Vegetarianism/veganism.

XangelXofXunknownX:

I was having this conversation with a friend at school, it doesn't hurt a cow to be milked, it's kinda like a relief, although being pumped with hormones is kinda wrong. But one question (i'm very unexperienced with animal biology) are cows like humans and only produce milk if they are about to have a calf? or do they produce it all the time?

In answer to your question, yes, they do have to have a calf in order to produce milk.
This is another ethical dilemma for a lot of vegetarians and vegans (or maybe just people in general, I don't know), because cows that are farmed for their milk are quite often pregnant... well, for most of their life. Which isn't really an ideal life for any animal, despite what some people may think. I'm talking about commercial farms, where ethics is virtually non-existent.

^^ yes.while some farms let bulls do the work, a lot of commercial farms do artificial isimination-which is impregnating them by hand. a lot of people talk about how a vegetarian diet is unnatural and we are meant to eat meat-well you cant call this natural either. i thought it pretty disgusting when i found out

insemination*
and it basically involves a really big syringe. It is done with a lot of other animals as well, it means that they can get the right combinations (eg, lots of muscle, and big milk producers)

Sir spamalot II:

Im veggie,
i belive that harming animals for own benifit is wrong but i do not belive that animals like cows should'nt be used for milk and stuff because as far as i am aware cows arent harmed whilst giving milk, correct me if im wrong there,

You are. Have you seen milking machines? It's rarely done by hand anymore. Even by hand hurts! Imagine breastfeeding a baby versus having your tit yanked on repeatedly. Heh. But then imagine having a steel machine (not the nice soft human breast pumps, nowhere near that comfy) yank on your tit for you. OUCH?! MAJOR OUCH?!?!!

And cows only produce milk when pregnant or just having given birth...just like every single mammal. O.o

Paolo Nutini:

And cows only produce milk when pregnant or just having given birth...just like every single mammal. O.o[/size][/font]

That's something I find... um odd (i can't think of the right word)
What happens to the calves if all the milk from the mother is used for human consumption?

I am a vegetarian but i never thought about being vegan.
I never thought it was wrong. OMG. now im like changing my mind
about things. I feel bad for the poor little cows now. :[[

XangelXofXunknownX:

Paolo Nutini:

And cows only produce milk when pregnant or just having given birth...just like every single mammal. O.o[/size][/font]

That's something I find... um odd (i can't think of the right word)
What happens to the calves if all the milk from the mother is used for human consumption?

Some of the calves are used as veal, which I am sure you've heard of, where they're stuck on a small, maybe 5-foot chain and kept in a tiny area so as not to overdevelop their muscles and be nice and tender. -side note of disgust here-

Others are taken either to breed or to be used in turn for milk later on.

And no, they do not get any of their mother's milk. They are fed a synthetic formula mixture until they are moved on to solid food, grains and oats and corn. And grass of course.

Sorry haha, used to live on a dairy. AND this one was small, too, so you can imagine how much more intense it gets for the animals on a bigger farm.

Paolo Nutini:

Some of the calves are used as veal, which I am sure you've heard of, where they're stuck on a small, maybe 5-foot chain and kept in a tiny area so as not to overdevelop their muscles and be nice and tender. -side note of disgust here-

My god, that's terrible

I'm a vegetarian, and have been for 7 years.
I don't think that it should be right that we can eat animals with no guilt; whereas if we were to eat a human it would be considered very wrong.
Where does that sense of right and wrong come from?

And it's also not fair, we as intelligent animals can make a moral decision. But we usually don't think twice about eating another animal just because they are less intelligent and less able to defend themselves. We seem to discriminate against them if I Can put it so simply, they cannot say that they don't want to be eaten we cannot understand their hurt or pain therefore most of us seem to feel no guilt...
That is wrong. Just because it's not visible doesn't mean it's not there!

It's also, as people have stated before, cruel to keep animals in the breeding conditions they are kept in. It's disgusting.

-That's my two pence worth =D

We need a MEAT FREE world!

Saint Helena:

We need a MEAT FREE world!

way to spam

this world has never, ever been meat free, and it never will be. Humans will never stray from their natural coarse, in the same way that we still have sex to have kids, even though there are alternatives

To tell the truth it really annoys me when people say that eating meat is just part of the food chain and that eating meat gives you nutrients. I don't think thats worth the murder of innocent animals. People only eat meat because it tastes good and they let that get in the way of animals being killed. Animals have feelings just like humans. It's about time theis world changes for the better. This world needs piece, not murder for happiness.

Next time you go to eat meat, STOP and think, you are only supporting the murder of innocent animals. GO VEGETARIAN!

well it is. Just because we are smarter then animals doesn't mean we arn't animals, and it doesn't mean our bodies naturally fuel from animal products. Why do you think so many infants die from vegan parents? Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a human baby healthy without them?
You have to be pretty crafty, let me tell you

That being said, if a baby cannot easily survive without meat, it's obviously natural to us, you know, besides all of the other evidence out there supporting meat/animal products being part of a humans natural diet.

& animals having feelings is sort of along the same lines as plants having feelings (which, they do)
Yes, animals have feelings, but do we care?> nope, not really. You don't care about the feelings of plants do you?

Life is made to consume other life, unless your a self feeding organism. Your blind if you can't understand that concept. Ever heard the saying "it's a cruel world"
It is. Too bad for you and your animal friends.

DIE! DIE! DIE!:

Why do you think so many infants die from vegan parents?

I'd really like to know where you got that piece of information from, thanks.

im going to save myself a lot of copy and pasting

google something like "vegan baby death"

you get A LOT of news reports coming up. i'v read quite a few in the paper too...and of course there are some sorties you can look up like "vegan baby neglect" where the child was saved before it was too late.

im going to save myself a lot of copy and pasting

google something like "vegan baby death"

you get A LOT of news reports coming up. i'v read quite a few in the paper too...and of course there are some sorties you can look up like "vegan baby neglect" where the child was saved before it was too late.