Do You Drink Cows Milk?

There is a lot of conclusive research that now goes back for decades about the dangers of consuming excessive amounts of cow's milk. After reading both sides of the issue, I decided to give up all milk products on June 12th of this year. The protein in milk has been shown to increase the growth rate of cancer tumors in several types of cancer (breast, pancreatic, prostate and others). That is essentially because cow's milk is intended to grow a baby calf from birth to large weaned youngster in a very short period of time. Humans are designed to grow slower.

I would encourage anyone to do further research on this matter, on both sides of the issue. Most of us are already familiar with the basic claims about milk and how it does a body good (osteoporosis and hip fractures are highest in the populations that consume the most cow's milk). But these claims are promoted by an industry that's in the business to make a profit, not protect your health. One good book that covers the subject in extensive detail is "The China Study". If you don't feel like delving into volumes of research and evidence, watch the documentary, "Forks Over Knives", just released on DVD this week. I wish I had known this information earlier.

Regarding the thing of growing a calve.. I don't know if you've ever looked at the calories in a carton of heavy cream over a gallon of skim milk.. Or like my dad had milking cows and seen the thick, thick cream that comes off the top after the cow is milked and the milk settles.. But all those calories meant for growing the calves are in the cream. The milk itself does not grow the calves. Infact, if you tried giving a calf skim milk it would surely waste away and die.

Myths vs facts about dairy farming: (click on the tabs)

http://www.dairyfarmingtoday.org/Learn-More/MythsvsFacts/Pages/MythvsFact.aspx

Really? I mean, consider the source - this site is created by dairy farmers. What do you think their agenda is?

No I don't drink cow's milk - for the simple fact that I am an adult human and not a baby cow. I wouldn't drink another human's breast milk regularly - why would I drink another species'?

It is factual.
There are a lot of nontruths in that link in the original post. For instance, dairy cattle are most certainly not given constant doses of antibiotics and are not "constantly stressed". It is simply not true. There are many more big stretches and even lies in that article.

You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe you actually swallow that BS from the website of the Dairy Farmers of America. Look up videos of dairy farms and tell me they are not stressed. They most certainly ARE given constant antibiotics and all kinds of other hormones and chemicals.

What makes sense here? These dairy farms (and all big meat producing plants) are in the business to produce a product as quickly and as cheaply as possible. They don't care what they have to do to get the job done. Just think about it a little. Do some research.

I find it very interesting that people are so skeptical of any information that goes against their American-bred belief that milk "does a body good". It's ironic since that whole myth was created by an extensive and massive advertsing campaign that was never based on any real science. And yet...people just won't let go.

It's BREAST MILK! It's chalk full of PUS and BLOOD and HORMONES that cause CANCER. The poor cows live their entire lives in misery and suffering. Please, open your minds to the idea that cow's milk is NOT healthy at all!!

"You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe you actually swallow that BS from the website of the Dairy Farmers of America. Look up videos of dairy farms and tell me they are not stressed. They most certainly ARE given constant antibiotics and all kinds of other hormones and chemicals."

I've actually been to a dairy farm. Have you? I've been to a beef cattle ranch. Have you?



"What makes sense here? These dairy farms (and all big meat producing plants) are in the business to produce a product as quickly and as cheaply as possible."

Well, no kidding. That's called economics. All businesses are in the business of producing a product as quickly and cheaply as possible. If they don't, they're out of business.



"They don't care what they have to do to get the job done. Just think about it a little. Do some research."

Met a lot of dairy farmers, have you? The farmers and ranchers I've met have been concerned about their herds, keeping them healthy and, yes, protecting their investments.



"It's BREAST MILK! It's chalk full of PUS and BLOOD and HORMONES that cause CANCER. The poor cows live their entire lives in misery and suffering. Please, open your minds to the idea that cow's milk is NOT healthy at all!!"

Cite an independent, researched based, unbiased source with documented facts to prove these statements. Otherwise, it sounds like the ranting of the anti-animal product army.

"You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe you actually swallow that BS from the website of the Dairy Farmers of America. Look up videos of dairy farms and tell me they are not stressed. They most certainly ARE given constant antibiotics and all kinds of other hormones and chemicals."

I've actually been to a dairy farm. Have you? I've been to a beef cattle ranch. Have you?



"What makes sense here? These dairy farms (and all big meat producing plants) are in the business to produce a product as quickly and as cheaply as possible."

Well, no kidding. That's called economics. All businesses are in the business of producing a product as quickly and cheaply as possible. If they don't, they're out of business.



