I would like input from vegans re: dairy products?

Question

I have been vegetarian for many years, and went vegan for awhile, but really missed my milk and cheese. I found a local food co op dairy, that produces raw milk, butter and cheese products. I purchased a share of a cow (her name is Abigail) I visit her often, and know for a fact that she is well cared for and pampered. She is free range and has organic feed. I look at the lovely raw milk and dairy products that she provides as a gift from her. I really am enjoying having the dairy back in my diet. When she calves, her calf gets all the milk it needs, and I simply have to do without. I feel like I am honoring and respecting her. I would like to know vegans thoughts on this. In all other aspects, I stay committed to protecting animals from any harm, and do not use any products that harm or test on animals. I have severe food allergies to wheat, soy, eggs, and other things that vegetarians eat, like bread and tofu, so without milk, my diet would be EXTREMELY resticted

I refer to myself as a vegetarian, not vegan, but really could care less what I call myself as long as I can eat good food...

Answer 1

I respect your choice to eat only from Abigail's milk. Really, it took effort to find such a farm. I commend you.

I still don't agree with the ownership of animals, though. Animals were created not for ownership, but to live their own lives with their own kind.

I personally wouldn't consume dairy even from a farm like this, because dairy is unhealthy all around, and I'm way too fat for it anyway, lol.

If you'd like, go to www.chreese.com and you can find gluten-free pasta and gluten-free "chreese" sauces. They do not contain soy. It tastes so much like the real thing, so yummy! Pssst: I sprinkle lemon juice into the chreese for more of that cheezy zing. Mmm!

Answer 2

In principle I am opposed to milk because I view
it as nutrients for a calf. However there are some
cases in which it would be hard for a vegetarian
to get all of the nutrients they need without milk
or eggs because of allergins. By the same token
some people are characteristically anemic and
are able to sustain themselves without these items.
These are people I have to sympathize with.

For this reason I have always believed that
the factory farm and mass production method
is the true evil that needs to be destroyed
and this is what I absolutely oppose as a vegan.

Once upon a time, small time farmers who
only owned a cow or two and a handful of
chickens, raised and cared for the animals
humanely long before the terms free-range
and cage -free ever existed.
In some cases the animals weren't even
slaughtered.

In my view there will always have to be some
animal products around for hemophiliacs
and allergy ridden people, from the afore-
mentioned humane style farms. I would hope
gor the sake of the animals that there would
only be a handful in each country.

Not everyone is fortunate enough to have
no plant based food alergins like me.
I realize I will get many thumbs down
for these statements and possibly
be labeled a wishy washy vegan.
However, I just don't believe in impract-
ical legalism and I'm not as hardcore
on things like milk and honey as some
other vegans are even though I myself
abstain from them.

I do have one concern about this
situation you are in though.
What happens to Abigail after she
can no longer produce milk?
I think you should find out whether
she will simply be retired into
a sanctuary or whether she will
be slaughtered. Also, what happens
to the calves? Are they sold for slaughter
or allowed to stay with her?

II do not think that you would want her
eventual death on your conciensce
nor that of any of her offspring. So if
you are unaware or unsure of these
details I think you may want to investigate.
As long as you can have a clean
conciensce that's all that matters.

Answer 3

i think you have made a great step forward amd congratulate you on how you consider the cow.

however, i would say you are not a vegan if you drink cows milk, no matter how its obtained.

The vegan definition does not maker any allowances for how an animal is treated, you don't consume or use any products that effect the animal....this includes milk.

psrsonally, if you are comfortable with your situation you should carry on, but perhaps stop referring to yourself as a vegan.

If you are looking for a title, what would be wrong with calling yourself a "vegetarian without eggs" ?

A comparable situation would be if a vegetarian said is it ok to eat meat if i raise the animal myself and care for it. the answer would obviously be no. its breaking the veggie definition just as you are breaking the vegan definition.

but, so long as you stop using the word Vegan to describe your lifestyle, i would say don't beat your self up over it, you are way a head of the majority of the population.

EDIT: Sorry, i misread your question, but its not really a question. Vegans would not take your action nor drink the milk.. A vegan would not own part of a cow that was kept on a farm, unless it was some sort of retirement, or santuary place.

Answer 4

I think you're either vegan or you're not- their aren't any exceptions. I agree with the second answerer who made the point about eating meat if the animal died of natural causes. If you make a moral (and possibly health) decision not to eat or drink the stuff you should not be craving it. If you really want ice cream or eggs then go out and have some, this is just one of many justifications you can make. My answer is no, even if the animals are pets and they practically give the stuff to you on a plate I still say no; either you're a vegan or you are not. Middle ground you suggest to me = not a vegan. Good luck though, I would love to own a farm.

