I remember when I was 25, my father asked me to go and do a days work on the dairy farm. I was transitioning to the loving, compassionate veg diet at this point - and said yes....very, very, very reluctantly. Even though I hated every second I was out there - it opened my eyes and confirmed my wanting to drop all dairy from diet from that point on.
Many of us don't know how lucky we are not to see what happens on dairy farms what happen behind the veil of illusion.
We think that even though there is no direct killing for the food we eat - I hate (Love) to burst your bubble - there is mass amounts of pain, suffering and death.
First hand I witnessed the suffering our beautiful animal friends go through on a daily basis to produce milk for our dairy needs. They are confined in small paddocks, constantly stressed as there bodies are not used to produced milk twice a day.
The cries from the calves embedded in their tiny cages are horrifying, their mothers cries are terrifying.
You walk in - and you are most likely going to see a pile of dead animals on the side from disease or mis treatment. The babies need their mothers; but they are starved of the love they need.
Then you witness the milking process - it is a factory farm of stress. Each beautiful animal is forced to follow each other in a line to produce milk. They are squeezed so tightly together that the excrement falls on their faces. They walk in it - they sleep in it - these beautiful animal, so honorable, so caring are forced to live like this.
I came back from that day - and said to my father 'don't you ever send me out there again.'
I don't blame my father for this, I love him dearly, but once you see this; you know how much suffering and pain goes on in dairy farms
I dropped dairy from diet, and never looked back. I feel so much better and love feeling the overwhelming feeling of helping an animal in need.
But as life would have it - that was not the last time I needed confirmation of staying of dairy. The health benefits of leading a Vegan diet is amazing. No wonder I feel so good. .
These are some facts about dairy that you may not have known...
(i) Dairy actually leeches calcium from our bones.
(ii) Dairy consumption increases the body's level of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) -- a known cancer promoter.
(iii) About 75 percent of the world's population is genetically unable to properly digest milk and other dairy products.
Our bodies do need calcium - but the amount in milk is actually detrimental to us. We get all the calcium we need from the Sun, and green leafy vegetables. Our body actually absorbs Vitamin D much more efficiently and in turns produces a chemical reaction similar to that of calcium.
Hence, producing all the calcium our body needs.
And the clincher....
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently asked the UDSA to look into the scientific basis of the claims made in the "milk mustache" ads. Their panel of scientists stated the truth clearly:
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Milk doesn't benefit sports performance.
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There's no evidence that dairy is good for your bones or prevents osteoporosis -- in fact, the animal protein it contains may help cause bone loss!
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Dairy is linked to prostate cancer.
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It's full of saturated fat and is linked to heart disease.
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Dairy causes digestive problems for the 75 percent of people with lactose intolerance.
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Dairy aggravates irritable bowel syndrome.
Simply put, the FTC asked the dairy industry, "Got Proof?" -- and the answer was NO!
