why is milk not vegan?

Question

how is it cruel to an animal, or what is the deal with that? cuz i like milk... lol, and i don't know if i want to give it up forever ever.

Answer 1

There are lots of different Vegetarians out there and many who drink milk. Veganism is a political, emotional, and ethical lifestyle. Vegans believe that animal products are best served to animals. The act of takeing milk from a cow is robbing that cows offspring of food, just as taking eggs from chickens is killing the next generation. One of the answerers mentioned breast feading, giving human milk to humans is the same as giveing cow milk to cows. Though I doubt that women will start to sell their milk so vegans can drink animal milk
Besides there are physical differences between herbavores, omnivores and carnivores. Being a Vegan for a lenght of time, assumably the seven years that it take the human body to compleatly regenerate, shortens the large intestine. The large intestine is responsible for the breaking down of fiberous proteans (animal meat), the shorter it is the less capable of digesting meat. In the end Vegans couldn't eat meat even if they didn't put it on par with cannablism.

Answer 2

Well, like all mammals, cows only produce milk after they have given birth. Dairy cows are forcefully impregnated regularly to keep them producing milk.

The calves are taken from them immediately after birth. The females will become dairy cows, but the males go to be veal. This means that they are put into a tiny crate and not allowed to move around at all to keep their muscle tissue from developing. They are slaughtered when they are only days or weeks old.

Besides this, the average dairy cow is pumped full of hormones to keep them producing way more milk than they would normally. This can lead to terrible infections of the udder, often with blood and pus visibly entering the milk you drink.

When a dairy cow stops being productive, they are slaughtered to be used in cheap meats like hamburgers because they lack the breeding that beefs cows have.

All in all, a dairy cow actually endures much more suffering than a beef cow does and meets the same fate in the end anyway.

It's not that hard to give up milk. I went from drinking 5-6 glasses a day to none at all. It's just way too much cruelty just because I like the taste.

Answer 3

Milk is filthy, poisonous stuff.
Every hormone, antibiotic, fertilizer and herbicide the cow has ever ingested goes into milk and dairy products. So does the infectious pus and the bacteria from the manure the cow lies down in. So your glass of frosty delicious milk had all sorts of extra goodies in it.
What do you think the logic of breastfeeding human mothers being told not to ingest alcohol, caffeine, drugs,etc ? These substances go into the milk and effect the baby. Also true for humans drinking cows' milk.
I personally cannot imagine the first person to look at a cow's udder and say "Man, I want to drink from that!".
Good luck

Answer 4

Animals are not ours to do with as we please just because we can .. it is morally wrong to hurt something that is defenseless and to keep hurting it makes you what ? I fully agree with the green haired top contributor , but just wanted to add if you really want to see just a bit view here ...http://www.factoryfarming.com/gallery/photos_dairy.htm..and then remember that 80 percent of all US farms today are factory ..which have been outlawed in many countries considered a barbaric practice .. I could go into the health benefits of NOT having dairy ... how vegans seldom have bone loss to put them at any risk but people who consume a lot of dairy develop osteoporosis ...and the propaganda from the dairy industry to convince you milk does a body good..that just don't say cow milk do they ? so technically is does a body..someones, some animals, and what type milk... yeah they figured that long ago...

Answer 5

A lot of your answerers have good intentions, but they are still
thinking of the old way of farming that consists of Farmer Joe milking his Betsy.

Today, cows are forced into constant pregnancy. The second their babies are born, they are ripped away, chained down to the floor so they are unable to move, and fed a diet that consists of pureed cow meat (among other stuff.) We keep all the milk for ourselves, giving none to the cows' babies. A few weeks after they are born, these babies will be sent to slaughter to make veal... never having walked, known their mothers, and oftentimes, never having seen sunlight.

Aside from the emotional trauma on the mothers, the milking cows are physically tortured as well, having so many hormones and chemicals to ensure they are constantly able to milk, that their utters are horribly enlarged. They are so huge and constantly milked that the cows live in constant pain. When they can no longer produce the proper amount of milk, they are sent to the slaughter house to make steaks. They are killed in 3-4 years... their natural lifespan is closer to 14. However, considering the torture, 4 years may be better.

That is why milk is not vegan.
I suppose the simple explanation is that it comes from animals, and vegans do not use anything that comes from animals.
Sorry to be graphic, but you asked.

Answer 6

Milk comes from cows and therefore has "beef" roots. Plant based milks, such as rice or soy, do not have their roots inside an animal. Vegans are pretty picky about not wanting any form of animal product in their diet.

Answer 7

Cow's milk and how it is produced breaks one of the main rules of Veganism which is any form of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food. Cows lined up and milked by machines their entire life being the exploitation. They substitute animal milk with soy milk.

Answer 8

I can answer as a breastfeeding mother, that cow's milk is meant for baby cows as human milk is meant for human babies. Why would I want to be impregnated against my will in order to keep my milk flow, and then have my baby stolen from me so that I can provide you with milk that is meant for my child??? That is why it is cruel. Not to mention that the poor calf will never get a drop of that milk (unless raised on an organic farm) that was meant for him in the first place. So then it becomes cruel for the next generation. You don't have to stop drinking it, nobody is telling you to do that. But this is one version of why it is cruel...there are many other ways, this one is my personal reason to cut back so much!!

Answer 9

Vegans believe that using animal products, even when it does not involve killing the animal is wrong. One told me that milking a cow is enslaving the cow.

Answer 10

Yes, it is intended for human infant consumption and is as you say given with consent, so there is no ethical issue. I can't imagine a vegan mum wishing to raise her child vegan refusing to breastfeed for that reason!