Send this to a vegetarian friend - go vegan to stop the abuse!

[Guest guest]

Some people are wondering if we can do anything to stop this kind of treatment - There is absolutely nothing anyone can do about this short of going vegan - Cows are economic commodities (i e things; not beings) and property under the law - This kind of treatment is precisely what it means to be an economic commodity - As long as we continue to consume dairy milk, dairy cheese, dairy ice cream, and “beef” (all of which have at least adequate, and often excellent, vegan substitutes), this kind of treatment must continue by force of the indifferent laws of supply and demand - The industry could not improve conditions even if they desperately wanted to - The industry is likely doing the best they can to provide the cheapest meat and dairy to the consumer with the least cruelty possible- It is the consumer, not the industry, who is to blame for everything that happens on the slaughterhouse floor In addition to not realizing that going vegan is the only way to stop the cruelty, most people don’t realize that these “downers” are virtually all “spent” cows from dairy farms, including “organic” and “free range” dairy farms - This treatment of cows is an absolutely essential part of drinking cow’s milk and eating dairy cheese and dairy ice cream - As Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary said in a recent newsletter about the same topic: Dairy products (milk, cheese, and ice cream) do not come from “happy cows” - Dairy products, including “organic” and “free range”, come from emotionally and physically destroyed grieving mother cows - “Dairy”

cows are more likely to be crippled (“downers”) than “beef cattle”, as Peaceful Prairie Sanctuary correctly notes, “because of calcium-depleted bones, mastitis, and extreme wear and tear on their overused bodies ”The newsletter from Peaceful Prairie continues: “Dairy cows endure repeated 9 month pregnancies in order to lactate - They are forced to have a calf every year - Their babies are forcibly removed from them shortly after birth so that the mother's milk can be taken for humans rather than her baby - The calves are either sold for veal, or are used as "replacers" for their spent mothers and aunts, or are raised specifically for beef ”The last time horrific treatment of nonhuman beings made national news was during the Michael Vick dog fighting scandal and there were many people appropriately outraged by Vick’s behavior - Ironically, however, the outrage was a spectacle in hypocrisy because, as Gary

Francione pointed out at the time, we are all Michael Vick - How many of us unthinkingly cause violence and torture inflicted on innocent beings when we consume dairy products, eggs, and meat (including “organic”, “cage-free” and “free range” products)? There is no significant difference between what Michael Vick did and what we do when we consume animal products If we are to avoid stark hypocrisy in pointing fingers at animal abusers and live a peaceful life ourselves, we must allow ourselves to be informed about what goes on behind the locked sheds and slaughterhouse walls and we must go vegan as our personal solution to it - There are no excuses