According to this vegan, I'm an idiot.
Jun 8, 2019 21:06:25 GMT -5
3cows, grammagrace, and 2 more like this
Post by farmergirl02 on Jun 8, 2019 21:06:25 GMT -5
While doing a Q and A for my farm, a vegan, very upset sent me this message in response why we still can consume dairy after viewing the fair oaks farm video, showing abuse:
Me: Thank you for your answer, and I agree the animal abuse going on at dairy farms or anywhere else is horrible. However, I believe it is simply unfair to state that “these offenses occur at all dairy farms”. Being a small scale dairy owner who lets the calf run with the momma during the day, and takes the leftover milk in the evening— I am in contact and have purchased from many commercial dairy farmers. For one, as soon as he entered the pen where the cows were kept, he was immediately surrounded by cows licking him, trying to eat his coveralls, and basically using him as a scratching post. Many, many farmers absolutely love what they do and treat their cows humanely and with respect.
Furthermore, in the wild, cows would be bred back actually quicker. I personally watch my cows being inseminated and they show no signs of discomfort at all. In this situation— the way those calves were treated was absolutely uncalled for, inhumane and unnecessary. But does this abuse occur at every dairy farm? No.
Her: Thanks for your reply though I suspect it is not totally honest. Unless the calf is female (in which you’d keep her as a future milk producer), calves are unwanted byproducts … no matter the size of the operation. And I suspect that you don’t allow normal procreation to occur. Like every other dairy farm, the cows are artificially inseminated. Year after year after year.
And the cows who are on these farms have been genetically altered to produce more milk. These cows do not exist in the wild
Me: Calves are NOT unwanted by-products. At our farm, the males are raised till 2 years of age then humanly butchered to fill freezers with organic, grass-fed beef. I have absolutely nothing against vegans, in fact, I was one for two years— but just because certain videos showing animal abuse does not suddenly mean the whole world will go vegan or even needs to go vegan. This instance of abuse is not an everyday occurrence.
As for the natural procreation- how is AI bad? I just sold one of our dairy gals to a small family farm in Morris. She was originally planning on AI her girl, then one of her neighbors offered her bull every spring to breed with, so she decided to go that road. What difference does it make? Just because it is not natural, the same end result will occur.
Do you know what that bull will do? Breed the cow— year after year after year as long as she comes into heat. Cows were designed to carry young, and to suggest that is inhumane is redundant.
Bulls are extremely dangerous, expensive to keep and a threat to anyone who is in the pen. Please give me some valid reasons as to why I would shell out $1000+ for a 1500 pound bull when my friendly neighbor can come AI my girls for $20 bucks a cow.
On MY farm, my cow was bred for milk production. Not by being genetically engineered, but rather breeding higher producers with higher producers. My jersey gal gave me 1 1/2 a day and the same amount for their calves, which are always fat and healthy. I choose to breed back to higher producers as well. There is nothing wrong with that.
Sure, I could let the calves nurse and drop her production down to what a calf would need, but I wanted humanely raised grass-fed milk and this is completely human and natural, whether she is bred with a bull or AI.
Then it turned a bit nasty and she called me an idiot--
Her: Humanly butchered at 2 years? How is that wanted. Also, you must be crazy if you think AI and natural breeding are the same thing. Cows do not produce that much unless genetically modified. I think I will end this conversation, and as mark twain said: 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'
I really don't want to snap back with a snarky response, and I was hoping I could learn from this experience. I have never before heard that cows are genetically modified-- just the feed or stuff like that. Have I been in the dark the whole time?
Me: Thank you for your answer, and I agree the animal abuse going on at dairy farms or anywhere else is horrible. However, I believe it is simply unfair to state that “these offenses occur at all dairy farms”. Being a small scale dairy owner who lets the calf run with the momma during the day, and takes the leftover milk in the evening— I am in contact and have purchased from many commercial dairy farmers. For one, as soon as he entered the pen where the cows were kept, he was immediately surrounded by cows licking him, trying to eat his coveralls, and basically using him as a scratching post. Many, many farmers absolutely love what they do and treat their cows humanely and with respect.
Furthermore, in the wild, cows would be bred back actually quicker. I personally watch my cows being inseminated and they show no signs of discomfort at all. In this situation— the way those calves were treated was absolutely uncalled for, inhumane and unnecessary. But does this abuse occur at every dairy farm? No.
Her: Thanks for your reply though I suspect it is not totally honest. Unless the calf is female (in which you’d keep her as a future milk producer), calves are unwanted byproducts … no matter the size of the operation. And I suspect that you don’t allow normal procreation to occur. Like every other dairy farm, the cows are artificially inseminated. Year after year after year.
And the cows who are on these farms have been genetically altered to produce more milk. These cows do not exist in the wild
Me: Calves are NOT unwanted by-products. At our farm, the males are raised till 2 years of age then humanly butchered to fill freezers with organic, grass-fed beef. I have absolutely nothing against vegans, in fact, I was one for two years— but just because certain videos showing animal abuse does not suddenly mean the whole world will go vegan or even needs to go vegan. This instance of abuse is not an everyday occurrence.
As for the natural procreation- how is AI bad? I just sold one of our dairy gals to a small family farm in Morris. She was originally planning on AI her girl, then one of her neighbors offered her bull every spring to breed with, so she decided to go that road. What difference does it make? Just because it is not natural, the same end result will occur.
Do you know what that bull will do? Breed the cow— year after year after year as long as she comes into heat. Cows were designed to carry young, and to suggest that is inhumane is redundant.
Bulls are extremely dangerous, expensive to keep and a threat to anyone who is in the pen. Please give me some valid reasons as to why I would shell out $1000+ for a 1500 pound bull when my friendly neighbor can come AI my girls for $20 bucks a cow.
On MY farm, my cow was bred for milk production. Not by being genetically engineered, but rather breeding higher producers with higher producers. My jersey gal gave me 1 1/2 a day and the same amount for their calves, which are always fat and healthy. I choose to breed back to higher producers as well. There is nothing wrong with that.
Sure, I could let the calves nurse and drop her production down to what a calf would need, but I wanted humanely raised grass-fed milk and this is completely human and natural, whether she is bred with a bull or AI.
Then it turned a bit nasty and she called me an idiot--
Her: Humanly butchered at 2 years? How is that wanted. Also, you must be crazy if you think AI and natural breeding are the same thing. Cows do not produce that much unless genetically modified. I think I will end this conversation, and as mark twain said: 'Never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'
I really don't want to snap back with a snarky response, and I was hoping I could learn from this experience. I have never before heard that cows are genetically modified-- just the feed or stuff like that. Have I been in the dark the whole time?