The book The Ultimate Betrayal delves into extensive research on small scale animal agriculture with humane labels and what is revealed is disheartening. Even with labels like “organic” or “certified humane,” dairy cows experience the same miseries endured in large operations and a violent slaughter is still her terrible fate.
There are inherent cruelties in both conventional dairy and dairy operations with humane and organic labels. Most cows are artificially inseminated where the farmer inserts his full arm into the cow’s rectum and with the other arm, inserts the sperm gun into her vagina. He then manipulates the cow’s internal reproductive system to “accept” the sperm. In both conventional and organic dairy production, as soon as the calf is born, he or she is taken away. This causes extreme phycological distress for both the mother and baby. The calves are frightened and confused and cry for their mothers. Cows whose calves have been taken from them bellow for their offspring and can become despondent and depressed. This is all standard procedure in dairy production. Beyond the inherent cruelty of day to day operations, brave undercover activists have documented brutal abuse of dairy cows and calves on “humane” farms, including being kicked, dragged, hit and beaten with implements such as sticks and pitchforks.
Organic dairies can actually be even worse than commercial dairy. Cows in dairy production regularly suffer from mastitis, a painful infection of the udder. Mastitis can cause the udder to swell, have open, oozing sores, and makes it extremely painful to be milked. In conventional dairy farming, cows are given antibiotics and other medications to reduce the painful effects of mastitis, but the organic standards don’t allow for these substances to be used. If an organic farmer wanted to give his cow medicine to ease her suffering, he would have to take her out of production and couldn’t sell her milk. So often, they continue to milk her even with advanced cases of painful mastitis. Cows suffering in severe pain at milking from mastitis are often on organic dairies, so in reality, labels like organic and certified humane can mean that they animals suffered even more than on a larger operation. Don’t buy the lie of “humane” labeling and please, don’t buy dairy.
Learn more at HumaneHoax.org.
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