Saturday, April 5, 2008

Before eating, think about where milk comes from

I did not compose the following essay. It was a letter to the editor recently printed in my newspaper, which brought me to tears. This letter brings to mind the recent Hallmark meatpacking scandal, which is common in factory farming. I share it here with you.

Once there was a cow #83729. She lived on a factory farm and never saw sunlight or felt grass under her feet. She was repeatedly impregnated. Her babies were always taken away within a day of being born, because humans wanted the milk that was meant for her calves. #83729 was milked for 10 months a year (including seven of her nine months of pregnancy). No wonder that only after four years they sent her worn-out body to slaughter.

She has also become lame because of the strain of constantly being pregnant and giving milk. During the transportation she fell and couldn't get up. They pulled her out of the truck with a chain and she crashed to the ground breaking her hip bone. They rammed her with a forklift in an attempt to make her stand up. When that didn't work they jabbed her in the eyes and sprayed water into her nose. Finally she managed to stand up and with staggering feet she walked to the killing floor where she died a horrible death. Next time you enjoy your ice cream or slice of pizza, please think about where the milk to make those things came from. Terhi Stratton, printed in the Idaho Statesman (02-27-08)


To sign-off on an upbeat, I leave you with a delicious milk-free muffin!

'Double Chocolate Muffins' from La Dolce Vegan, pg. 236.

Trust me, even finicky kids can't tell it's soy milk inside.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've heard so many stories like that, and each time, it breaks my heart. That's why I`m trying to eliminate meat from my meals. Once I can do that, it`ll be dairy products. I just have to take it step by step.

Anonymous said...

I've heard so many stories like that, and each time, it breaks my heart. That's why I`m trying to eliminate meat from my meals. Once I can do that, it`ll be dairy products. I just have to take it step by step.

Mrs McAvoy's Buzz said...

Hi
I am a new vegan and I have a blog, although it's not about veganism, apart from a couple of links down the sidebar. I would like to post more about my veganism. Would you mind if I used this letter, I would say where it came from.
I love your blog BTW. I'd love to try some of your baked goods. I can cook but I'm terrible at baking, nothing ever turns out!

DJ said...

The plight of the animals enslaved in the factory farming machine is just heartbreaking - it's up to us to lead by example through our lifestyles to show others that animals don't need to be abused in order to sustain us.

aTxVegn said...

That's awesome that your paper would publish that letter. I hope it hits home with many many people.

Bea Elliott said...

Wonderful to put into perspective what this (one) poor cow's life was like - I think we loose the message sometime through the unimaginable mass of numbers.....

I used to be vegetarian thinking "oh I'm doing my part for animals" Needless to say, once I learned the truth about factory farms and the "dark side of dairy" - I couldn't eliminate cheese/dairy/eggs fast enough.

For your readers eliminating animal products bit by bit is also a huge step in the right direction - Just one or two days a month with a switch to a plant based diet will do wonders for health & heart....

Great site - will add you to my favorites and check back often -

Thanks for inviting comment...
Go Vegan!

moi + toi PHOTOGRAPHIE said...

so sad but so true.

Amey said...

Hi Vicki,
That's awesome that this letter was in the Idaho Statesman!

Now I want Olivia's muffin, badly!!

xo Amey

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Powerful letter - thank goodness it was published!

Those muffins!! Yum!! :0)

urban vegan said...

It's great to write from the animal's perspective. Sadly, most poeple are so far removed fromt heir food that they don't knwo where it comes from--or at what cruel price. It's easier to live in a state of blissful denial. I am not being preachy--this was my strate of mind before going vegan.

And on a hppier note, yowsa--did you save amuffin for me? ;)

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Veg*n Mom said...

Hi Vicki,

I'm a vegan in Chicago and my seven-year-old daughter and I enjoy visiting your blog. She especially likes to see the photos of your girls cooking.

Speaking of vegan cookies, we tried your banana chocolate chip cookie recipe last week (we've tried it twice now actually) and it is wonderful. The cookies turn out so moist, you'd never know they're missing eggs or dairy.

Anyway, I tried emailing you offline to see if it would be okay to link to you from my blog, but I couldn't find an email address.

If interested, I posted about your cookies...

http://www.mygalleykitchen.com

Katy

Derrick Jones said...

Thanks for that report and thinks for being here....

Peace

Derrick