"They don't care what they have to do to get the job done. Just think about it a little. Do some research."

Met a lot of dairy farmers, have you? The farmers and ranchers I've met have been concerned about their herds, keeping them healthy and, yes, protecting their investments.



"It's BREAST MILK! It's chalk full of PUS and BLOOD and HORMONES that cause CANCER. The poor cows live their entire lives in misery and suffering. Please, open your minds to the idea that cow's milk is NOT healthy at all!!"

Cite an independent, researched based, unbiased source with documented facts to prove these statements. Otherwise, it sounds like the ranting of the anti-animal product army.

"Well, no kidding. That's called economics. All businesses are in the business of producing a product as quickly and cheaply as possible. If they don't, they're out of business."

Animals aren't "products". They are living, feeling, sensitive beings. That was my point. Do you support puppy mills, too?

Where exactly is your unbiased source? Because you are all about that website from the dairy farmers. Surely you don't think that is unbiased? I would really, really love to see your unbiased, independent, research-based source with documented facts to prove your statements that dairy cows are not mistreated and pumped full of crap.

Type in "dairy cow undercover videos" and see what comes up. It's horrific. And don't even TRY to tell me that it's a rare occurance.

so, what exctly are the dangers associated with cow's milk? I read about all the bad stuff in cow's milk, but what does it do to our bodies?

Far be it from me to ever rave about the FDA, they have a lot of issues, but they have expressed concern over the possibilities of illegal drugs in the milk supply, drugs that they do not ordinarily test for:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/business/26milk.html

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Especially when you look at the credentials, or in the case of the site that the OP posted, the lack of credentials of the person or organization putting out the info. I know several people who farm or raise animals and I am getting tired of these folks being treated like they are somehow in league with the Devil.

In response to this I just have to say that small family farmers are as much a victim of big business as are the animals themselves (regardless of what I do or do not believe about raising animals for food). Many (if not most) farmers have been forced into industrial production in order to make a living for their families. When production becomes large, a certain number of losses, and abuses, are allowed, and even calculated into profits (simple economics). When human beings are forced to do inhumane things day in and day out, their own humanity starts being chipped away at. I feel badly for the people who have to work in these situations, just as I do for the animals who have to live through them.

Dear lord... not this crap again.

"You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe you actually swallow that BS from the website of the Dairy Farmers of America. Look up videos of dairy farms and tell me they are not stressed. They most certainly ARE given constant antibiotics and all kinds of other hormones and chemicals."

I've actually been to a dairy farm. Have you? I've been to a beef cattle ranch. Have you?



"What makes sense here? These dairy farms (and all big meat producing plants) are in the business to produce a product as quickly and as cheaply as possible."

Well, no kidding. That's called economics. All businesses are in the business of producing a product as quickly and cheaply as possible. If they don't, they're out of business.



"They don't care what they have to do to get the job done. Just think about it a little. Do some research."

Met a lot of dairy farmers, have you? The farmers and ranchers I've met have been concerned about their herds, keeping them healthy and, yes, protecting their investments.



"It's BREAST MILK! It's chalk full of PUS and BLOOD and HORMONES that cause CANCER. The poor cows live their entire lives in misery and suffering. Please, open your minds to the idea that cow's milk is NOT healthy at all!!"

Cite an independent, researched based, unbiased source with documented facts to prove these statements. Otherwise, it sounds like the ranting of the anti-animal product army.

"Well, no kidding. That's called economics. All businesses are in the business of producing a product as quickly and cheaply as possible. If they don't, they're out of business."

Animals aren't "products". They are living, feeling, sensitive beings. That was my point. Do you support puppy mills, too?

Where exactly is your unbiased source? Because you are all about that website from the dairy farmers. Surely you don't think that is unbiased? I would really, really love to see your unbiased, independent, research-based source with documented facts to prove your statements that dairy cows are not mistreated and pumped full of crap.

Type in "dairy cow undercover videos" and see what comes up. It's horrific. And don't even TRY to tell me that it's a rare occurance.

While I may not personally live on a farm, I live in the dairy capital of Canada which can only mean one thing: I've milked too many cows to count, and every single one of my friends is farmers. My best friend actually grew up with such a love for animals that she is now attending university to become a veterinarian. Her, and the rest of her family, wake up each morning at about 4:30 a.m. to milk. There us absolutely NOTHING wrong with how these animals are kept/ treated. They wander in fields all day, and while they may be hooked up to a machine to be milked, there is no harm coming to these animals. I cannot say exactly what goes into their feed, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that there are some kind of hormones. As much as every farmer loves their animals it still has to feed the family, and it is still their source of income. As for health issues, they drink their milk straight from the filtering tank, to ensure they receive all the "good" bacteria (though this includes the added "bad" that isn't removed in the sterilizing process), and they are all very much healthy.

