this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2023
35 points (100.0% liked)
Chat
7512 readers
4 users here now
Relaxed section for discussion and debate that doesn't fit anywhere else. Whether it's advice, how your week is going, a link that's at the back of your mind, or something like that, it can likely go here.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I agree wholeheartedly with your definition of exploitation. Which is why I wish for best practices:
Free range, proper food and shelter, and generally ensuring best quality of life in any way possible, and treated with dignity in exchange for the milk.
Leave the cows and bulls to their own devices in the fields, so that that pregnancy can happen naturally
Jersey cattle and other farm cows produce huge amounts of milk, and the calf is only killed out of greed to maximise profits
Don't inject cows with hormones for the sole purpose of driving up milk production
Don't kill the cows for meat
Basically, I would like it if cows were treated like pets with whom you exchange food in exchange for their stuff, than goods-production-biomachines.
This is of course an expensive endeavour and the feasiblity as a business model on a large scale in every circumstance is debatable - but it is very much possible. For example, we have a farm nearby where they treat the cows with dignity, and manage to be profitable. The milk they sell is more expensive than the normal one, but it is worth the moral relief.