https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/aug/07/milk-environmental-impact
http://www.whitelies.org.uk/environment/environmental-impact
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/the-dairy-industry-and-the-environment/
https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/dairy
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2008/07/cows_or_beans.html
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_green_lantern/2008/05/will_labgrown_meat_save_the_planet.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/business/energy-environment/how-growth-in-dairy-is-affecting-the-environment.html?_r=0
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969714002125
http://theconversation.com/soy-versus-dairy-whats-the-footprint-of-milk-8498
http://e360.yale.edu/features/as_dairy_farms_grow_bigger_new_concerns_about_pollution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZcUrWAK-8Q
http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/animals-used-food-factsheets/cows-milk-cruel-unhealthy-product/
Female cows are artificially inseminated shortly after their first birthdays.3 After giving birth, they lactate for 10 months and are then inseminated again, continuing the cycle. Some spend their entire lives standing on concrete floors; others are confined to massive, crowded lots, where they are forced to live amid their own feces. A North Carolina dairy closed its doors following revelations from a whistleblower that the cows were forced to eat, walk and sleep in knee-deep waste.4 Please visit PETA.org for more information on this case.
Cows have a natural lifespan of about 20 years and can produce milk for eight or nine years.5 However, the stress caused by the conditions on factory farms leads to disease, lameness, and reproductive problems that render cows worthless to the dairy industry by the time that they’re 4 or 5 years old, at which time they are sent to be slaughtered.6,7
Mastitis
Painful inflammation of the mammary glands, or mastitis, is common among cows raised for their milk, and it is one of dairy farms’ most frequently cited reasons for sending cows to slaughter. There are about 150 bacteria that can cause the disease, one of which is E. coli.12 Symptoms are not always visible, so milk’s somatic cell count (SCC) is checked to determine whether the milk is infected. Somatic cells include white blood cells and skin cells that are normally shed from the lining of the udder. As in humans, white blood cells—also known as “pus”—are produced as a means of combating infection. The SCC of healthy milk is below 100,000 cells per milliliter; however, the dairy industry is allowed to combine milk from all the cows in a herd in order to arrive at a “bulk tank” somatic cell count (BTSCC).13 Milk with a maximum BTSCC of 750,000 cells per milliliter can be sold.14 A BTSCC of 700,000 or more generally indicates that two-thirds of the cows in the herd are suffering from udder infections.15
Painful inflammation of the mammary glands, or mastitis, is common among cows raised for their milk, and it is one of dairy farms’ most frequently cited reasons for sending cows to slaughter. There are about 150 bacteria that can cause the disease, one of which is E. coli.12 Symptoms are not always visible, so milk’s somatic cell count (SCC) is checked to determine whether the milk is infected. Somatic cells include white blood cells and skin cells that are normally shed from the lining of the udder. As in humans, white blood cells—also known as “pus”—are produced as a means of combating infection. The SCC of healthy milk is below 100,000 cells per milliliter; however, the dairy industry is allowed to combine milk from all the cows in a herd in order to arrive at a “bulk tank” somatic cell count (BTSCC).13 Milk with a maximum BTSCC of 750,000 cells per milliliter can be sold.14 A BTSCC of 700,000 or more generally indicates that two-thirds of the cows in the herd are suffering from udder infections.15
Human Bodies Fight Cow’s Milk
Besides humans (and companion animals who are fed by humans), no species drinks milk beyond infancy or drinks the milk of another species. Cow’s milk is suited to the nutritional needs of calves, who have four stomachs and gain hundreds of pounds in a matter of months, sometimes weighing more than 1,000 pounds before they are 2 years old.28
Besides humans (and companion animals who are fed by humans), no species drinks milk beyond infancy or drinks the milk of another species. Cow’s milk is suited to the nutritional needs of calves, who have four stomachs and gain hundreds of pounds in a matter of months, sometimes weighing more than 1,000 pounds before they are 2 years old.28
Cow’s milk is the number one cause of food allergies among infants and children, according to the American Gastroenterological Association.29 Most people begin to produce less lactase, the enzyme that helps with the digestion of milk, when they are as young as 2 years old. This reduction can lead to lactose intolerance.30 Millions of Americans are lactose intolerant, and an estimated 90 percent of Asian-Americans and 75 percent of Native- and African-Americans suffer from the condition, which can cause bloating, gas, cramps, vomiting, headaches, rashes, and asthma.31 A U.K. study showed that people who suffered from irregular heartbeats, asthma, headaches, fatigue, and digestive problems “showed marked and often complete improvements in their health after cutting milk from their diets.”32
