When you reach for the milk in the morning or add a slice of cheese on your sandwich or have ice cream, do you know where your milk actually comes from and how it reaches your table?
With an increasing demand for dairy, most of our milk today does not come from family small-run dairy farms with a few dozen cows, but instead from enormous dairies that house thousands of cows for the singular purpose of using their milk for the production of various milk-based items like cheese, butter, ghee or ice-cream.
Dairy cows do not live under conditions that give maximum consideration to their health, but are often kept in miserable environments. In order to meet the growing demand of milk across the world, the cows are now injected with artificial growth hormones that push them to produce milk at an unnatural rate that cuts their lifespan.
One should not underestimate the contribution of dairy farms to environmental pollution. They add substantial amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Dairy operations can also be significant contributors to water pollution and soil degradation when manure and feed crop production are poorly managed. The manure is stored in huge pits that smell terrible and are prone to leak and contaminate the water in surrounding areas.
Even economically, these large dairies produce so much milk that the price paid to farmers for milk has plummeted — forcing many small family-run dairy farms out of business and even leading to an increase in the number of farmer suicides.
Some environmental issues faced are:
AIR
Emissions of ammonia can damage downstream habitats, resulting in the loss of species diversity. The odour from dairy farm can negatively impact air quality.
WATER
Dairy operations can consume large volumes of water to grow feed, water cows, manage manure and process products. Additionally, manure and fertilizer runoff from dairy farms can pollute water resources.
SOIL HEALTH
Livestock farming is one of the main contributors to soil erosion around the world. Turning forests into pasture and overgrazing can lead to extreme loss of topsoil that could take decades or centuries to replace.
ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE
Improper handling of dairy cows decreases the productivity of cows due to stress and ill health, and leads to disease in cattle.
In conclusion, the dairy industry is destructive to animals, people, and the environment. Therefore, the best option is to turn vegan or to support small, local farms to reduce one’s carbon footprint. It is also the best way to reject the horrific treatment that billions of animals suffer on factory farms every single year.
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