A question about milk production ...

Liney_2

savvy wrote:

30-60% of British cows suffer from mastitis where traces of pus from infected teats can seep into the milk. Current regulations permit millions of pus cells per litre.

OMG that is gross!

I have already stopped eating meat due to a previous thread on MSE you lot will have me a Vegan in no time. I thought Organic milk was so much better as in the animals are cared for better.

I don't know anything about milking but why do the cows have to be pregnant all the time? In humans we give birth, the milk comes and as long as it is expressed by the baby/pump/hand whatever more milk is forthcoming. Is it different for cows then?

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule

Liney wrote:

I don't know anything about milking but why do the cows have to be pregnant all the time? In humans we give birth, the milk comes and as long as it is expressed by the baby/pump/hand whatever more milk is forthcoming. Is it different for cows then?

You couldn't express for the rest of your life though. There is a very limited length of time in which you will continue to produce milk of a meaningful quantity.

a little more info at http://www.chooseveg.com/dairy.asp - There is very little information on animal rights stuff online, the best thing would be to try and contact your local group and ask them for some literature.

mrs-moneypenny

our daughter is vegan and gave us the horror stories of milk production, that went 1/2 way to putting me off it then i heard from someone that the hormones in milk can increase the chances of prostrate problems in men so we switched to alpro pretty quick! i know its dearer than cows milk but my concience is a lot happier and hopefully i'm helping my families health.
Saying that i still have milk chocolate- i cant give up my galaxy just yet.

Before i panic anyone with the prostrate comment it has come from a person who has a history of prostrate cancer in his family and he hasnt touched milk since finding the info.

savvy

mrs-moneypenny wrote:

Before i panic anyone with the prostrate comment it has come from a person who has a history of prostrate cancer in his family and he hasnt touched milk since finding the info.

It's also in the Book of Optimum Nutrition by Patrick Holford, his book includes many studies into nutrition, cow's milk is one and suggests that it can not only be a cause for prostate cancer but also breast cancer due to the elevated levels of oestrogen.

amboy

I always thought Goats milk was a far better option for humans as we are more closer to the goats size, fat cells etc.

Does anybody know if this is correct and what are techniques for milking goats as horrifying as cows?

On a slight side note I was very interested to see goat formula powder in health/wholefood shops, however when talking to the medical profession about it they were adamant that it had not been approved and should not be used etc etc.

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule

Donkey milk is the closest to human milk. Unfortunately it's a bit of a fashion at the minute to drink it, it's the 'miracle cure all', so now millions of donkeys are suffering the fate that was once reserved for cows.

Still, if people are happy to drink the creamy white sticky milk that comes out of an !!!........

As for goats milk formula - it's not approved for use in Europe, but that doesn't mean it is unsuitable (although it isn't suitable, just like cows milk formula is unsuitable).

impster

savvy wrote:

In addition to that, the cows are not only distressed (some have been known to travel for miles and bellow for days to find their young) at having their new borns taken from them within a few days (to bottle the milk for human consumption), 30-60% of British cows suffer from mastitis where traces of pus from infected teats can seep into the milk. Current regulations permit millions of pus cells per litre.

In addition around 30% of the total UK milk yield comes from permanently confined zero grazed cows (Animal Aid literature)

I'll stop there, as some of the intensive farming practices are pretty disgusting (and I used to work on a farm and live next door to a dairy farm ), and hence some of the reasons we have switched to soya and rice milk in recent years!

I have to admit i'm quite appalled at what's being said on this thread - and to be honest, the quote above is just one of the many on this thread that has simply reinforced my belief that these 'horror' stories are spreading out of control. I'm not a farmer, but do live in a strong farming area and have many friends who are farming.

Please, please do not believe everything negative that's written about farming. Dairy cattle do are not mistreated - quite the opposite. This sounds silly but a miserable cow has a very low milk yield. It's in the dairy farmers' interest to keep their herds in the best of health, with good 'living' conditions and pastures as lush as possible. Ill-health or stressful conditions are massively detrimental to milk yield, fat content of milk etc.

As for them being 'kept' pregnant - this is vastly exagurated. Admitedly pregnancy rejuvenates lactaction, but please don't think of cattle as breeding machines.

I am so annoyed at some pressure groups - some of which are pretending to be educational organisations - who will do whatever they can to spread misinformation about what is in the most part a perfectly legitimate industry.

Believe me - any farmers who mistreat their stock are soon found out by the farmers who treat their stock well - and as you can probably imagine, word spreads and pretty soon wheels are put in motion to deal with the situation.

By all means, become veggie or vegan - but please don't do it simply based upon the exagurations and lies that are often spread.

Impster.

tr3mor

I'd like to second Impster's post.

My girlfriend's family are dairy farmers, they treat their cows well, as said above an unhappy cow doesn't give much milk.

After spending time around their farm I'd have no qualms about drinking milk, eating beef or lamb.

Moggles_2

I always thought Goats milk was a far better option for humans as we are more closer to the goats size, fat cells etc.

Picking up Amboy's question (#16), Goat's milk is regarded as nutritionally superior because it's not pasteurised.

Moggles_2

Researchers from the universities of Glasgow and Liverpool analysed milk from different farms over a three year period.

It turns out "you are what you eat" applies to cows as well as people. A pint of organic cows' milk has an average 68% more of omega 3 essential fatty acids than conventional milk.

These fatty acids are vital for normal brain function. Adequate consumption has been linked to reduced risk of heart disease and some forms of cancer, yet average western diets are generally depleted.

The Food Standards Agency acknowledges that some people may want to avoid the pesticide residues associated with factory farming and support organic production which is better for the environment and animal welfare, but the Agency has always maintained there's no evidence that organic food is better for human health.

The researchers have now asked the FSA for formal recognition that organic milk is nutritionally superior.

The official line that there's no nutritional difference between organic produce and intensively farmed food is about to be challenged at last.