Yes, vegetarians do love animals. But is this love enough?
The dark side of vegetarianism.
While vegetarians are becoming more accepted into society, I know all too well the stigma they get. Having been a vegetarian for 2 years down south in Texas, I got all the crazy looks and questions about protein that I’m sure many others do. Like many vegetarians, I became one due to wanting to show care and compassion towards animals. I didn’t want them to die for my plate.
This love for animals continued with me for a long time. However, I was curious to really dig deeper into animal agriculture. Being that I’m in Texas, I figured I could take a look at the lives of the cattle that roam our State. I’ve even gone and talked with cattle ranchers to get as much first-hand information as I can. Unfortunately, I opened a Pandora’s box of hard truths that made me realize that vegetarianism wasn’t enough to fight against animal cruelty.
I loved cheese and ice cream, and most people do. But upon looking into the dairy industry, I realized that it is intrinsically linked to meat. Dairy cows, at the end of their lives, are butchered just like beef cows and sold for meat (De Vries & Marcondes, 2020). Not only this, but veal is linked to the dairy industry as well. Being that cows are mammals, in order to make milk, they need to be impregnated. And because of this, there are often male baby cows created within the dairy industry with little economic value to the farmers. Due to this, many of these babies are forcibly taken from their mothers and slaughtered for veal (USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, 2011). Alongside this, this breeding is done often annually and takes a major toll on the bodies of the mother cows. The natural lifespan of a dairy cow is around 20 years old, but the average length they live in dairy farms is approximately 3–4 years before they cannot produce a profitable level of milk and are sent for slaughter (De Vries & Marcondes, 2020). Seeing the short lived lives of veal calves and the stressful lives of their mothers who will eventually be slaughtered, can it be said that milk is cruelty-free?
Dominion, a documentary highlighted many aspects of animal agriculture, shows in detail the various ways cows are used for meat, dairy, and leather. If you are a vegetarian who cares for the well-being of animals and have the stomach for it, I suggest giving it a watch. Due to the content of the video, I will leave it linked rather than immediately visible. Viewer discretion is highly advised.
I looked further and further down the rabbit hole of animal agriculture. I’ve even come to see that for industrially produced eggs, male chicks are routinely grounded at birth as this is the most profitable way for companies to deal with most males of the egg-laying chicken breed (RSPCA, 2020).
My focus was initially on the lives of cattle our of curiosity, but I quickly learned that all industrial animal products were exploitative and cruel in nature. In order for one to reduce the most animal suffering as far as practicable, I realized veganism was the only way forward. If you are a vegetarian like I was, going vegan is the path I suggest you take.
And for those vegetarians who try to get only things such as free-range organic milk, I have some bad news for you. Cage-free eggs, free-range milk, and other similar terminology are, unfortunately, basically just marketing mumbo-jumbo. As someone studying advertising in university, I will be the first to say that unfortunately, even the often seemingly ethical consumption of the best-case scenarios for vegetarians are often still packed full of unjustifiable animal harm. While many egg and milk products will display dreamy picturesque scenes of happy cows and chickens, particularly on free-range products, often times only trivial changes are made to their living conditions from the standard factory-farm practices. Even in the best-case scenario, these companies have to value the bottom-line of their profits over the well-being and autonomy of these animals in order to stay in business.
Being vegan and eating a vegan diet stops oneself from further funding the main sources of animal cruelty in modern day and helps one avoid deceptive marketing tactics. And not only that, but you will be doubling down your efforts against industries such as the beef industry who, if you’re vegetarian, you’re already against. Dairy is linked to the beef industry and is itself part of the veal industry, so veganism bolsters your fight against the cruelty you are already de-funding while also expanding your anti-cruelty views even further beyond.
While you may be concerned that the act of going vegan will make little difference, don’t forget that you aren’t alone. While one person can’t change the market, vegans as a growing population will over time decrease demand for meat as their numbers grow. As demand falls, companies will be forced to change their production — lest they go bankrupt.
Being vegan is more than feasible, and if done right, cutting out dairy and eggs are one of the healthiest things one can do for themselves. Between the high saturated fat and cholesterol content of eggs and dairy products, by going vegan you will also be helping yourself to fight against heart disease, a leading killer in the US (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 2021).
Beyond the health of your arteries, some may still be concerned about nutrients. As long as you take a B12 supplement and potentially a vegan vitamin D depending on how often you get outside, you can be healthy at all stages of life on a vegan diet (Craig et al., 2009). And if this B12 supplementation sounds strange to you, know that the B12 found in animal products is also there only because those animals are also supplemented the nutrient (Lindquist, 2020). By taking it, you are just cutting out the middle moo.
And to address a favorite question of mine, fear not for your protein! When I was vegetarian, I thought animal products were the only truly reliable source of protein available, but this is not the case. Listed below are a myriad of protein-packed foods that can help replace the protein found in eggs and dairy. As long as you eat a range of plant matter, you will get the variety of proteins that your body needs to thrive.
Even if you still want to have cheese in your diet, there are many amazing vegan cheese brands out there to try. From Daiya to Violife, vegan cheeses have come quite far in strides and taste over the years. And as for ice cream, brands such as Nada Moo and even Ben and Jerry’s offer a wide variety of surprisingly scrumptious vegan ice cream treats.
Vegetarianism is a great first step for someone to take as part of “waking up” to the animal cruelty inherent in aspects of animal agriculture, but to fully help bring an end to all animal cruelty as illustrated by the plight of dairy cattle and their children, it is necessary to cut out all animal products and live vegan. If you dare take the leap, you can try veganism out with Challenge 22 to help you along the way!
SOURCES:
Craig, W. J., Mangels, A. R., & American Dietetic Association (2009). Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(7), 1266–1282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.027
Dello-Iacobo, M. (n.d.). Is It Possible To Be an Animal Lover and Eat Meat? https://www.livekindly.co/is-it-possible-to-be-an-animal-lover-and-eat-meat/
De Vries, A., & Marcondes, M. (2020). Review: Overview of factors affecting productive lifespan of dairy cows. Animal, 14(S1), S155-S164. doi:10.1017/S1751731119003264
Farm Transparency Project. (2018, October 9). Dominion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQRAfJyEsko&t=3292s
Lindquist, K. (2020, May 15). Is It True That Cous Need Supplemental Vitamin B12? https://praisetheruminant.com/ruminations/is-it-true-that-cows-need-supplemental-vitamin-b12
Mottes, M. (2017, August 7). The one thing vegans are NOT doing and need to start doing. Today. Medium. https://medium.com/@happykitchen/the-one-thing-vegans-are-not-doing-and-need-to-start-doing-today-c19037b969e5
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. (2021). Health Concerns About Dairy: Avoid the Dangers of Dairy With a Plant-Based Diet. https://www.pcrm.org/good-nutrition/nutrition-information/health-concerns-about-dairy
RSPCA. (2020, July 30). What happens with male chicks in the egg industry? https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-happens-with-male-chicks-in-the-egg-industry/
USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. (2011, June). Veal from Farm to Table. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/c1c3ed6a-c1e5-4ad0-ba6c-d53d71d741c6/Veal_from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
