Australia kills SO MANY baby cows so we can have delicious milk - The Vine

Some vegans will explain they won't consume dairy because of the conditions demand for dairy places animals in, and if you were a cow, would YOU like having tubes suck the juice out of you? Some vegetarians will say they don't mind drinking milk, 'cos hey, at least the cows aren't being carved up into burgers! But here's something new to consider for everyone regardless of diet or ethics: according to Dairy Australia, 400,000 calves are slaughtered every year to supply milk to the country.

In a report in 2011, animal rights group Animals Australia claimed it was closer to 700,000 a year - a number also backed by the RSPCA - but a new report published in the Sydney Morning Herald gives the above figure from the Australian dairy industry.

It seems obvious: for cows to produce milk, they've gotta get pregnant. The product of pregnancy is milk and baby cows. Those calves are then trucked off to the abattoir where they're killed and discarded. Suddenly the butter in your bulletproof coffee doesn't seem so harmless.

For anyone looking for an alternative source of calcium, the Dietitians Association of Australia mentions 'Hard tofu, almonds, tahini and green leafy vegetables.' For those of you who aren't really all that fussed about cow deaths but would prefer to know they're treated fairly while alive, 'Vicki Jones of Mountain View Farm in Gippsland' raise the calves until they're old enough to be slaughtered for beef. So at least they're not just chucked in the bin?

'If we can make a go of this, we can run smaller herds and produce food in a kinder, more ethical manner,' Jones says, 'and if consumers want a change they need to support farmers who are prepared to do things differently.' Good news! All it takes to lessen the suffering in the world is thinking about where your money's going.

More at SMH. Here's a video of some adorable cows. They're probably dead now though.

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