Are you wondering why vegans don't drink milk and why you should avoid cow's milk in the first place? Then you've come to the right place! First of all: vegans drink milk. They simply prefer Vegetable milk alternativesthat do not come from animals.
I also drank cow's milk regularly until I was almost 30 years old. It was only at some point that I realized why cows give milk at all, what environmental impact the "modern" form of animal husbandry has and how I can easily replace animal milk. And then I stopped drinking it completely stress-free and from one day to the next.
In this article, I would like to explain why vegans don't drink milk. You will also automatically learn the most important reasons for switching to plant-based milk. Let's go!
Notice: Of course, in addition to cow's milk, there are dozens of other "milk types" that are systematically extracted from animals. For example, camel, buffalo or sheep's milk. However, for the sake of simplicity, I will refer to cow's milk in this article.
10 reasons: Why don't vegans drink milk?
We can therefore answer the question "Are vegans allowed to drink milk?" with a resounding yes. However, we are not talking about animal cow's or goat's milk, but plant-based milk. For example Soy, oat, rice or almond milk. So the table of alternatives is really well set.
Incidentally, the basic question this article revolves around could also be "Why don't vegans eat cheese?" or "Why don't vegans consume dairy products?". What I'm trying to say is: you're learning here today not only the reasons for giving up animal milkbut the motives for switching from animal dairy products to plant-based alternatives.
I am sure that not only their taste, but also one of the following arguments will convince you to use plant-based dairy products in the future.
1. because animal cruelty and exploitation of animals does not end
Even if you give up meat in the future, which is a really important step, there is still no reason to consume cow's milk. Animal suffering takes place.
This is because the so-called "dairy cow" must be Factory farming among other things again and again are artificially impregnated against their will and kept in cramped stables under great physical suffering. Antibiotics are administered to the animals so that they can survive the ordeal.
Tip: If you want to get an honest picture of the processes involved in intensive livestock farming, then be sure to take a look at this Documentaries about veganism an.
2. because the mental suffering of animals also continues
As cows are artificially impregnated, they are given a regular diet for as long as possible. offspring, which are then snatched from them about 48 hours after birthso that cow's milk is available to us humans.
The suckler cows run after their babiesuntil the stable door slams shut in front of them. These pictures (for example in the Dominion film) are difficult to watch. Nevertheless, they have also made me aware of the emotional stress of farm animals.
Vegans don't end up drinking milk because they don't understand the production process. are not compatible with their own moral values can.
3. because there are countless animal-free milk alternatives
Why should we drink milk that is produced under questionable conditions and requires sacrifices? That's definitely what all vegans think!
The following alternativesto easily do without cow's milk are already available in almost all organic stores and supermarkets:
- Soy milk
- Oat milk
- Almond milk
- Lupine milk
- Spelt milk
- Rice milk
- Hemp milk
The list could be a few lines longer. However, it is more important to me that you realize that the choice of plant-based milk alternatives is huge. So there is generally no need to drink cow's milk.
Tip: The products are not only available in supermarkets and organic markets, but also online. So be sure to take a look at these milk substitute products at Velivery* on. They definitely make the changeover easier!
4. because air, water and soil continue to be polluted
But the victims of the dairy industry are not even just the animals themselves! Factory farming, for example, with its Greenhouse gases (e.g., CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide) also contribute quite significantly to the climate change with. And, as we all know, it claims victims all over the world.
One of the victims is not least agriculture itself. Periods of drought and Extreme weather is increasing due to global warming and the fertility of the soil - and crop yields suffer as a result.
By the way, one liter of milk produces three liters Slurry.1 This is used as a fertilizer, but in the end, with nitrates and antibiotics, it is also used for Danger to the soil, groundwater - and not least for our health.
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5. because animals are not high performance machines
In the middle of the 20th century, dairy cows still squeezed 2,349 liters out of their udders. Today, this figure has more than tripled to 8,059 liters.2 Converted, the "high-performance machines" thus produce 26 liters of milk a day!
That is barbaricdon't you think? Barbaric and one of the reasons, Why being a vegetarian is not enoughif you want to prevent animal suffering. The physical strain on the animals is simply too extreme.
So vegans also avoid milk from cows because they don't like the Animals as emotional beings which, of course, they are. Anyone who likes to drink cow's milk should therefore always bear in mind that it is cannot be produced without animal suffering.
6. because it is mother's milk for calves
As I said before, I used to drink a lot of cow's milk. But at some point I learned that cows only give milk when they have given birth to a calf. And that they are therefore basically artificially impregnated permanently until they are completely exhausted and no longer give milk.
However, their offspring do not see much of the milk because farmers separate the mother cow and calf shortly after birth. Simply so that as much of the milk as possible can be sold.
But it is breast milk! Would you drink breast milk from a mother other than your own? Probably not, right? But that doesn't seem to be a problem for many people when it comes to cow's milk. In any case, vegans don't drink milk because it is it is unnatural to drink the breast milk of another living being or another specieswhich is actually intended for its offspring.
7. because the animals have to die anyway...
If you're still wondering why vegans don't drink milk, here's the next argument: when dairy cows stop giving milk due to exhaustion, they are for the brutal dairy industry worthless and are therefore processed into meat.
