I wanted to ask what is the reason of being vegan?!
I respect everyone's choices and I have become vegetarian myself!. But regarding being vegan, why would you do that!? I mean, milk, dairy products etc!. are useful for you and don't harm the animals!. also, have you thought that these animals, which are domesticated basically, not wild, would be extinct if no one fed them, and no one would feed them if they were not useful for their milk! What do you think!?Www@FoodAQ@Com
Answers:
I personally, could not be a vegan!. I enjoy eating honey!.!.!.we sell organic honey in our store!. I also like to cook with butter and use eggs while baking!.
I do use organic foods and watch what I buy!.
More power to vegans!.!.!.!.tough diet to make work!!
*EDIT* Our eggs come from a farm that raises their chickens to be free range!. I go there myself to pick up the eggs and there are literally chickens running everywhere!. The same goes for our milk, the cows are not treated horribly!. It's a great little farm!.!.!.there should be more out there like it!Www@FoodAQ@Com
I do use organic foods and watch what I buy!.
More power to vegans!.!.!.!.tough diet to make work!!
*EDIT* Our eggs come from a farm that raises their chickens to be free range!. I go there myself to pick up the eggs and there are literally chickens running everywhere!. The same goes for our milk, the cows are not treated horribly!. It's a great little farm!.!.!.there should be more out there like it!Www@FoodAQ@Com
I don't know, but I thought that I would add that I know the cows that make my milk!. They're extremely happy!. They're milked by hand twice a day, they're free to graze and they live near their babies!. I agree that factory dairy farms can be horrible, but a few of us get cruelty-free milk!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
If you research factory farming, you'll see why!.
www!.milksucks!.com www!.goveg!.com
It's horrible to see these animals treated this way, and why!?!?
Just so that they who run these labor intensive farms can make more money for themselves and suffering & death for the animals they raise!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
www!.milksucks!.com www!.goveg!.com
It's horrible to see these animals treated this way, and why!?!?
Just so that they who run these labor intensive farms can make more money for themselves and suffering & death for the animals they raise!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I once had a friend told me that I should be a vegan and I asked why!? and his reply was because animals are living!. So I replied him, and plants are not!? Did not convince me to be vegan since then!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Every dairy farm supports the veal industry!. They have no use for the males!.
Egg producers sex chicks and toss the males into the trash!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Egg producers sex chicks and toss the males into the trash!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Yeah,i find it weird too,but whatever i'll just enjoy my milk,cheese,yogurt and million other dairy products!Www@FoodAQ@Com
because i love animals!!!!!!Www@FoodAQ@Com
The same reason why someone chooses to be Christian!.!.!.it's a personal choice!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
www!.meat!.orgWww@FoodAQ@Com
I, personally, went vegan when I learned of the cruelty involved - I had no idea before and believed what almost every other non-vegan does, that we "need" dairy to be healthy, cows "need" to be milked and the production of free-range eggs and milk doesn't harm the animals!.
All of which is wrong, male calves are torn from their mothers within 48 hours of birth and often sold to a different farm, the industry HAS to do this to supply milk, it is the dairy industry that produces the veal calf not the other way round!. If they didn't take the calf away, the cow would only produce enough milk for the calf, leaving none for human consumption!.
"Free-range" means nothing, it's just a marketing tool, the hens may have slightly better conditions than a battery hen but they are still confined to small spaces some of the time, not treated properly if sick or injured and as 50% of all chicks born are "useless" males, they are gassed, drowned or just thrown straight into a giant mincer, later to be fed back to other farm animals, including their own mothers!. Plus, once they are at the end of their egg producing lives, they too, end up at the slaughterhouse!.
And as for no-one feeding the animals - the animals would not be there if they weren't articifially bred for meat and milk! And if they were no longer useful they would just live out their lives in the fields, eating the grass (their natural food) which is all around them!.
EDIT: Watch "Earthlings" there's stuff on there about the dairy industry, another good documentary is "meet your meat" by PETAWww@FoodAQ@Com
All of which is wrong, male calves are torn from their mothers within 48 hours of birth and often sold to a different farm, the industry HAS to do this to supply milk, it is the dairy industry that produces the veal calf not the other way round!. If they didn't take the calf away, the cow would only produce enough milk for the calf, leaving none for human consumption!.
