About Dairy Cows:
The wild aurochs that once grazed across sizable portions of Asia, North Africa, and Europe are the ancestors of modern cows. It is believed that between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago, they were first domesticated. Scientists think that the first people to use cow milk for human consumption was probably Neolithic farmers in Northern Europe and Britain.
A genetic mutation called "lactase persistence" that allowed weaned humans to continue to digest milk helped spread the ability to digest the milk of various species.
Domesticated cattle eventually played a crucial role in how human societies tilled the soil and produced food, and dairy products eventually became a part of contemporary industrial agriculture after the first milk truck was introduced in 1914.
What Sorts of Cows Are Dairy Cows?
In the U.S., the most common cows used for milk production are Holsteins, with their famous black and white spots.
Ayrshire
brown Swiss
Guernsey
Jersey
milking shorthorn
red and white Holsteins
are other types of cattle that are used by dairy farms.Over 90% of dairy cows in the US are of the Holstein breed, making them the most common breed.
What is the Price of a Dairy Cow?
Typically, a dairy cow that is lactating costs between $1,500 and $2,100. Feeding lactating cows can cost up to $2,000 a year, and high-yield cows can consume up to 50 to 55 pounds of dry feed or 110 to 120 pounds of wet feed each day.
Milk production statistics
The typical Holstein cow can give birth for the first time at just 23 months old and will typically produce about 23,000 pounds of milk during each lactation period.
Milk Production Worldwide
Around 150 million households worldwide milk other species of animals for human consumption, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Large-scale industrial operations, known in the U.S. as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), are
heavily relied upon by countries in the Global North. In the US, CAFOs are the source of more than 96 percent of the milk and milk protein supplements (casein and whey) that are sourced and sold.
Global South nations with lower income levels are more likely to depend on smaller family farms. Around 850 million tons of milk, produced by cows, buffalo, goats, sheep, and camels, are obtained from all of these businesses each year. More than 80% of the total is made up of cow's milk.
Increased milk yield
Lactating cows typically produce one gallon, or three to four liters, of milk per day under natural conditions. However, as a result of genetic engineering and fabricated, high-protein diets, cows now produce 20 to 25 liters (roughly 6-7 gallons) of milk per day, or 22,000 pounds annually.
Does Milk Production Require Pregnancy in Dairy Cows?
Cows are not magical milking machines and must give birth in order to start lactating, just like human mothers do. In order to feed and nourish their young, cows produce breast milk.
What issues might forced milk production bring about?
Numerous health problems for cows, such as infertility, lameness, and mastitis, are brought on by selective breeding and high levels of forced milk production.
Mastitis :
Many dairy animals suffer from mastitis, an infection of the mammary glands. The udders become painfully swollen or hardened as a result. It is frequently blamed on the overcrowding, poor ventilation, and unhygienic living conditions of cows, but milking machines can also damage cows' teats. It's one of the most frequently cited justifications given by dairy farms for slaughtering their cows.
However, dairy farms are permitted to sell milk from infected cows. You may be horrified to learn that the USDA permits milk to contain one to one and a half million white blood cells per milliliter (That's only 1/30 of an ounce), according to a quote from ProCon.org on the website of Encyclopedia Britannica. If you don't already know, I'm sorry to inform you that another term for white cells that shouldn't be there is pus cells. And according to this website, "The 2003 FDA Pasteurized Milk Ordinance sets the maximum level of somatic cells allowed in Grade A milk at 750,000 cells per. milliliter - a level that has been in effect since at least 1999."
Lameness:
Cows can become lame as a result of the unhealthy conditions in CAFOs, where thousands of cows may be crowded together in filthy indoor spaces. Ulcers in their hooves are frequently caused by inactivity and standing still on concrete floors for extended periods of time. Infections like foot rot and digital dermatitis, which develop when cows are made to stand in their own feces, can also cause lameness.
Infertility
On a dairy farm, infertility can spell certain death. For cows to make milk, they must give birth. A cow that is infertile or even one whose fertility is declining results in financial loss for the farm and is killed.
Do Dairy Cows Live Long Lives?
Cows are said to have a lifespan of up to 20 years. But the dairy industry typically only allows cows to live for 4.5 to 6 years total because their milk production declines as they age.
Dairy Cow Welfare
Today's dairy cows frequently reside in unsanitary, claustrophobic, and unnatural environments. They have babies taken away from them after birth and are forced to reproduce. They are compelled to carry on in this manner so that people can continue drinking their milk.
When Cows Get Milked, Does It Hurt?
As was previously mentioned, milking dairy cows with mastitis may be painful. Cows suffer because of the conditions of confinement, giving birth repeatedly, and the process of being slaughtered, even though milking a healthy cow may not be painful in and of itself.
How are milking cows killed?
Dairy cows are typically crammed into transport trucks before being slaughtered, where they may go days without food, water, or rest. In addition, they put up with harsh weather and crowded conditions. Many of the cows are too sick or injured to walk when they arrive at the slaughterhouse. By ropes and chains, these cows—referred to by the industry as "downers"—will be dragged off the truck. Electric prods are frequently used to shock cows that are healthy enough to walk but are too afraid to leave the transport truck.
Cows are unloaded, pushed through a chute, and then shot in the head by a captive-bolt gun that is intended to knock them out. Cows are not always rendered painless because the lines move so quickly. Large blood vessels are then severed to cause bleeding before cows are shackled and hung by a hind leg.
The Washington Post reported in 2001 that a veteran slaughterhouse worker frequently had to amputate fully conscious cows' legs. Additionally, he claimed that many cows continued to be conscious and alive up to seven minutes after having their throats cut.
What Takes Place to a Dairy Cow's Calf?
A calf born into the dairy industry does not have an enjoyable life. Male calves born to dairy cows are frequently sold for veal or inexpensive beef. She will probably be condemned to the same life of forced impregnation as all female cows if she has a female child.
Disbudding
By using a burning tool, caustic paste, gouging, or keystone, disbudding or "dehorning" is accomplished. The most common technique used to dehorn budding calves is hot iron dehorning.
Castration
Calves can be castrated surgically, by chopping off the spermatic cord with a band, or by any combination of these methods. According to New Mexico State University, castration is inherently painful and cannot be done without it. Castration pain initially manifests as an acute, brief pain that is connected to the castration procedure itself. Chronic pain is the more persistent pain that persists for a longer period of time after castration until the injury has healed.
Tail-Docking
Even though some nations have outlawed tail-docking, others, like Canada and the US, still permit it. Tail-docking is the practice of chopping off a portion of a cow's tail to facilitate farmers' milking operations.
Final Words
Don't forget that dairy products like butter, ice cream, cheese, yogurt, and butter are frequently made from cows' milk. Your favorite dairy products can be replaced with so many wonderful and delectable alternatives, and there are free plant-based and dairy-free grocery shopping guides available to assist you in finding them.
In addition to giving up animal-based dairy, you can speak out for cows in the dairy industry by voting in favor of animal-friendly laws and candidates, lobbying to end dairy subsidies, bringing up the issue with friends and family, protesting, handing out flyers, participating in rallies, writing, bearing witness, and informing others about common practices in the dairy industry that harm cows.