As dairy cows only give milk for up to 6 years, they have to die well before their natural life expectancy. Under natural conditions, cows can live to be over 20 years old. At the "Hof Butenland" farm, the cow "Milla" has even lived to be over 25 years old.3
But it is not only the suckler cow that at some point no longer has any value for the dairy industry. Young male calves, which naturally give no milk at all, are already "useless" for the dairy industry from birth. And they should certainly not drink the mother's milk that we humans consume. That's why male calves are slaughtered shortly after birth and processed into veal.
One reason why vegans don't drink milk is because higher demand would ensure that even more male calves born and neglected or killed be
8. because the alternatives are healthier
Cow's milk is a industrially processed productwhich has to be homogenized, cut up, pasteurized and heat-treated. In addition, the cows in their cramped, dark stalls Antibiotics are mixed into the feed. Drugs that have also been detected in meat and milk from the supermarket.4
Fact on the side: Around 50 percent of antibiotics in Germany are used for livestock.5 The ingested residues in food make us more resistant to the drug - and inhibit its effect in the moments when we really need it.
Plant-based milk, on the other hand, usually has purely natural ingredients. They are Significantly lower in fat and also have a better Fatty acid pattern. This is another reason why it can be said that a balanced, vegan diet healthier is.
Around 75 percent of the world's adult population also has a Lactose intolerance6 and cannot digest milk from cows, goats or sheep due to the lack of the enzyme lactase. In Germany, only a small proportion of the population is lactose intolerant, which is simply a consequence of thousands of years of livestock farming.
So vegans don't drink milk from cows because they don't want to consume their plant-based milk. Alternatives for healthier and more natural keep. This is because the human body is by no means dependent on drinking animal milk.
9. because the deforestation of the rainforests continues
Keeping cows is very resource-intensive. After all, they need to eat and drink. To ensure they grow quickly, they are usually given soybean meal from South America.
The rising consumption of animal products such as meat and milk has increased the demand for this protein-rich animal feed enormously. As a result, for example 70 percent of Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest on the back of the livestock industry, as new grazing areas have to be created.7
The keeping of livestock such as cows is a key factor in ensuring that Forests make way for animal feed cultivation and pastureland have to. Ultimately, of course, it is also largely responsible for the global species extinctions. Other good reasons for vegans not to drink milk from animals.
Tip: What else you can do in your everyday life to save the rainforests you can find out in the linked blog post.
10. because going without has a positive impact on the range of products on offer in the supermarket
Never think that you can't change anything in your everyday life. Vegans also avoid cow's milk because they know that they can make a positive change to what is available in supermarkets. And the successes are already evidentThe Sales of vegan dairy products on the rise in Germany from year to year.
All well-known markets already offer a variety of plant-based milk alternatives. By offering jointly reduce the demand for cow's milk and more sustainable offerings, ultimately the Cruelty to animals and Environmental destruction by the dairy industry. Another strong reason to avoid cow's milk, don't you think?
Tip: More Veganism statistics and facts can be found in the linked article.
Why don't vegans drink milk? Because they don't have to!
And there are simply countless alternatives - soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, oat milk! Just try them out - they are usually just a hand's reach away from cow's milk.
Incidentally, organic cow's milk is not a sustainable and animal-friendly alternative either! Because no matter how green a cow actually grazes - in the end, it is exploited and killed by us humans because we have acquired a taste for its mother's milk. A habit that vegans want to change by no longer drinking milk from cows.
"The world is not an inferior product, and animals are not a fabrication for our use."
Arthur Schopenhauer (more at Animal welfare quotes)
Use the following further contributions to gradually eat a more plant-based diet:
- Going vegan - how to get started
- Reasons for veganism
- Make your own vegan scrambled eggs
- Is lactic acid vegan and lactose-free?
I hope that the above arguments have sensitized you to the background of the dairy industry. Do you have any questions or can you think of any other reasons to avoid animal milk? Then feel free to write me a comment.
Stay animal-friendly and sustainable,
PS: Few things are worse than buying cow's milk and then letting it go bad. In the article Reduce food wasteyou will receive countless tips to ensure that less of your groceries end up in the trash.
References:
- PETA Deutschland e.V.: Liquid manure - 4 reasons why liquid manure pollutes the environment and health (as of June 2022), available at https://www.peta.de/guelle. [07.02.2024]. ↩︎
- A. Deter: How much milk does a cow give (as at: 29.07.2019), available at https://t1p.de/2vhz. [07.02.2024]. ↩︎
- Hof Butenland Foundation: Milla - Probably the oldest cow in the country celebrates her 25th Kuhday today, available at https://www.stiftung-fuer-tierschutz.de/2016/05/milla-die-vermutlich-aelteste-kuh-des-landes-feiert-heute-ihren-25ten-kuhday. [07.02.2024]. ↩︎
- R-Biopharm AG: Antibiotic residues, available at https://t1p.de/gk4a. [07.02.2024]. ↩︎
- Dinge erklärt - Kurzgesagt: Fleisch - Das leckerste Übel der Welt, YouTube, 24.01.2019, Web, 07.02.2024 at 11:30, in: http://y2u.be/y6f3dwxexZM. ↩︎
- J. Kimmerle: Die weiße Revolution (as at: 02.08.2011), available at https://t1p.de/mgry. [07.02.2024]. ↩︎
- Pro REGENWALD e.V.: Meat is a piece of life force, available at https://www.pro-regenwald.de/hg_fleisch. [07.02.2024].
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