"Free-range" means nothing, it's just a marketing tool, the hens may have slightly better conditions than a battery hen but they are still confined to small spaces some of the time, not treated properly if sick or injured and as 50% of all chicks born are "useless" males, they are gassed, drowned or just thrown straight into a giant mincer, later to be fed back to other farm animals, including their own mothers!. Plus, once they are at the end of their egg producing lives, they too, end up at the slaughterhouse!.
And as for no-one feeding the animals - the animals would not be there if they weren't articifially bred for meat and milk! And if they were no longer useful they would just live out their lives in the fields, eating the grass (their natural food) which is all around them!.
EDIT: Watch "Earthlings" there's stuff on there about the dairy industry, another good documentary is "meet your meat" by PETAWww@FoodAQ@Com
It's such a common misconception that eggs and dairy are harmless to the animals involved, but it just couldn't be further from the truth!. The horrors of dairy and egg farming have been catalogued here many, many times if you care to search resolved questions!. Milk may arguably be "useful" but in no way is it necessary!. It's not even logical!. Mammals were designed by nature to drink mother's milk in infancy and no other mammal species drinks milk past weaning!. We are also the only mammalian species that drinks the milk of another species!.!.!. why cows!? Why not monkeys or cats!? Milk also contributes directly to the veal industry because male calves are worthless to a dairy operation; they spend their short, miserable, brutal lives stuffed into a box!.
People choose to become vegan when they realize that milk and eggs are every bit as cruel and inhumane as the meat industries, if not more!. We simply choose to take it a step further to reduce our contribution to animal suffering as far as possible!. For me, it's also about the environmental impact of intensive animal agriculture!.
(Incidentally, the term "free range" has NO LEGAL DEFINITION!. This means any egg producer can slap that label on their product and it doesn't mean the hens have ever even seen daylight!.)Www@FoodAQ@Com
People choose to become vegan when they realize that milk and eggs are every bit as cruel and inhumane as the meat industries, if not more!. We simply choose to take it a step further to reduce our contribution to animal suffering as far as possible!. For me, it's also about the environmental impact of intensive animal agriculture!.
(Incidentally, the term "free range" has NO LEGAL DEFINITION!. This means any egg producer can slap that label on their product and it doesn't mean the hens have ever even seen daylight!.)Www@FoodAQ@Com
That's a good question!. Unfortunately, veal is a direct by-product of the dairy industry!. Dairy cows must be impregnated in order to produce milk!. What happens when a dairy cow gives birth to a male calf!? He can't produce any milk so he's worthless to the dairy industry!. The male calves are taken away from their mothers when they're as young as one day old and chained into tiny stalls to be raised for veal!.
There is a similar problem with eggs!. The male chicks can't produce eggs and are worthless to the egg industry!. So workers kill the chicks by throwing them into grinders (while the birds are still alive) or leaving them to suffocate in plastic garbage bags!.
Even on "free range" farms, the unproductive animals need to be slaughtered so that the farms can stay profitable!. On free range farms, the hens are slaughtered when they stop producing so many eggs -- usually after only one or two years!.
The sad reality is that all commercially raised milk- and egg-producing animals (including free-range animals) are slaughtered when their production rates decline!.
Farm animals exist in such large numbers only because we breed them for their secretions and flesh, often through artificial insemination!. As more people become vegan, fewer cows and chickens will be bred!. The animals won't die off; we just won't breed as many of them!.
More info:
http://www!.veganoutreach!.org/starterpack!.!.!.
http://www!.cok!.net/lit/freerange!.phpWww@FoodAQ@Com
There is a similar problem with eggs!. The male chicks can't produce eggs and are worthless to the egg industry!. So workers kill the chicks by throwing them into grinders (while the birds are still alive) or leaving them to suffocate in plastic garbage bags!.
Even on "free range" farms, the unproductive animals need to be slaughtered so that the farms can stay profitable!. On free range farms, the hens are slaughtered when they stop producing so many eggs -- usually after only one or two years!.
The sad reality is that all commercially raised milk- and egg-producing animals (including free-range animals) are slaughtered when their production rates decline!.
