feeding. Also, it is impractical to drink human milk - it would probably have to be grown in labs. Cow milk, though relavitely high in fats, is (as listed above) very healthy for you. If I am remembering right, cow milk is lower in fats than human milk.

You must remember that a cow is incredibly different than a human. It is in a cow's genetic structure to weigh up to one ton. And cows' diets are not based off of milk; they are based off of things like grass, hay, and feed.

It really isn't hypocritical to not consume dairy, yet eat meat. It is just your individual predilection.

Hope that helped some!

Answer 2

I went vegetarian a little over a year ago after asking myself a lot of the same questions. For me... it was "why is it okay to eat a cow, but not a horse" or a rabbit but not a cat... In some cultures, eating cats and dogs is perfectly acceptable... in others it's a sin to eat a cow... still others shun pigs and I'm sure countless other creatures.

While I don't think that drinking milk from another species is harmful, I don't think it's terribly healthy either. Funny thing is, 99% of the population would say "You're SICK!" if you guzzled down a cup of human breastmilk.

It's all about societal norms. Nobody questions WHY we do the things we do... we just do it cuz everybody else does. When you actually stop and think for yourself... you realize the hypocrisy of it all and a lot of us change our lives because of it. Great question!

Answer 3

Well, the reason people tout the benefits of dairy is because there are benefits (that and the fact that they want to sell it!). Milk has a lot of calcium, as well as protein, and can be low in fat (depending on your choice, obviously).

I don't drink human breast milk...but then again, I also don't eat human muscles. I very much enjoy the cow version of both! :)

Milk can help you lose weight, in that it is a good source of protein, with a low level of fat, in an easy to eat serving. If you consider the calories consumed in a serving of milk, as compared to the calories consumed in a serving of bacon, you can easily see that the protein-to-calorie ratio is much better with milk.

A cow may grow to be 1000 pounds in its first year, but that's because a cow is genetically predisposed to grow to 1000 pounds. Humans in general do not have the same genetic predisposition, so it's not likely that we would do the same.

I think that most species do stop drinking milk within the first year...However, we humans are intelligent enough that we have developed the technology to cultivate and store it, therefore, we can enjoy it that much longer. FYI, human breast milk is generally much sweeter than cow's milk, which would make it something that most of us don't want to drink...Additionally, most human females are not inclined to allow someone to milk them on a daily basis, so we're not likely to start bottling human milk for adult consumption any time soon.

I would say that no, it's not hypocritical to eat meat but shun dairy. We all have different reasons for eating the things we eat, and you are the only one who can make this decision for you. I love cow muscles, but I don't eat their internal organs. You might also love their muscles, but don't eat their byproducts...I'm totally down with that!

Answer 4

Wow, never even thought of that. Maybe there's other nutrients in animals milk that we don't get in humans. Who knows. But I think the government says all that because of the calcium... dairy is the best source. I don't think it's hypocritical either, people are free to eat or not eat what they want. Everyone knows what is good for their own body :)