In all honesty, I don't care about what "crap" is being pumped in, I'm sure its there but that's not the part that bothered me about your post. It was the "mistreatment" of the cows that irked me. if ANY farmer i know heard you talking like that, you would NOT be conscious for much longer. The time, effort and care that is placed onto each and everyone of these cows astounds me. Oh, I'm SURE there are horror stories, but none that i have ever seen or heard of. If you wish to believe that dairy farmers are cruel people only hoping to make a dollar you CLEARLY have not met a dairy farmer.

Fear mongering...what a wonderful tool to use in order to get everyone to believe the same things about everything.

I love milk. I love cheese. Fear mongering like this won't make me stop using dairy products any more than people whining about how "bad" it is that I eat...oh goodness...animals.

This....and I'm a WI girl through and through

I totally agree with summalovaable!
While I am not a dairy farmer, I live in a rural town in Australia and work on a sheep farm (have for all my life) and have seen many dairies. No farmer in the right state of mind would intentionally mistreat their stock, be that cows or sheep. Mastitis and such illnesses can strike any animal. As for people saying the conditions that the cattle live in is ludicrous. As previously said, no farmer wants to mistreat their stock.
It really bothers me when people think these types of things about farmers. Unless you have lived our lifestyle, or know the true in's and out's of it, they shouldn't judge us in such a manner.

And as for the dangers of milk, I don't really believe it. I love milk! Most things these days are dangerous for us, they're going to kill us in one way or another, apparently.

Soy milk, no. Hexane, a petroleum byproduct, is used to manufacture the milk, which is why you'll never see an organic bottle of soy milk. It's not possible. Almond and coconut milk are in fact organic, natural, and pressed, not processed.

But the store bought almond milk will often have been added Carrageenan to act as emulsifier (EU additive codes: E407 / E407a) which is on the FAO/WHO list of additives to watch as it is suspected to induce inflammation in human intestinal epithelial cells, be an immunogenic and may be lnked to Chrons disease.

This does not subtract from the value of milks from almonds and such, but goes to show that you have to be aware of the same things as when you buy cows milk (and any other product). You have to be aware of what is added.

These discussions tend to go off track because people don't compare like to like, but compare the worst from what you don't like (in this case milk from penicillin pumped cows that have been chained in a little both and abused so they udders are infected in spite of the antibiotics pumped into them and then pumped full of chemicals on a plant which pollutes way too much using oil or charcoal) with the product you want to push (in this case e.g. home made almond milk from almonds grown in the local pesticide free almond-orchard hand picked by virgins - who are receiving way more than minimum wages - and delivered to you by environmentally friendly horse).

This is not a black vs. white discussion, there is no ultimate truth. For some almond milk is probably better and they have the ressources to make the real good stuff themselves - the same goes for cows milk.

For the rest of us we have to go to the store and buy to the best of our conscience......


Edit...and by the way pressing is a form of processing too, whather it be manual, automatic, heated or cooled, aided by additives or unaided. As soon as you do something to the almond you have begun the processing.
Which is another thing that makes no sense at all....the whole concept of unprocessed foods. My rolled oats I eat for breakfast are processed....they were harvested, sorted and rolled. It's a minimal amount of processing, but they were processed. You can't have many things these days that were not processed to some degree.

"You've got to be kidding me. I can't believe you actually swallow that BS from the website of the Dairy Farmers of America. Look up videos of dairy farms and tell me they are not stressed. They most certainly ARE given constant antibiotics and all kinds of other hormones and chemicals."

I've actually been to a dairy farm. Have you? I've been to a beef cattle ranch. Have you?

What antibiotics and chemicals are you talking about? Dairy cows are given antibiotics in the same sense that we are. They are given for medical treatment. And then milk is thrown out during the withdrawal period. That's not a biased opinion, that is a hard fact. What kind of "chemicals" are cows given? I have no earthly idea what you are talking about in this regard.

As for hormones, yes, cows are given rGBH. Not all, but many. There is no way to discern the content of rGBH in the milk of treated vs untreated cows, however, so there's no net affect on the milk itself, other than there being more of it.

