Commercial Dairying - False Economy for Cow Protection

[Guest guest]

Most of us who have been around for ten years or so and seen ISKCON

dairy projects start up with great optimism and enthusiasm and end with

tragedy and disillusionment are highly sceptical of the wisdom of

relying on milk sales to as fund raisers. Starting with Bhisma's advise

in the Maharabharata: "He who lives by selling milk will have to sink

in hell."" -- And going right up to the present, we can't figure out

how it could possibly be a good idea.

 

More than a Power Point presentation, what would be more likely to

convince us would be solid figures on an Excel spread sheet -- or some

similar, straightforward financial analysis.

 

For me, I saw the math in 1986, when I realized that, for one calf, a

cow might produce $2000 worth of milk, but to maintain the resulting

bull calf for life in the current economic system would cost $6000 --

leaving a $4000 deficit per animal.

 

So the commercial non-violent dairy balance sheet looks "just like

nectar drink in the beginning" (to paraphrase Bhagavad-gita) when all

the proceeds of milk sales are rolling in -- but "just like poison in

the end" when the milk profits have all been spent, and you still have

to maintain all the retired cows and all those oxen you never trained.

At this point, we always hear about ideas of how the useless animals can

be shipped somewhere else or given to someone else.

 

The only correct response to this situation seems to us that you only

breed a cow when you actually want a calf -- especially a bull calf for

working. Sex should always be for producing offspring -- when it's just

for pleasure -- whether for human sexual pleasure or the pleasure of

drinking milk and making a profit -- the end result is unwanted

offspring.

 

Show, maybe you can show us your math based on a 50 -cow herd on 50

acres of land, with projected figures for each of 15 years, based on the

population of milking and non-millking animals each year and the cost of

maintaining them. If you can get us to year 15 and still show a profit,

then maybe we'll consider you idea.

 

If not, maybe you could find a copy of my old Back to Godhead article

and read that over:

 

"Why Commercial Dairies Can't Stop Killing," Back to Godhead, Vol. 30,

Nov/Dec 1996, p. 53.

 

I'm sure you mean quite well, Prabhu, but I and other experienced cow

people just don't think your figures are going to add up at the end of

15 years.

 

your servant,

 

Hare Krsna dasi

 

 

 

mark chatburn wrote:

 

> Hello, don't know how this got to you, a virus slip

> maybe.

>

> Anyway don't know what email your relating to.

>

> Kirtinanda did a centralised commercial dairy that was

> not profitable. It did not plan for future costs and

> therefore, as most ISKCON farm ventures, fell into

> bankruptcy.

>

> Yes, I do have agricultural experience and a degree in

> Agroforestry.

>

> Yes, this is an idealistic vision based on the idea

> that not killing farm animals is a good idea and if

> worked properly could very well be a profitable

> venture.

>

>

>

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