June is Dump Dairy Month

The dairy industry may recognize June as "Dairy Month", but at Veg-a-thon.com June is Dump Dairy Month. Why dump dairy? Because behind the slick milk mustache campaigns and catchy slogans lie ugly truths about the health effects of milk and its impact on animals and the environment. For a comprehensive explanation of what's wrong with dairy products, see People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' factsheet Milk: A Cruel and Unheathy Product as well as their website MilkSucks.com.


Milk: It Does a Body Harm
Not only does milk fall short of its claim of building strong bones, it actually increases your risk of illness. Consumption of dairy products has been linked to cancer of the breast and prostate, the onset of Juveline Daibetes, colic, food allergies and constipation. Traces of antibiotics and such toxic chemicals as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dioxin are sometimes found in milk as well as high somatic cell counts (pus). Many people are intolerant or allergic to the sugar (lactose) and protein (casein) found in milk. All dairy products contain cholesterol and many are high in saturated fat. None have any fiber, complex carbohydrates or iron. Clearly, dairy products are not the health foods they've been touted as. For the details see the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine's factsheet Health Concerns about Dairy Products. For information on building strong bones, see PCRM's website StrongBones.org.

The Misery of Milk
The lives of cows raised for milk and their calves are far from idyllic. Cows are impregnated repeatedly only to have their calves taken from them within hours or days of their birth. They live in crowded, filthy conditions where they are milked constantly. Pushed to unnaturally high production levels and stressed by their conditions, they suffer high rates of disease, especially mastitis (inflammation of the mammary gland). Male calves of dairy breeds are often raised for veal. These calves are tethered in crates too small for them to turn around and fed an iron-deficient diet before they are slaughtered at 3 to 18 weeks. See Viva USA's video, Meet the Real Dairy Producers to learn more.

Environmental Effects
Dairy farms and all animal agriculture pollute the environment and sqaunder precious natural resources. Manure contaminates water, while methane contaminates the air. Dairy production uses large amounts of land and water relative to the production of plant foods. See Viva USA's guide, Planet on a Plate, to learn about the environmental problems with animal agriculture in general.