NPR: Cow’s Milk Consumer Appeal Has ‘Curdled’

Dairy milk’s reputation is going sour. Compassion Over Killing’s latest investigation exposes egregious cruelty to gentle mother cows at Mason Dixon Farms, a supplier to dairy giants Land O’Lakes and Dairy Farmers of America.

Plus, as consumers grow increasingly leery of cow’s milk as a “healthy” product, they’re ditching the dairy and turning to plant-based milks made from almond, soy, and more.

As NPR puts it, Americans are consuming less cow’s milk because its appeal has “curdled”, naming the biggest source of this dairy decline as younger generations turning to plant-based alternatives just as their parents have already begun to do.

“Milk is the perfect food – for calves,” NYU professor of nutrition Marion Nestle told NPR. “There is no question about that. But for humans, it may not be. And it may not be necessary, and there is plenty of evidence that it isn’t necessary.”

Dairy cows are impregnated by artificial insemination each year in order to keep producing milk. Mother cows carry their babies for nine months like human mothers, and form lifelong bonds with their calves. But in the dairy industry, their newborn calves are taken away — so their milk, that “perfect food for calves”, can be sold for human consumption.

Also cited as reasons that consumers are turning away from cow’s milk are efforts by the animal rights movement to advocate vegan alternatives, and the use of growth hormones in dairy cows to boost milk production.

As the rise of plant-based milks continues, Desperate Dairy is doing everything it can to squash it, urging the FDA to stop the use of words like “milk,” “cheese,” “yogurt,” or “ice cream,” on dairy-free products, and claiming that such labeling causes consumer confusion.

Compassion Over Killing whipped up a better solution: If Big Dairy’s worried about consumer confusion, why not clearly label its own products “cow milk,” “cow cheese,” and so on? Sign & share our Change.org petition!