Farm animals exist in such large numbers only because we breed them for their secretions and flesh, often through artificial insemination!. As more people become vegan, fewer cows and chickens will be bred!. The animals won't die off; we just won't breed as many of them!.
More info:
http://www!.veganoutreach!.org/starterpack!.!.!.
http://www!.cok!.net/lit/freerange!.phpWww@FoodAQ@Com
wellll, i personally find nothing wrong with drinking milk and mostly nothing wrong with eggs if i had my own cow and chicken i knew were happy and healthy!. im not a vegan, i drink milk and eat eggs, but i think they are not always treated very humanely, plus pumped with chemicals we, in turn, consume!.
if youve ever seen chickens on the back of a semi you may see a vegans point!. chickens are one of the most mistreated animals!. they get usually only one or two square feet to live in!. their injected with loads of steriods which make them grow unnaturally!. they get wounds and broken legs and live like this producing eggs!. eventually these are also the chickens they slaughter!. so, i can totally see their points!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
if youve ever seen chickens on the back of a semi you may see a vegans point!. chickens are one of the most mistreated animals!. they get usually only one or two square feet to live in!. their injected with loads of steriods which make them grow unnaturally!. they get wounds and broken legs and live like this producing eggs!. eventually these are also the chickens they slaughter!. so, i can totally see their points!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
I'm not vegan actually, I'm pescaterian, which means I eat fish, but no red meat or poultry!. I also don't consume any dairy at all though!. I chose this diet for health reasons, and it actually has helped me a lot!. Milk and dairy, are actually not useful for you at all!. We are the only species that drink an other animals milk!. Once children are weaned, they no longer need milk from any animal as part of their diet!.
Lately, I've been doing some research on the treatment of dairy cattle, chickens, and animals before they come to our table!. Like you, I was wondering why vegans choose not to consume dairy!. The things I found out, made me so sick, and angry!. It seems like you know about most of the things about how animals are treated!. Calfs being taken away from their mothers, cattle impregnated for the sole purpose of producing milk, male chicks being thrown out into dumpsters alive, cattle being castrated with no anesthesia, animals not reaching their full life span before being slaughtered, animals developing atrophic limbs because they're unbable to move in the confined space, chickens getting debeaked!.!.!. I can go on and on!.
Now you mentioned free ranged chickens I think, but there's no such thing really, unless you do it yourself in your back yard!. It's a horrible industry, that abuses and exploits animas!. And frankly, I don't see why we should be breeding them, just so that they suffer!. I don't think they will be extinct if we stop exploiting them, but keeping them here just to abuse just isn't right!.
Good question!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Lately, I've been doing some research on the treatment of dairy cattle, chickens, and animals before they come to our table!. Like you, I was wondering why vegans choose not to consume dairy!. The things I found out, made me so sick, and angry!. It seems like you know about most of the things about how animals are treated!. Calfs being taken away from their mothers, cattle impregnated for the sole purpose of producing milk, male chicks being thrown out into dumpsters alive, cattle being castrated with no anesthesia, animals not reaching their full life span before being slaughtered, animals developing atrophic limbs because they're unbable to move in the confined space, chickens getting debeaked!.!.!. I can go on and on!.
Now you mentioned free ranged chickens I think, but there's no such thing really, unless you do it yourself in your back yard!. It's a horrible industry, that abuses and exploits animas!. And frankly, I don't see why we should be breeding them, just so that they suffer!. I don't think they will be extinct if we stop exploiting them, but keeping them here just to abuse just isn't right!.
Good question!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
For dairy, there's definitely an environmental component!. It requires huge amounts of land to grow all of the food to feed dairy cows, and in an ecological sense it's just not an efficient use of energy!. It's using thousands of calories of grain to produce a few hundred calories of milk!. also, in order to produce milk, a cow needs to have had a baby recently!. It's not really a great life to be almost constantly impregnated!. And for the veal, I don't see how just not eating veal would do much, since it's not addressing the source of the problem!. also, egg laying hens are pretty much the worst treated animals in the entire farming industry!. Beef cows need to have space to roam or the quality will suffer!. But hens can be shoved into tiny cages and they'll keep laying eggs!. And when egg-laying hens reproduce and make male chicks, (because they need to reproduce to keep the numbers steady), the male chicks are killed, usually by suffocation or just by throwing them in a big dumpster!.
