Veg*n I understand being a vegetarian, but why a Vegan?

Cows don't constantly produce milk. To get milk from a cow, they have to be pregnant, just given birth, or the dairy farmers have to give them hormones to simulate pregnancy.

I became vegan about 12 years ago, when I lived for a short while beside a dairy farm. For two days and nights without rest, the cows mournfully moo-ed. The sound haunts me still. In my naiivity at the time, I thought the farmer had left them outside, or something. It wasn't until later, I found out that the claves had just been taken away from their mothers - the mother cows were calling for their 'lost' calves. From that moment, I didn't touch cows milk (still drink soya milk today - though am regrettably no longer vegan).

Becoming more aware of animal rights issues, I realised that the only reason that dairy cows are here - is to produce milk for humans. If humans stopped drinking cows milk (which is afterall meant for baby cows, not humans), the cows wouldn't be here. Which I personally think would be a far happier option for the dairy cow, whose spends it's miserable and often mal-treated existence producing milk - not for it's calves, but for human consumption.

Which is why I don't drink cows milk - I don't want to support the industry which causes cows to suffer awfully for a product we don't require.

Cattle

Cattle who are being fattened for slaughter are branded and their horns and testicles are cut out - all withOUT painkilers. They often don't get appropiate vetrinary care, since they are just going to be slaughterd anyways. So things like lameness, which affects almost half dairy cows, and chronic ithiness, which affects nearly one-third of pigs, are aften untreated. After all, lameness and itching don't effect that hamburger of yours.

Up to three times a day, dairy cows get electric machines hooked up to their massively swollen udders. Cuts and injuries to thier udders are common - and so is mastitis, a painful infection. The pus, blood, and scabs, plus hormones and antibiotics, all end up in that milk mustache. Enjoy

After birth, male calves are torn from their moms, causing fear and stress. Then they're shipped to veal farms, where they spend the rest of their lives on short chains in filthy, narrow stalls where they can never turn around or lie down comfortably. They're unable to move around, kept in isolation, and fed nutriend deficient food so that their flesh will be pale and tender when served to unenlightened "gourments".

I'm vegan for the animals first, but knowing what I know now I would never consume animal products even if they could be 'cruelty free'. Our bodies are simply not designed to digest milk after weaning and definately not the breastmilk of another species! Dairy consumption has been linked to many health problems including cancer, heart disease and strokes. In China, where very little dairy is consumed, breast cancer is almost unheard of, whearas in the UK and the US where people consume lots of dairy, breast cancer is on the increase.