Recently, there have been quite a few ads and commercials trying to get people to go vegan. They think it is inhumane to use milk, eggs, etc., from cows and chickens.
There are problems with that, on so many levels. Obviously, not may vegans have spent much time on a farm.
I grew up on a farm with cows, ducks, geese, chickens and cornfields, etc. If you do not milk cows daily, their "bags" get so full of milk it can and does sometimes stream from the udders without help.
After a few days the cows cry because they are in pain form being engorged with milk. It can and will become hard, painful and infected. Then, no more cow.
How humane is that?
If you do milk her, but do not use the milk, what are you going to do with it? The cream settles on top, then it all turns sour. That's no more humane, just a mess.
As to the chickens, laying eggs, it is what they do. And if you do not gather the eggs, they will rot. Have you ever had to clean up a bunch of exploded, rotted eggs? I have, and trust me, there is nothing humane about it.
If you do collect them, but do no use them, what do you plan to do with them? They tend to pile up after awhile (the hens just keep laying them), and you still end up with exploded, rotted eggs and more mess.
Which part of this is humane? One chicken lays a lot of eggs in a lifetime. One cow (I know for a fact) can give a bucket full of milk every day, sometimes two times a day. What else do you plan to do with it all?
Waste is not humane either, and the cows and chickens are not harmed by relieving them of these natural products.
I do not know what to tell you about the meat part. I do not like pork, but I do sometimes like beef and even venison.
I would not and could not actually kill any animal for it. I love animals. At 5 years old, I had a pet chicken. I carried it with me everywhere - for awhile. My father found a cure for that.
Babies need milk to survive. I personally would have nothing left to eat if I had to give up milk, eggs and cheese.
Patti Harr
Duncansville
