I'm wondering how many people know about the disturbing fact that in many countries, the vast majority of calves born to diary cows are slaughtered at less than five days of age. Knowing this, and that demand for milk perpetuates the intense suffering of diary cattle, is it still ethical to consume diary products?
Whatever your views are regarding the subject, I urge you to watch this short video.
kind regards,
Ben
There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Hello Ben,
Viewing from my iPad, all I can see are your typed post and just a blank page, no link.
With metta,
Chris
Viewing from my iPad, all I can see are your typed post and just a blank page, no link.
With metta,
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Having lived on acreage and owned a house cow, i came to realise that there are also ethical issues concerning the fact that the cow needs to have multiple calves through the years to keep producing their food - milk. Most male calves are sent to the abattoirs, and female calves are taken away when in puberty, impregnated, and live the same life as their mother.
With metta,
Chris
With metta,
Chris
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
-
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- Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 10:32 am
- Location: Andromeda looks nice
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
I only drink soy milk these days.
Buddha save me from new-agers!
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
http://vimeo.com/53988865cooran wrote:Hello Ben,
Viewing from my iPad, all I can see are your typed post and just a blank page, no link.
With metta,
Chris
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725
Compassionate Hands Foundation (Buddhist aid in Myanmar) • Buddhist Global Relief • UNHCR
e: [email protected]..
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
+1Ben wrote:I'm wondering how many people know about the disturbing fact that in many countries, the vast majority of calves born to diary cows are slaughtered at less than five days of age.
I read that cows have a lifespan of about 30 years about cows that live in factory farms to produce milk only live about 5 years. They get burned out from the conditions and stress they live in and start producing much less milk. It isn't economically feasible to keep them alive after that so they get sent to slaughter.
In reading the scriptures, there are two kinds of mistakes:
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
One mistake is to cling to the literal text and miss the inner principles.
The second mistake is to recognize the principles but not apply them to your own mind, so that you waste time and just make them into causes of entanglement.
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Dairy Cattle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_cattle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dairy_cattle
---The trouble is that you think you have time---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
---Worry is the Interest, paid in advance, on a debt you may never owe---
---It's not what happens to you in life that is important ~ it's what you do with it ---
- appicchato
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- Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2008 12:47 am
- Location: Bridge on the River Kwae
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Dit-to...Spiny Norman wrote:I only drink soy milk these days.
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
No.Ben wrote: Knowing this, and that demand for milk perpetuates the intense suffering of diary cattle, is it still ethical to consume diary products?
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Soy milk can be healthy or unhealthy depending on a number of factors, so in your own individual cases please become an educated consumer in order to ensure you are getting fresh whole bean product, and not processed swill. Sometimes there is even added sugar.
I usually drink rice milk. I can't find a better alternative at present; finding a good variety of rice milk seems easier than finding good soy in my case, at any rate.
I usually drink rice milk. I can't find a better alternative at present; finding a good variety of rice milk seems easier than finding good soy in my case, at any rate.
- "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.
"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.
- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Cakes, chocolate bar, candy bars and various beverages have milk as part of their ingredients too.Spiny Norman wrote:I only drink soy milk these days.
How can we totally abstain from taking them?
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
By abstention. Pretend you're lactose intolerant, etc.barcsimalsi wrote:Cakes, chocolate bar, candy bars and various beverages have milk as part of their ingredients too.Spiny Norman wrote:I only drink soy milk these days.
How can we totally abstain from taking them?
- "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.
"And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.
- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Dear Ben
thanks for sharing that video. It always helps to watch videos like this to remind myself what to choose in daily life.
P.S.: Btw, humans 'are' the only mammals, whose offsprings use milk after growing up.
One my consider a life without milk.
Ben wrote:I'm wondering how many people know about the disturbing fact that in many countries, the vast majority of calves born to diary cows are slaughtered at less than five days of age. Knowing this, and that demand for milk perpetuates the intense suffering of diary cattle, is it still ethical to consume diary products?
thanks for sharing that video. It always helps to watch videos like this to remind myself what to choose in daily life.
P.S.: Btw, humans 'are' the only mammals, whose offsprings use milk after growing up.
One my consider a life without milk.
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
Yes, after working for a while as a dairy herdsman, I have been vegan ever since. And that was before most people had even heard the term! It can certainly be a harrowing experience to sparate a mother cow and newborn calf and take the calf to a different part of the farm - where it will be fattened up on potato starch until ready for slaughter.I'm wondering how many people know about the disturbing fact that in many countries, the vast majority of calves born to diary cows are slaughtered at less than five days of age
You might be interested to know that there is, as well as blood, often quite a lot of mastitis pus in your milk, too...
Re: There's blood in your milk. The ethics of consumption
I think, yes, it is ethical. Actually, I like meat and don't see any problem here. Calf meat is so delicious. The irony is I don't like milk and diary products
If you are worried about this practice I may suggest that you might think about it as only a temporary measure: very soon, perhaps in a few coming decades, science will allow us to produce an abundance of consumable proteins from inorganic substances and genetically modified mushrooms and microorganisms.
If you are worried about this practice I may suggest that you might think about it as only a temporary measure: very soon, perhaps in a few coming decades, science will allow us to produce an abundance of consumable proteins from inorganic substances and genetically modified mushrooms and microorganisms.
How good and wonderful are your days,
How true are your ways?
How true are your ways?