Becoming vegan 2 years ago was the best decision of my life.  I'd been lacto-vegetarian for over a decade, not realising, rather not wanting to face up to, the cruelty involved in dairy "production." 

There's a certain freedom that comes with being vegan.  I highly recommend it to all ethical vegetarians - take it to the next level, you won't regret it.

I can completely empathize with these bellowing cows - as I'm sure any woman, mother, human, whose has been separated or lost a loved one. Though I didn't give birth to my furbaby, Copper, I did raise him from 6 weeks old for almost 9 years when he died of a brain tumor. It was 4 months ago that we were parted, and my heart still bellows out for him. If I wasn't already vegan, this article would've certainly changed me.

I think Sara points to something very important here. "Animal rights" is inherently a Feminist issue. From the exploitation detailed above, to the idea of linked oppressions – sexism, speciesism – feminists should look very hard at their reinforcement of patriarchy through their decision to eat the body parts of another animal.

As a dairy farmer I feel the need to state a couple of facts.  The bellowing that you refer to actually end within hours of the calf being removed, or at least it should be.  Most often on a dairy farm the calf is removed within 2-5 hours of birth, allowing enough time for the calf and cow to bond.  The calf is moved to an appropriate facility where the calf recieves top notch care.  The cow is moved to another facility to be cared for as well.  Farmers put their cows first, I know we do.  Please contact your local dairy farmers to learn more about how much we care for our girls :)

I can assure you that I am a dairy farmer with a heart.  We milk 100 cows, I know every one of them by name.  My remark is not for PR but to stand up for myself and the job that I love.  Believe me, it is heartbreaking to look into those blue eyes and know that I can't help out one of my "girls".  I cry anytime we have to send a cow to slaughter, or when we lose one to illness.  It's a sad day on our farm, for me and my husband both when we lose one of the herd. 

As for the cow/calf issue: I can assure you on our farm, our calves are well taken care of, with lots of love.  The calf is removed to prevent the transfer of bacteria to the cow's udder (which would cause mastitis-infection of the udder) and the transfer of bacteria to the calf (which causes digestive illnesses).  Our calves are fed milk from cows for the first 3 days of their lives.  After that we switch them to a milk replacer.  The cow is moved to a special pen where she can focus on eating, drinking, resting and recooperating after calving.  If she were with her calf yet, she would focus on the calf instead of herself.  I can admit that there are a few bad apples in this industry, but as a whole the dairy industry cares about their cows, if we didn't we wouldn't make any money farming.  Because if you visited a dairy farm, you would learn that happy comfortable cows make profitable cows.  It's the way it works...the better job farmers do taking care of their cows the better returns we have on our investments....the cows.  They are a non-renewable resource we have to take care of....so I guess I won't admit that I am wrong, just that I care and until you can walk in my shoes you may never see that.

Shannon, I think there is a HUGE difference between small farmers and industrialized factory farms.  If things would go back to being family owned/operated businesses, then we wouldn't have the horrible conditions that we see at the factories.

You even said it that your cows get sent to slaughter.  If you're a smaller operation, can't you euthanize them or find an alternative to the slaughterhouse? 

Like you said, I won't ever walk in your shoes, but constructive and compassionate dialogue is the closest we'll get.

Lisa, I understand your intentions, but I'm going to disagree about the "huge difference."

A small farm such as Shannon's may differ in terms of methods and in terms of the degree of suffering and exploitation, but the cruel fundamentals are the same: cows are impregnated, their calves are cruelly stripped away from them, the calves are fed substandard formula until being brutally killed, and ultimately, when the cows stop being profit-making machines, they're killed too.

Calves are not taken away from their mothers after one hour or one day or three days for the benefit of cow and calf--those calves would naturally nurse for 6-12 months or longer, and it's remarkable that the dairy industry can argue it's in the mother and child's interest that they separate them (or why aren't human babies pulled away from their mothers after a couple days?). Calves are taken away from their mothers because that's the business of dairy--impregnating mother cows so that they will produce milk for their calves and then taking the calves away and, most often, slaughtering them while they are newborns, so that humans can have the cows' milk, for which humans have no nutritional need.

"If she were with her calf yet, she would focus on the calf instead of herself."

Yes, Shannon, and that says it all, doesn't it? That's what this whole post was about--the forcible, cruel, unnecessary breaking of the bond between mother and child, for human profit. The cow should be focusing on both herself and her calf after birth. That's natural. Forgive my bluntness, but the dairy industry's concern is not the mother's well-being; it is well-being of the bottom line--the concern is getting the mother away into steady milk production for human profit.