Answer 5

Dear Beebs,

I completely agree that you dont have to worry about categorising yourself - there is a whole spectrum of veganism and vegetarianism. You will always have the strictest taking the moral high-ground. However as you describe, your situation is extreme.

I personally believe it is not natural to be vegetarian or vegan. As humans we are omnivores and are able to consume both meat and vegetation. Yet universally this is not essential and we are at liberty to make the choice to consume or not.

I myself am a vegan and do not eat any animal derived products including honey and wont purchase leather or wool. I have made this choice because I am wholly disgusted with the way societies have chosen to abuse and exploit animals causing extreme suffering for which I will NOT be part of.

However this is my choice, and I have discovered that my diet is not hugely limited by doing this, I am able to find a huge range of foods to satisfy my needs. This is not the case for you. You have mentioned your allergies and therefore I think the way in which you have tried to circumvent the problems I mentioned above in regard to animal suffering is wonderful. When I became a vegan I thought of doing a similar thing with regard to humane farming, but have found no need for it. You on the other hand have HAD to look into other options.

Abigail sounds gorgeous and her farming commendable. I think that you have found the most humane method of deriving products from animals - short of farming them yourself :) The only concern I have is that raised above - in regard to her calves. Are they sent to slaughter? This would be a tragic side-effect. As you know, I'm sure, a cow will only produce milk if she is in calf and therefore will have to continue to lose calves throughout her milk-producing life. If you feel happy and confident that her calves are being treated well and allowed to grow up in a safe environment, then I see no problem with what you are doing. It seems you have gone to the greatest lengths possible to find a solution to your tricky situation.

Good luck and lots of snuggles for Abi! :D xx

Answer 6

Sounds good to me. But, for myself, I do not consume dairy.
Some of my points:

Point #1. milk is for babies and young children
Point #2. cow milk is for baby cows and young calves
Point #3. same goes for all other milk giving animal
Point #4. I am an adult human; no need for it.
Point #5. I stopped for athletic performance; not for cow health
Point #6. I subsequently found animal health to be important
Point #7. Is your cow Abigail pregnant? If not, only injecting
hormones would cause her to produce milk.
Therefore; not a natural product.
Point #8. If Abigail is pregnant; isn’t it wrong to take milk
from her when it should be going to the baby?
Is there extra milk for the humans? How many humans?
How much milk? Will this stress the cow’s body?

Regarding food allergies, perhaps you should focus or ridding yourself of these sensitivities your body has to certain foods. I know people from countries where soybeans are a major part of their diet, yet they’ve never heard of anyone with soybean allergies. Same goes for peanuts, wheat, and all these other allergies people, mostly in N. America, have. Maybe you should investigate just why you have allergies and just why others don’t. I’ll give you some tips though, it usually starts from parents feeding their children foods which either is very difficult to digest, has natural or unnatural toxins, or other such factors which cause the child’s immune system to react. In most countries you just don’t feed ‘adult’ food to babies or children. It would be like giving children beer or cigarettes. In N. America, other than beer or cigarettes, people are giving just about everything else to their kids to eat. You’ll just have to research, experiment, and see what happens. My wife was allergic to melons all her life, but discovered that she had no reaction to organic melons at all. So, there are many different causes of the so-called blanket statement term “allergy”.

Answer 7

That seems perfectly acceptable to me. I am of the belief that when one becomes a vegetarian or vegan for ethical reasons, he or she is doing so because they do not wish to contribute to the common abuse and mistreatment that occurs when animals are raised for human consuption. It seems obvious to me that by consuming this milk you are not only not harming her, but are actually contributing to her well being by visiting her and making sure that she is properly and humanley cared for. I cannot understand the logic of anyone believing that you should not partake of this gift, perhaps because there would be no logic in there argument against you. Enjoy!

Answer 8

some people are vegan cause they love animals,, some are vegan because it's much healthier,, i think it's unhealthy to eat milk that's made for a different animal in a different stage of it's life,, grown cows dont drink milk,, tha's super fun that you have a cow though,,

Answer 9

visit this site for my views on this, www.animal-law.com. It's not my site, but I agree 100%.
The Readers Digest version is this, animals should not be owned by people, like slaves should not be owned by people. No matter how well, or poorly they are treated. If an animal is property, the rights of the property owner to do what he or she wants with their animal property will always come before the rights of the animal as property. Wile the law will respect your decision to treat your property as more than fair value, it will also respect someone else's to treat that animal poorly, or kill that animal. As long as animals are property they have no rights. If you are for animal rights, you must be opposed to the property status of animals, and therefore a Vegan.

Answer 10

Sounds like you've found a GREAT option for milk products! I bet they taste just like God intended them too! Enjoy and don't feel guilty! Give Abigail a nose rub for me!