Day 4- The Milk Myth

It's shocking to see when you look at our food system how much is controlled by a handful of large companies. Looking deeper you will see how these companies donate large sums of money to political campaigns and keep a large staff of lobbyist at work. The Dairy Farmers of America are no different. The dairy farm of today is much different than even 50 years ago. 

The Milk Machine

Female calves born are kept for the dairy industry. They are inseminated at 15 months to start their grueling life as a milk machine. The male calves are just by-products of milk production. Many are shot at birth because the cost to raise them for meat is not economical to the dairy farmer.  By the end of the dairy cow's short life, she will be physically exhausted. Happy healthy cows can have a long life of around 25 years, the dairy cow is cut short in just 4 or 5.  They will be sent to slaughter, where many cannot even stand up anymore.

The Question

Now what is all this for? Milk. Let’s think about this in pure basic terms. Humans are the only creature on this earth that drinks another animal’s breast milk. Not only as babies but for a lifetime, most other mammals wean off breast milk  after a few months. We just assume to keep on this path because it’s how we’ve always done it?

The Dangers

Now the dangerous health risks. Studies, such as the famous China Study have proven that the casein protein in milk has a direct relationship to cancer development and growth. Also, milk is liquid fat. All animal fats are converted into cholesterol in the body contributing to heart disease.

The Alternatives

There are plenty alternatives to dairy, my favorite being almond milk. There is also soy milk and many other nut milks. The taste is the same if not better, and they do not contain the harmful ingredients contained in the dairy products.

Here are a couple of links to research further:

http://www.notmilk.com/

http://www.thechinastudy.com/

http://www.foodincmovie.com/