I would like to share something that moved me recently. About a week back I went to my friend Cleas gorgeous permaculture farm near Valpoi, Goa. She told us that earlier in the day she had gone to town to get some supplies when she saw some people on the street who asked her if she would like to take this male calf they had with them to her farm. She asked them why? They said that if not, they would be selling it off to a butcher. This is the regular fate almost all male calves in the dairy industry. They are separated from the mother immediately after they are born and then either left to starve or given away for slaughter. They mother struggles and cries for its baby. The baby cries for its mother. And meanwhile we humans collect the milk for ourselves. So Clea took the little fellow and brought him back to her farm, as she has a few other cows on her farm. We heard him crying all night - was he missing his mother, or was he just hungry? Probably both. Next morning while Clea tried to arrange some milk for him from a nearby dairy farm (she doesnt milk her other cows, as she is vegan) he began sucking her fingers like they were his mothers breasts and this seemed to greatly calm him. See the video below. Cute, and yet heartbreaking. This made me reflect on how disconnected we have become that we dont mind stealing a child from its mother and milk from a newborn just so that we can have our milky tea, cheese and favorite sweetmeats. The myth that animal products and diary is good for us has been propagated for too long by powerful interests that profit from it. Which other species drinks its own mothers milk after it grows up - what to speak of another species milk? Isnt it time to question these myths and the effects that our daily actions have on the lives of others and the planet? I recently found out that despite having so many vegetarians who claim to hold the cow sacred, India is presently the worlds biggest exporter of beef. Perhaps we dont realize what exactly we are supporting every time we have milk or curd or ghee: artificial insemination (euphemism for rape); cows who get to live only 1/5th of their full age before being sent for slaughter; massive increase in air and water pollution and more. Few know that the livestock industry is by far the biggest contributor to global warming, deforestation and to our dying oceans. What we choose to eat and not eat every day has a far bigger impact on the environment than any other decision we are usually told to take - drive less, switch off lights, dont waste water. A single vegan saves an olympic swimming pools worth of fresh water every year! So I would like invite you to choose a more compassionate existence and go vegan. It is among the most important decisions you can make for your health, for the peace and wellbeing of our fellow earthlings and for the health of our planet. Cleas little calf is happy today. He gets fresh milk daily from a nearby dairy - albeit from another mother who was deprived its young one. He has been accepted by the other cows who initially would head butt him. He is gets to walk around the farm and be mischievous. Millions others like him do not have the same fate, all because we are addicted to the milk of another species. Surely we can do better that this. Can a Facebook post change our hardwired habits of consumption? I dont know. But if if even one person is inspired to change through this post, then I feel I have honored the pain of the one little calf I saw last week and made partial amends for all the years I too was fooled into believing that milk was required and good for me. With love, Nithya
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 16:50:58 +0000
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