And even if the cows were being "euthanized" rather than sent to slaughter when they stopped producing enough milk to be profitable, the industry wouldn't be any more humane. The industry would still be predicated on the cruelty of what's done to mother and young, on taking from cows what is not ours to take, on killing countless baby and even newborn calves, and on ultimately killing mother cows at a fraction of their natural life span.

But I believe you that you care, Shannon (though I think you're being either naive or dishonest about how many "bad apples" there are in the industry). I even believe that you may cry as you watch the cows heading off to horrible slaughter. But the flip clearly hasn't switched all the way over yet. If it pains you so to see the cows head toward the slaughterhouse, and you really do care as much as you say you do about the cows and their calves, it's time to start exploring another area of work.

Thanks Stephanie.  I was mostly referring to the "size" of the operations.  Of course the idea of pastures vs. filth.  Bottom line is still bottom line, though.

Lisa:  I guess we view slaughter as a form of recycling.  This way the animal is not wasted, and used for other items.  It's a continuance of the food chain.  If we didn't eat them, the coyotes and wolves would eat them.  Also we do not have drugs that the USDA has approved to euthanize animals.  Our only alternative is to put a bullet in their head and compost their bodies or sell them to a factory which makes dog and cat food.  We would rather watch the cow leave the farm standing up rather than as a dead body.
As for size, 99% of all dairy farms in the United States are family owned.  Regardless of size, dairies are family owned, many of which support multiple families (father, son, uncles, cousins).  Our own farm has about 200 cows, 100 of our own and 100 that are my father in law's.  At face value it would be a "large farm" to you, to the dairy industry we are a small farm (less than 300 cows is "small").  In the dairy industry larger farms have the ability to afford better technology and employees to watch their cows, and actually do a better job taking care of their animals.  As for the "bad apples" that I refer to, that refers to farms regardless of size.  I know of small farms that I would never think about drinking milk from their farms, but I know 1000 cows dairies that I would trust.  It depends on the dairyman in charge. As a whole I believe that our industry is listening to consumers and making changes to promote better animal welfare and milk quality.  Stay tuned for good things coming, but know that we have been doing a great job for years.

Stephanie:  I am sorry that you believe we are harming the cows and calves by moving them.  Believe it or not, the longer the calf stays with the cow, the greater the chance of calf death.  If allowed to suckle the cow, the calf will contract a digestive disease such as e-coli, or salmonella (both of which can be deadly to the calf).  No matter how clean of an environment a calf is born in, germs are still there.  Often dairies sterilize the calving pens to help reduce transfer of these germs.  Dairy cows are not beef cows, they are not as strong of a breed therefore if they spend more time focusing on the calf the cow will not eat her feed, she will not drink water or even take the time to pass her placenta.  Reduced intake of feed and water will lead to displaced abomasums (stomach), milk fever, and ketosis (energy deficiency).  If the cow does not pass her placenta she will most definitely contract an infection and become very ill.  Dairymen step in to make sure the cow takes care of herself first: eating, drinking and taking time to passher placenta, while the farmer takes care of the calf.  The calf could be given cow's milk, but it would need to be pasteurized first to make sure that it is safe for the calf to drink.  Many larger dairies are currently feeding pastuerized cows' milk to their calves. 

As for my personal feelings, I knew you would take that stance.  I continue my profession to prove to animal rights activists such as yourself, that we do in fact have the animals' best interests in mind.  I work hard each day to make sure that my cows live full and happy lives.  I can proudly state that our oldest cows are over 10 years old, exceeding the average lifetime of a Holstein cow.  Keeping our cows healthy and happy is in our best interests as well as the cows.  I do love the work that I do because I get to work with beautiful animals, each with their own personalities so whether I milk 100 or 1000 cows I will still love what I do.  Thanks for your concern regardless.

I remind you that cows are still animals and not humans, but we still treat them with respect.  Also as animals, cows would be food for other animals in the wild if we did not take care of them.  It is the circle of life.

Thanks for enlightening me about the dairy cow industry. There is so much to learn. I recently became a vegetarian, but have not given up dairy yet. I'm a work in progress. Getting there, but I need the facts and a better option to replace milk. Please help. What kind of product is best?
Help me turn Vegan...please. I need more information.
One step at a time... when we know better...we live better.
I did not know enough about the treatment of dairy cows. This article was a big wake-up call for me. Thanks.

Thank you Shannon for being a wonderful farmer. Your cows are LUCKY.