“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
– Gandhi
WHAT GOES IN YOUR GLASS OF MILK?
People are not the only living things to experience stress. The animals have to deal with extremely stressful conditions on a daily basis. However, as humans, we fail to acknowledge that “animals have feelings” by subjecting them to numerous atrocities for our own consumption and convenience. Humans consider animals as “less valuable.” This belief leads to the exploitation and abuse of animals, also known as animal cruelty.
One such breeding ground of animal abuse is the dairy industry. In India, the dairy market reached a value of INR 10,540 Billion in 2019. I seriously questioned the veneration people express towards cows in Hinduism on learning the dairy industry’s horrors. How is it sacred to torture an animal physically, emotionally, and mentally, for milk?
WHAT IS THE BITTER TRUTH OF THE DAIRY INDUSTRY?
Cows are forcibly inseminated once a year for the milk to be produced. This continual artificial insemination and harsh treatment reduce their life span by more than ten years. When the calf is born, the cow grows very fond of her baby as the case is in humans. These cows lactate only on giving birth, and their milk is for their calves, just like human mothers. However, most all cows’ milk is extracted for selling milk and milk products for human consumption. This results in inflammation and injuries to the cow’s udders.
Not to mention the horrible conditions they dwell in, including having to sit on their own excreta in such close quarters with other animals.
After birth,
If the calf is female, she is given a few drops of milk and is raised as milk making machine like her mother. In the early days, the calf is kept away from the mother. There are millions of videos on YouTube where we can see the mother weeping for its baby. Imagine the plight of a mother who cannot even see her newborn baby? It would be considered immoral if it were a human baby. But animals are inferior to us, and after all these years, this heinous act has been normalized.
If the calf is male, they are used to plow lands, killed in slaughter for meat consumption, or skinned for leather. The cow goes through extreme grief and anguish after the male calf is taken away in trucks. They are also seen running behind trucks in distress and pain.
In the absence of her baby, the cow refuses even to stand still for farmers to pump out milk from her udders to ensure seamless milking; a khalbaccha is placed to mimic its baby’s presence. In some instances, the tail and the calf’s head are dismantled from its body and placed at the ends of a stick. Is this showing reverence towards cows?
But, sadly, the constant insemination of hormones and other injections like the oxytocin for increasing milk production reduces the life span of a cow, she is unable to reproduce after a point, and her existence becomes useless to the farmers. These cows are then sent to the slaughterhouse to die.
So,
Don’t get fooled by dairy products’ ads, showing happy cows, dancing, and guaranteeing you stronger bones. The ugly truth behind your glass of milk will leave you heartbroken. And remember no cattle will ever be glad to provide their milk for human consumption.
THE KEY IS COMPASSION!
India is the world’s largest milk producer, which thrives on severe animal abuse, especially that of cows. The glass of milk you savor is procured by the practice of inflicting extreme pain on cattle. Mothers are sacrificed to give up their babies and exploited in horrendous ways to provide for the humankind. The saddest part is that being alive becomes a mentally excruciating journey for all these animals.
We as humans need to show compassion towards all animals, empathize with them and treat them kindness. Stop being selective when it comes to showing love towards them, be it your beloved dog or a cow, both deserves to be equally loved
We must understand that animals also deserve to live with dignity, just like humans!
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