Organic dairy?!
Organic dairy?
I am vegetarian, but I still eat cheese. I used to drink soy milk and products, but have developed problems with it excacerbating a medical condition I have and I cannot have soy. I rarely eat eggs because I react to them, and if I get them they are always organic free range. I have been trying to research the treatment of organic or biodynamic dairy animals. I want to know if they are only milked when they have had calves naturally, or if they treat them the same as intensive dairy farming where they keep impregnating them. I can't seem to find the right information. Can anyone help me?
Additional Details1 month ago
i dont drink milk, because it is too high lactose and makes me sick, soy makes me sick, fluoride makes me sick, eggs make me sick, a whole bunch of other stuff makes me sick. I already use rice milk. vegans as far as I know rely highly on soy. how do you propose i then get extra protein in my diet? I am not a healthy person, I have a few medical conditions and am fairly weak. I know its not good to have animal foods. i just don't know how i would cope long term without the extra vitamins (calcium, B12, protein) because my body doesnt absorb the supplements i have to take properly as it is. if you are vegan and allergic to soy, please i welcome your ideas.
1 month ago
actually the main reason for the question is non soy cheese alternatives. i live in Australia. these things are hard to come by
Answers:
1 month ago
i dont drink milk, because it is too high lactose and makes me sick, soy makes me sick, fluoride makes me sick, eggs make me sick, a whole bunch of other stuff makes me sick. I already use rice milk. vegans as far as I know rely highly on soy. how do you propose i then get extra protein in my diet? I am not a healthy person, I have a few medical conditions and am fairly weak. I know its not good to have animal foods. i just don't know how i would cope long term without the extra vitamins (calcium, B12, protein) because my body doesnt absorb the supplements i have to take properly as it is. if you are vegan and allergic to soy, please i welcome your ideas.
1 month ago
actually the main reason for the question is non soy cheese alternatives. i live in Australia. these things are hard to come by
Make your own rice milk!
4 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked rice (white or brown may be used) or 1 cup cooked rice (white or brown may be used)
1 vanilla bean or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cook rice, vanilla bean or extract and water until very soft. Let cool, remove vanilla bean (if using) and put mixture into blender or food processor. Blend until very smooth. Let stand for at least 45 minutes, then strain through cheese cloth.
Makes about 3-20 ounce servings.
Since you cannot have soy milk, you might was to try on of these, Complicated Rice Milk, Fancy Rice Milk, Horchata, Mexican Rice Milk, Plain Rice Milk, Plain Almond Milk, Almond-Oat Milk, Alternative Sprouted Oat Milk Plain Oat Milk and Sprouted Oat Milk are delicious and can all be made at home.
I don't know what country you live in, but in the United States the standards for what qualifies as "organic milk" are pretty lax. And even completely organic, hormone-free, etc. dairy farms can still engage in the practice of taking the cows' young from them and selling them to slaughterhouses, which I'd guess you might disagree with seeing how you're researching their treatment in the first place.
I'd suggest researching the individual dairy farms themselves to see how they are run and if they are up to your standards, either online or in person. Small local farms would be easiest to research yourself, I'd imagine. I know Hare Krishna temple cows are very well treated, but the temples are scattered and it's doubtful they'd sell you the milk (and they did, it would likely be expensive.)
Soy milk is not your only non-dairy milk option though - rice, almond, and hazelnut are all very tasty. They have oat and hemp milk out now, but I haven't tried them yet. Good luck finding what you need, whatever you decide to do!
My mom makes rice milk and i love it. I take Better Than Milk Rice to school and work to drink. It is a vegan beverage mix. My mom orders it from this site http://www.truefoodsmarket.com/product_i... I bet you can find it other places.
Their is a pervasive misconception among many that organic is synonymous with "cruelty-free". This could not be further from the truth. The practices engaged in by organic dairy farmers are identical to the handling practices of conventional farmers in all important ways. All the organic label is signifying is that the milk is supposed to be hormone and antibiotic free, and that the animal was fed on organic feed.
Even the so called "cruelty-free" products are hardly what they claim to be. for dairy and egg products to be produced animals must die. Unfortunately their is no way around the reality of this situation. For this reason vegetarianism is incompatible with the animal rights position, because vegetarians still engage in easily avoidable exploitation and by consuming dairy and eggs condone the killing of the animals they claim to what to accord basic rights to. It is important that we make every attempt to be ethically consistent in our positions and therefore we must become vegan and quit using animal products all together.
Organic cattle cannot be treated for illnesses. Cows often get mastitis from over milking, and the treatment for this is antibiotics which they are not legally allowed to have to stay organic.
Even if the cow was led to get pregnant by itself, to take the milk you would need to deprive the calf of it. All milk is cruel.