Milk is Natural?

Who drinks milk?

Human beings are the only animals (besides the ones we feed it to) who consume milk past two years of development. In addition, we are the only animals who consume the milk of another species. Cows’ milk is naturally nutritionally adequate for an animal with four stomachs, among which, the high fat content of the milk is distributed. Comparatively, human milk contains only 5% protein, and cows’ milk is 15% protein. A human baby’s birth weight doubles in about 180 days, while a baby cow only takes 47 days to double her birth weight.

It is no more natural for humans to drink cows’ milk than it is for us to drink goats' milk, gorillas' milk, or any other species’ milk. Female mammals produce milk to feed their own infants, period. When a cow is exploited for her milk, she also must have been pregnant, and have given birth. Her baby calf is taken from her almost immediately so that her milk can be marketed to humans.

The by-products of milk are the farthest thing from natural.

While it’s not natural for humans to consume cows’ milk itself, the detriment of milk consumption doesn’t end there. The average dairy cow produces 20-40 times as much excrement on a daily basis than humans do. By crowding hundreds, often thousands, of cattle in one location, dairy cows generally end up living in their own excrement. There is far too much waste for dairy farms to adequately deal with, so most of it seeps into our groundwater or runs off into our rivers and streams. This pollution is a direct result of dairy production.

Another “by-product” of dairy production is veal. As we mentioned before, a milk-producing cow has been impregnated. In fact, she is raped, impregnated against her will with a long metal rod as she is strapped into what the dairy industry until recently called a “rape rack”. Dairy cows are subjected to a constant cycle of rape and pregnancy. Her calves are taken from her so that they won’t consume the very milk that was meant for them. These calves, if female, likely become dairy cows themselves, and are carted off to a separate area of the farm where they are kept until old enough for impregnation. The male calves are sold to veal farms, or in many cases, the dairy farms have their own veal operation. Dairy and veal necessarily go hand-in-hand, whether the dairy producer says they are “organic” or whatever. See “The Veal Deal” page for more detailed information and photos.

How is a natural food so bad for you?

This is why milk and other dairy products have been connected to so many human ailments and diseases. Dairy products contain no fiber or complex carbohydrates, are laden with saturated fat and cholesterol, and contain an unhealthy amount of protein. They are contaminated with cows’ blood and pus and are frequently contaminated with pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Human consumption of dairy products is linked to allergies, constipation, obesity, heart disease, many types of cancer, and other diseases.

The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, considered America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cows’ milk to children. He stated that it can cause anemia, allergies, and insulin-dependent diabetes, and in the long term, will often lead to obesity and heart disease, America's number one cause of death.

Dairy product consumption actually greatly increases the likelihood of osteoporosis. Once our bodies have the protein we need to function, excess protein must be dealt with by the kidneys. In this process, the blood becomes too acidic and calcium is leached from the bones to neutralize the acid. Population studies, backed by a groundbreaking Harvard study of more than 75,000 nurses, suggest that drinking milk can actually cause osteoporosis.

Most milk comes from factory farms, although even small farms push the cows to produce at a rate as high as 100 pounds of milk a day. This stress is passed into the milk. To combat the natural disease that comes from over-production and living in fields of excrement, most dairy cows are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics.

Why is milk even in natural food stores?

Despite these obvious facts, most health food grocers have the desire to sell what people will buy, even if the products aren’t healthy. Many consumers still consider cows' milk to be a natural food product, and many others are fooled by feel-good ideas and labels such as “organic”, or BGH-free. The reality could not be further from the truth. Truly natural foods are ones that do not contain dairy products whatsoever. While milk could technically be considered organic if it did not contain hormones, (or if the calf was not fed blood meal) still the very practice of humans drinking cows’ milk is unnatural and should be considered so by those striving for a healthy and more natural diet. Alternatives exist! Please check our “You Can Live Without Cheese” page!