I milk my own cow. If I did not show up at 7 am and 7 pm every day to where my sweet little Jersey is waiting at the gate, she would be in agony. She produces milk whether I am there to relieve her or not. When she has her calf, she still makes at least 2 times what it is able to drink, so she still needs to be relieved by me to prevent mastitis, which is horribly painful for her. She depends on me give her feed while I milk her out by hand. She relies on me to be clean so as not to introduce any infections. She relies on me to scratch her face and ears when I am done to let her know she's a perfect cow who has done a perfect job like centuries of cows before her. The other 23 hours a day she lives in a lush green pasture with fresh water pumped into a clean tank for her that she doesn't even have to get muddy to get to. When it storms, she has a huge warm stall in which to stay dry.

As for the milk, I chose to invest in a cow because I want raw milk. It is the pastuerization that completely screws up the balance of micro-organisms that benefit you. I was completely lactose intolerant and had not had milk for a decade, and now, I drink all the milk I want, with no problems. Also, the fat in milk contains the enzymes that make it possible to digest and utilize milk. Pigs are fed skimmed milk to fatten them up. Fast. You can grow a 400 pound porker in 6 months on skimmed milk.

That gorgeous plug of cream on the top? That is butter!

I make my own butter, cheese and yogurt. No additives. I drink milk (1 to 2% as I use the cream for other things) every day. I dump milk because my cow makes more than my family can ever hope to use, and in a world where people are dying from hunger and malnutrition, it is a federal offense to offer this nutritionally complete food to my neighbors.

Oh, I also get eggs from chickens, and vegetables from my garden and fruit from the woods. None of it has ever been inspected by the FDA. And I have never in my 35 years of life had a food bourne illness, or even been to the doctor for more than a UTI. Nor have any of my family members.

Oh, and I don't buy into the organic craze. What I put on my family's table is organic as possible, but even the seeds I buy and the feed I give my cow has all come into contact with chemicals at some point. It is the world we live in. Food sold organicly may or may not be, but I know from growing my own gardens, you don't get huge yields without spraying stuff. Luckily I don't need huge yields, as I am not profitting off my gardens! And we don't have a clue half of what goes into what we consume. The govt. doesn't tell us everything!

I just wanted to offer my take on things; I am not saying it's right or possible for everyone, or that everyone should like cow's milk. But it doesn't hurt to have another perspective, right?

The dairy farm conditions in Canada and Australia cannot be compared to those in the U.S. The vast majority of dairy cows are confined and do not go out grazing (hence the distinction when milk is sold from "free range" cows, though that term is not monitored by the USDA). That is not to say there are not still small dairy farmers out there who do graze their cows, that's just not the majority. With the amount of milk that is consumed in the States, unless people reduced their consumption, there is simply not enough land to graze all the dairy cows. Additionally, the large farms are based on simple economics. Once a company/farm gets large enough, a certain amount of waste (i.e. mistreated/dying animals) are counted as an acceptable loss. A smaller dairy farmer may have more concern for their animals because the loss of one will have greater impact. But if you have thousands of cows, some loss here and there is not going to hurt your business and will be calculated into operating costs.

And people don't need milk to survive - we don't need cow or goat milk, we don't need almond or soy or coconut milk. So it's not like anyone will whither away and perish if they don't consume some type of milk. Nut milks can easily be made at home from without anything added. So there's no need to buy either if you don't want to.

The dairies here by my home are all California mega-dairies. I drive by them often. They are on the main roads so you can get an up close and personal view. There are between 7,000-10,000 cows at each dairy. Usually, you just see the cows packed in a corralled pen knee deep in their own waste. They are very dirty. I cannot speak as to how many antibiotics or hormones they are given. This is certainly a far cry from the person who has their own cow for personal milk or the smaller family-owned dairy.

Unfortunately, even if conditions were ideal and the cows were happy, the milk would still be inappropriate for human beings. The protein cassein, which is the protein in cow's milk, is the main culprit that has been shown to promote growth in cancer tumors. Organic or not, the protein is still there. And as for the argument "Well, almost everything causes cancer, so I'll just eat how I want and not worry about it." I guess one could use that argument to justify cigarette smoking or alcoholism. We can choose to educate ourselves, or we can choose to just not think about it. The latter choice is what has led so many Americans on the standard American diet to die early from heart disease, cancer and diabetes unnecessarily. My quality of life is important to me, so I'll continue to do my research and rely upon the most consistent, reputable and documented evidence.

But not all foods do cause cancer. In fact, many foods have been shown to fight it, like leafy green vegetables. Whole foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, and starches are vital and essential parts of a healthy diet. You can get all the protein, fat, fiber and nutrients you need. That claim cannot be made for milk.