Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.
~ Albert Schweitzer
I can’t bear to watch this video, the product of the most recent undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals, documenting egregious torture of dairy cows. I know most of you can’t either. I don’t watch it, because I’m already aware of the rampant cruelty inherent in the dairy industry. I don’t need to see the evidence over and over again, causing me nightmares. I choose not to be a party to this cruelty, so I don’t consume any dairy products. My conscience is clear, knowing I’m not supporting the brutality inflicted upon innocent others. If you’re still eating dairy, and you doubt the claims of abuse, then look at the evidence and see for yourself. What you’ll see is not the exception, but the norm. This investigation is only the latest of many showing the same type of violence. Closing your eyes to this reality doesn’t make it go away.
I know many people are aware on some level of their own complicity in this cruelty by endorsing it through their consumption of animal products. They don’t want to see it, so they won’t feel guilty. It’s very easy to alleviate that guilt: Stop eating meat and dairy. It’s easier now than ever before, with many delicious vegan products readily available. Plant-based diets have become increasingly mainstream, and even devout “foodies” like myself can enjoy a richly varied, tasty array of dishes, from simple to gourmet.
If you think you’re being more “humane” by avoiding meat, but still eating dairy products, you are wrong. All animals raised for food suffer immensely, and miserable dairy cows are ultimately slaughtered for their flesh. Milk = Meat = Murder.
From Mercy For Animals’ press release:
“A breaking Mercy For Animals investigation reveals sadistic animal torture at Bettencourt Dairies—a Burger King dairy supplier in Idaho.
The investigation has already led to three workers, including a manager of the dairy, being charged with criminal cruelty to animals.
MFA’s hidden camera captured:
§ Workers and management viciously beating and shocking cows and violently twisting their tails in order to deliberately inflict pain
§ Workers and management repeatedly shocking a downed cow and then dragging her by her neck using a chain attached to a tractor
§ Extremely unsafe and unsanitary conditions, including feces-covered floors that cause cows to regularly slip, fall, and injure themselves
§ Sick or injured cows suffering from open wounds, broken bones, and infected udders left to suffer without veterinary care
Far from leading the carefree lives portrayed in the dairy industry’s “happy cow” commercials, cows exploited and killed for Burger King endure lives of near constant misery and deprivation.
Treated as mere milk-producing machines, these intelligent and social animals suffer unimaginable abuse from the time they are born and ripped from their mothers’ sides until they are so physically worn out from repeated pregnancies and constant milk production that they are sold for slaughter.
MFA is urging Burger King to immediately implement meaningful animal protection guidelines for all dairy suppliers, including zero tolerance for animal abuse, care for “downers,” and an end to mutilations without painkillers. Burger King has the power and the moral responsibility to help end some of the worst forms of animal abuse in the dairy industry.
The most powerful choice that compassionate people can make to help cows is to ditch dairy in favor of healthy and humane vegan alternatives to milk, cheese, and ice cream.”
Previous Mercy For Animals Dairy Investigations:
- E6 Cattle Co, Texas, 2011
- Buckeye Veal Farm, Ohio, 2010
- Conklin Dairy Farms, Ohio, 2010
- Willet Dairy, New York 2009
Of related interest:
Compassionate Citizen 