Reasons NOT to consume dairy?

Question

I am vegan and have been for 3 years. I was lacto-ovo vegetarian for 11. So I already have MY reasons for not consuming dairy products. But I was wondering, what OTHER vegans' reasons would be for avoiding dairy products in particular. Links and sources would be greatly appreciated.

[once again I am trying to give a "valid reason" to family/friends for why I don't eat certain things, and "moral reasons" just isn't good enough lol... though of course this changes nothing]

milk (and other dairy) causes me severe cramping and abdominal pain.

(eggs gross me out)

the concept of pus and blood in my milk grosses me out too

don't want to consume growth hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, etc

concerned about dairy's impact on my body (osteoporosis, crohn's disease, etc)

and after breastfeeding, I can't imagine putting a cow through that (engorgement, mastitis, "pumping" machines, losing their babies, being forced to make milk, being forced to make 10x as much milk as their bodies designed, etc etc etc)

cows don't deserve the treatment they get AT ALL...


[just some of my personal reasons]

Answer 1

I decided I could not longer use dairy when I learned that the sons of dairy cows were sent off to the veal crates. I objected to veal long before I went vegetarian because of its cruelty, never making the dairy-veal connection until I started reading stuff.

But when you think about it, you realize, okay, the cow is producing milk because she's pregnant (never mind for a moment that she's been artificially inseminated so she will get pregnant). That milk is for her baby, just like every other mammal. Dogs produce milk for their puppies. Cats produce milk for their kittens. Sheep produce milk for their lambs. Goats produce milk for their kids. Humans produce milk for their babies. Cows produce milk for their calves. No other species drinks the milk of another, nor do they consume milk beyond infancy.

So consuming dairy is stealing milk from a baby calf. And, yes, the cows are pumped up with hormones and antibiotics to encourage more milk production and counteract mastitis from constant milking.

Sounds to me these friends and family should have a "valid reason" for continuing to consume dairy.

Answer 2

Some reasons for not including dairy are as follows:

Many people find it gross for a human to drink out of a cow's nipple. There's nothing natural about that.

Dairy has a tendency to make people feel ill, especially if consumed in large quantities. Similarly, it spoils fast and can make a person sick if it gets contaminated.

Also, the production of milk is inefficient, since cow's have to be raised and fed food and water that could otherwise go directly to humans. Most of the food and water given to these factory cows is wasted in their bodies, and only a small portion actually becomes milk.

The factory cows used to produce milk are treated poorly and live unhappy lives.

Even if I decided not to be vegan anymore, I wouldn't go back to drinking milk. Soy milk is much better, and I can drink it anytime as much as I want without the bad feelings that come with milk.

Answer 3

Pus in dairy is definitely a problem. If it were filtered out or non-existant than dairy farmers wouldn't have their product tested for an allowable somatic cell count. Additionally, humans aren't made to drink cow's milk. We don't make enough lactase and as we get older it only gets worse. Only Europeans have a high genetic likelihood to be able to digest milk properly, and high is figurative term. I don't have the stats with me, but I think something like 80% of humans have trouble digesting milk.

(I do eat dairy, and I am lactose sensitive, but these are the reasons I think about giving it up sometimes)

Answer 4

i assume you're ignoring all veg*ns who do no longer consume meat, dairy and eggs for ethical, environmental, non secular or flavor motives? Grass fed unfastened variety pork is fit then hormone and antibiotic raised cows. that doesn't, in spite of the undeniable fact that, advise that they are healthful. human beings do no longer choose saturated fat or ldl cholesterol (greater then we make on our very own) greater then some oz. of pork each week, no be counted what form of pork, isn't healthful. did you realize that folk who use various dairy are greater, no longer much less, possibly to advance osteoperosis? the fast answer isn't any, how the dairy and meat are dealt with isn't a answer.

Answer 5

I began my adventures into vegetarianism/veganism with the intent of becoming healthier and having more energy but as I learned more about why other people choose vegetarianism/veganism my reasons for excluding animal products from my diet evolved. Now I don't eat animal byproducts primarily because of the way animals are treated. Now I fully acknowledge that humans are built to consume meat but I disagree with the treatment of animals raised for food. Just because they're not the same species as we are doesn't give us the right to torture them. Many people believe that animals raised for food must be treated well because sick or dead animals would be of no use to agribusiness. This is not true. "The competition to produce inexpensive meat, eggs, and dairy products has led animal agribusiness to treat animals as objects and commodities. The worldwide trend is to replace small family farms with “factory farms”—large warehouses where animals are confined in crowded cages or pens or in restrictive stalls.
Packed in wire cages (the industry average is less than half a square foot of floor space per bird),6 hens can become immobilized and die of asphyxiation or dehydration. Decomposing corpses are found in cages with live birds. Tens of millions (approximately 14%) of egg-laying hens die during production each year.6,7" As for Dairy cows, it is unprofitable to keep cows alive once their milk production declines so they are usually killed at 5–6 years of age (their normal life span exceeds 20 years) Also, Dairy cows are rarely allowed to nurse their young. The cycles of nature which have been the core of life on this planet are being blatantly interrupted and geared only to human benefit.
Also the impact on the environment from these "factory farms" (dairy cow farms in particular) is enormous. Agriculture in general is one of the most resource-intensive and environmentally damaging aspects of industrialized living. As individuals we are trying to reduce our car use, limit the amount of water we waste, become more 'energy-efficient' and generally lessen our environmental impact. Clearly, we should also examine our eating habits.

Finally, these are my reasons for going vegan but I don't feel like I need to outline this decision to everyone who asks and you shouldn't either. As long as you're happy and healthy you're friends and family should respect your decision in your own diet.

Answer 6

Maybe try these:

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgByaa8oPhLwa_zSAO7VjSIhBgx.?qid=20070720094546AA4EtKC

Artificial incemination every year
Hormone enriched feed
Bribe/feed caged carousels
killing bulls, excess calves and free martins at 1 week old
excess feeding to produce 60 lites of milk per day
intensive rearing means low husbandry checks
removing calves from mothers after colostrum feed
killing the cow at 7 years old

Your very last reason would be be first reason, and its the only one i need.

I keep pet cows ( dairy farm rescues ) . Would anyone treat a dog or cat the same ? Just becasue they are small enough to be everyday pets seems an arbitary reason to treat them better than cows to me.

Answer 7

Well, i'm not vegan, but I try to keep away from dairy, too. I tend to get bad eczema if I eat and drink a lot of dairy, so i drink a lot of soy milk. =D

Answer 8

If you are lactose intolerant and have cramping when consuming dairy, it's rather hard for me to believe that any family/friends would not support you not eating dairy.

As to some of the other reasons--they are simply propaganda and mark you as a target for continued harassment.

Your physical well-being should be enough "reason" if you really have to give "reasons". Personally, the fact it's your choice should be enough.

Answer 9

well, I'm not a vegan I'm a vegetarian. I have to have soy milk cause I always get sick if I have normal milk. I think it's the lactose that makes me sick, Lactose intolerant but I'm not sure on that one. Anyway, soymilk dosent make me sick like normal milk.

Answer 10

i agree with your reasons completely.

the thing i realized is that really, the milk and eggs we consume aren't ours to consume.

the reason cows produce milk is to feed their babies, the same reason humans produce milk.
they don't make milk to feed us.

and chickens lay eggs to make more chickens, not for our breakfast.

we have no more rights than the animals we share this earth with.
the difference between them and us is that we have figured out how to manipulate and use them to our selfish advantage.