So really, it's a fallacy to say that any animal production industry is without death!. They don't let the milk cows hang around until they die a natural death; once they stop producing enough milk they become beef cattle!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
So really, it's a fallacy to say that any animal production industry is without death!. They don't let the milk cows hang around until they die a natural death; once they stop producing enough milk they become beef cattle!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Because there is much suffering in the dairy industry!.
Baby cows are taken away from their mothers to produce veal!. Mother cows are artificially inseminated to remain pregnant all year and therefore produce milk!.
Milk has been linked to a variety of health issues, like skin eruptions (acne) and the cause of intolerances!.
Personally, I don't like suffering & I am slightly allergic to dairy produce, so it makes sense for me to avoid it!.
Why should I consume something that I am allergic to!? Even if it is organic, it would not matter!. Milking cows may be a natural thing BUT dairy farms and slaughterhouses are not natural!. Milking by hand is not really practiced widely anymore, so cows now suffer from mastitus and other diseases!. I cut out meat because I don't like the taste and texture or the ethics behind it!.
Think about it in a logical way!. Milk is intended for baby cows!. Humans are not baby cows!.
also milk contains pus, antibiotics and blood!. Nice!.!.!.
[edit] If you don't think the egg industry creates suffering, watch this (From Jamie Oliver's programme)-->
http://www!.youtube!.com/watch!?v=PaT7Um1GD!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Baby cows are taken away from their mothers to produce veal!. Mother cows are artificially inseminated to remain pregnant all year and therefore produce milk!.
Milk has been linked to a variety of health issues, like skin eruptions (acne) and the cause of intolerances!.
Personally, I don't like suffering & I am slightly allergic to dairy produce, so it makes sense for me to avoid it!.
Why should I consume something that I am allergic to!? Even if it is organic, it would not matter!. Milking cows may be a natural thing BUT dairy farms and slaughterhouses are not natural!. Milking by hand is not really practiced widely anymore, so cows now suffer from mastitus and other diseases!. I cut out meat because I don't like the taste and texture or the ethics behind it!.
Think about it in a logical way!. Milk is intended for baby cows!. Humans are not baby cows!.
also milk contains pus, antibiotics and blood!. Nice!.!.!.
[edit] If you don't think the egg industry creates suffering, watch this (From Jamie Oliver's programme)-->
http://www!.youtube!.com/watch!?v=PaT7Um1GD!.!.!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
Your premise that it does not harm the animals is wrong!.
And cattle would not be extinct if we didn't drink thier milk, how do you think they survived before we started drinking it !?
There are plenty of breeds of cattle that survive quite happily without mans intervention!.
Here are my other observations on the milk industry that illustrate that cattle are harmed:
Artificial incemination every year
Cows would naturally calve every 2-3 years!. Dairy farms artificially inceminate them every 11 months!. This causes excessive stress on the cows body, increses the chance of prolapse and generally "wears them out" in a few years, rather than a natural 20 years!.
Protein enriched feed
The feed they are given is enriched with artificial growth foods!. these are generally made with cattle meat protiens!.
In the USA and some parts of Australiasia they use a hormone growth agent called recombinant bovine somatotropin!. Its brand name is POSILAC? and its made by Monsanto!. This increases milk yield and beef growth!. This is a synthetic hormone!. Its banned in the EU since 1988
The main mechanism these hormones work is by re-directing dietry nutrients from peripheral body tissue to mammary glands!. effectively, they are slowly killing the cow!.
70% of US cattle are injected with this growth hormone ( 2007 stats ) that the majority of the world will not entertain because they believe its too dangerous!.
Bribe/feed caged carousels
These suck!. They are large rotating carousels where the cows are caged in a space where they cannot move!. They have "black boxes" on thier legs which communicate with the main operating computer!. They are fed just the right amount of food depending on how much milk they gave yesterday!. They have added growth food if thier production drops
One person can milk about 400 cattle on a carousel so there is no time for checking the animals health - they just milk them dry and kick them out!.
killing bulls, excess calves and free martins at 1 week old
All bulls are killed at 1 week old, although some farms iin the UK started ( in 2006 ) shipping them to Continental Europe for veal again!. They do not keep any back for breeding as they bring in new blood lines!. In the UK we don't use dairy bull calves for veal anymore in country!. They are either killed, or shipped out!. Bull calves go to make low quality leather products such as cheap sofas!.
