THL
Cows on factory farms spend most of their lives standing or lying down in filthy pens that are so crowded, it can be difficult for them to walk any distance.
What would cereal be without milk, or pizza without cheese? The answer: meals that are much less cruel. The true story behind the dairy products that have long been central to North American diets is one of tragedy and suffering on a grand scale.
After learning about how cows and their calves are treated on factory farms, you’ll see why this industry is far past its expiration date.
WHAT ARE COWS NATURALLY LIKE?
Cows have been domesticated, meaning dominated, by humans for thousands of years. In the wild, they live together in groups known as herds, composed of individuals of both sexes and all ages. Wild cows are nomadic, since they spend their lives wandering grasslands and plains, grazing on the multitude of plants and flowers they encounter. Mothers typically give birth to one calf per year, often in the spring when weather conditions are most favorable, and feed the calf for several months by producing one gallon of milk per day.
Cows protect their offspring and one another from predators. They stick together, forming lifelong bonds with close family members as well as friends.
WHAT IS FACTORY FARMING?
Factory farming is a form of intensive agriculture that produces virtually all of the US food supply when it comes to animal products. Also known as concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), factory farms maximize profits by minimizing the amount of space animals are given. Chickens, pigs, and cows are all species commonly found on factory farms.
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF COWS ARE FACTORY FARMED?
Agriculture in the United States used to consist of small to medium-sized farms, often passed down through generations and run by families. Cows on smaller farms would live in herds of anywhere between ten to a hundred individuals or more, and would normally have ample time to spend outdoors on grass pastures.
The vast majority of farmed animals live on factory farms.
With the advent of industrial agriculture, moneyed corporations began consolidating the industry, driving out smaller farms and overtaking market share for the industry. Today, an estimated 99.9% of farmed animals are living on factory farms, while roughly 70% of cows languish on factory farms.
HOW ARE DAIRY COWS FARMED?
At the crux of the dairy industry is the forced insemination of mothers followed by the removal of their calves immediately after birth. Like any mammal, cows must give birth in order to produce milk. Beginning when they are around 14 months old, cows are impregnated and are kept on a constant cycle of birth, milking, and subsequent inseminations.
Most factory-farmed cows never get to step foot outside during their production years, confined instead to indoor sheds that are often filthy and crowded. They're denied the ability to graze, lie comfortably, nurse their young, or live in socially complex herds with their offspring.
HOW LONG DO DAIRY COWS LIVE ON FACTORY FARMS?
The demands placed on dairy cows are so extreme, and the living conditions so woefully inadequate, that their bodies begin to break down after only a few years. Cows are known to live for 20 years or more, yet on dairy farms, they're killed after 4-6 years, when their ability to produce the unnaturally high volumes of milk begins to wane.
WHAT HAPPENS TO VEAL CALVES?
On factory farms, life is cheap. Female calves selected for dairy production are the only ones who make it beyond the first few months of life. All other calves are either shot on-site or sent to veal crates—including every single male calf born, since male calves are considered useless to the dairy industry and are often disposed of within hours of being born.
Veal calves are confined to small spaces and killed at just 8-16 weeks old.
Veal crates are small plastic huts, each with a fenced-in area not much bigger than the calf’s body. Calves are confined in these small spaces in order to prevent them from jumping, running, or even walking—activities that would otherwise develop and toughen their muscles, making their meat less tender for those who will consume them.
Calves are robbed forever of their mother’s milk, fed instead a minimal amount of artificial milk replacement that is lacking in vital nutrients that would allow calves to grow healthy and strong. This leaves them deficient in iron, causing anemia. But these concerns are not important to the industry, which kills calves when they're just 8-16 weeks old.
WHAT ABOUT FACTORY FARMED BEEF?
Dairy calves typically don't become beef because they're not bred for this purpose, and therefore wouldn’t bring in the maximum amount of money for food companies. Cows raised for meat—known as beef cattle—are bred to grow as fast as possible so that they can be killed younger. They spend about a year on rangeland, where they undergo painful procedures like dehorning, branding, and castration. After a year, they're sent to feedlots, where they are packed into small, barren, crowded pens and forced to stand in their own excrement, before meeting their untimely ends at the slaughterhouse.
HOW ARE COWS TREATED ON FACTORY FARMS?
In a word, cows are treated terribly on factory farms. Cows are treated like production machines rather than the sensitive, gentle beings they are. Below are a few examples of the unethical treatment cows are forced to endure on factory farms.
Prevented from grazing
Cow’s natural tendencies to wander through and graze on green meadows and plains are entirely denied. Instead, dairy cows on factory farms aren’t allowed to go outside, forced to spend their days without the rich mental stimulation of exploring vast areas. Instead, they spend the majority of their lives standing or lying down in places so crowded it can be difficult for them to walk any distance.
Forced pregnancies
In order to lactate, cows must give birth, which means they must first be impregnated. On factory farms, this procedure is either carried out by a bull or by artificial insemination, where a human inserts semen into the cow’s body.
Long and cruel transportation
After a handful of short years, so-called “spent” dairy cows are loaded onto transport trucks for a harrowing, and often days-long, journey to the slaughterhouse. Cows often go extended periods of time without any food or water, and are not given opportunities to rest. They're exposed to weather, including extreme heat or cold, often leading to death before arriving at their final destination.
These conditions can lead to downed cows, meaning those who cannot even walk up the slaughterhouse ramp for their injuries or illness. While downed cows are supposed to be euthanized and not processed for human consumption, these individuals are often forced into the slaughterhouse by prods or trucks.
HOW DO DAIRY FACTORY FARMS AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT?
Factory farms give rise to many negative impacts on the environment. Dairy farming is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global climate change. These farms foster other types of air pollution as well, resulting in dangerous health impacts for surrounding human communities, as well as the environment.
Cow farming is one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases.
Cows also consume billions of gallons of freshwater each year, a resource that is anticipated to become even more precious in the coming decades when widespread water scarcity is anticipated.
HOW ARE COWS KILLED ON FACTORY FARMS?
In slaughterhouses, cows are guided into a small stall, where they are shot in the head with a gun equipped with a retractable bullet. This is meant to render the cow immediately unconscious, so that they're unable to feel the pain of the next horrifying steps of the slaughter process: hanging cows upside down and slitting their throats before dismembering them. All too often, cows are improperly stunned, leaving them alive and often conscious even during the dismemberment phase.
Slaughterhouse workers recount many horror stories of cows who endure some of the worst deaths imaginable.
FACTORY-FARMED COW STATISTICS
- Worldwide there are around 300 million dairy cows producing 600 million tons of milk on an annual basis
- The US produces the most milk out of any country in the world
- Dairy cows produce on average 2,200 liters of milk per year
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
With the explosion of dairy alternatives hitting grocery store shelves across the country, it's easier than ever to ditch dairy and stop supporting this cruel industry. Even reducing your intake of milk, cheese, and yogurt will help send the message that the abuse of cows is not something that should be tolerated any longer.
Cows are gentle beings who do not deserve the treatment they experience on factory farms. It’s time to fix this broken industry, which is based on the exploitation and abuse of cows and their calves.