They kill all free martins as there is a good chance they will be barren!.
Strangly, they feed these animals with colostrum at birth to keep them alive, but then kill them a week later!.
excess feeding to produce 60 lites of milk per day
The growth food is all designed to produce excess milk!. Cows are naturally designed to produce about 15 litres!. The european targets for 2009 are set at 90 litres, i don't think it need me to tell you if this is heading the right or wrong direction!.
intensive rearing means low husbandry checks
As mentioned above, most automatic dairies have one milkmaid per session, thats it!. I know a dairy farm with 1200 cattle and 3 employees!. Tell me how they can ever check the cattle!.!.!.!.
removing calves from mothers after colostrum feed
This is stressful, cows bawl for weeks for thier young, calling them to be fed!. Obviously the calf cannot "run to mom" because its in dog food by now!.
killing the cow at 7 years old
Cows can naturally live to 20 years old!. Production dairy cows are killed after 4-6 births so are never kept after 7 years old!.
Hope that helps!.Www@FoodAQ@Com
And cattle would not be extinct if we didn't drink thier milk, how do you think they survived before we started drinking it !?
There are plenty of breeds of cattle that survive quite happily without mans intervention!.
Here are my other observations on the milk industry that illustrate that cattle are harmed:
Artificial incemination every year
Cows would naturally calve every 2-3 years!. Dairy farms artificially inceminate them every 11 months!. This causes excessive stress on the cows body, increses the chance of prolapse and generally "wears them out" in a few years, rather than a natural 20 years!.
Protein enriched feed
The feed they are given is enriched with artificial growth foods!. these are generally made with cattle meat protiens!.
In the USA and some parts of Australiasia they use a hormone growth agent called recombinant bovine somatotropin!. Its brand name is POSILAC? and its made by Monsanto!. This increases milk yield and beef growth!. This is a synthetic hormone!. Its banned in the EU since 1988
The main mechanism these hormones work is by re-directing dietry nutrients from peripheral body tissue to mammary glands!. effectively, they are slowly killing the cow!.
70% of US cattle are injected with this growth hormone ( 2007 stats ) that the majority of the world will not entertain because they believe its too dangerous!.
Bribe/feed caged carousels
These suck!. They are large rotating carousels where the cows are caged in a space where they cannot move!. They have "black boxes" on thier legs which communicate with the main operating computer!. They are fed just the right amount of food depending on how much milk they gave yesterday!. They have added growth food if thier production drops
One person can milk about 400 cattle on a carousel so there is no time for checking the animals health - they just milk them dry and kick them out!.
killing bulls, excess calves and free martins at 1 week old
All bulls are killed at 1 week old, although some farms iin the UK started ( in 2006 ) shipping them to Continental Europe for veal again!. They do not keep any back for breeding as they bring in new blood lines!. In the UK we don't use dairy bull calves for veal anymore in country!. They are either killed, or shipped out!. Bull calves go to make low quality leather products such as cheap sofas!.
They kill all free martins as there is a good chance they will be barren!.
Strangly, they feed these animals with colostrum at birth to keep them alive, but then kill them a week later!.
excess feeding to produce 60 lites of milk per day
The growth food is all designed to produce excess milk!. Cows are naturally designed to produce about 15 litres!. The european targets for 2009 are set at 90 litres, i don't think it need me to tell you if this is heading the right or wrong direction!.
intensive rearing means low husbandry checks
As mentioned above, most automatic dairies have one milkmaid per session, thats it!. I know a dairy farm with 1200 cattle and 3 employees!. Tell me how they can ever check the cattle!.!.!.!.
removing calves from mothers after colostrum feed
This is stressful, cows bawl for weeks for thier young, calling them to be fed!. Obviously the calf cannot "run to mom" because its in dog food by now!.
killing the cow at 7 years old
Cows can naturally live to 20 years old!. Production dairy cows are killed after 4-6 births so are never kept after 7 years old!.
Hope that helps!.Www@FoodAQ@Com