How are dairy cows made to produce milk?

I’m vegetarian and always buy organic dairy products as I care for their welfare. But I do not understand or know much about the processes in volved to get the cow to produce milk e.g. are they made to have a calf to produce the milk and if so how often are they forced to do this etc.
So am I no better off buying organic then
- is the whole process unnatural and cruel?

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6 comments a "How are dairy cows made to produce milk?"

yep they have to calf to produce milk.. and long as milk is being taken from the cow, she will produce more

Yes they have to have a calf. As with all mammals, the hormones involved in being pregnant and giving birth are what stimulate milk production.

They are put in calf, either by a bull or AI -artificial insemination . this is to avoid cross breeding
They then give birth to a calf and they will continue to produce as long as they are milked, whether it is a calf drinking it or they are milked by machines
Many cows milk all year round- will continue to produce milk for consumption by humans, there are also cows which are “dried off” ie they might milk for about 9-10 months of the year and then the farmer gives then an injectionso they are not made to produce milk.
Not all dairy cows produce milk to be homogenised and pasteurised for the milk you drink from a carton, other cows make milk for cheese and other dairy produce

obviously some cows are kept in high standards, though not all are, one would hope that they would receive good care and attention. Organic here would refer to the feed that the cows are given, (most cows just eat grass and meal)

Some vegans would argue that this process is unnatural and cruel, but this is why we have high standards and in fact it is unfair on the cows to just stop milking them suddenly

and there are strict standards involving the amount of bacteria acceptable in milk, the percentage of buttermilk etc etc

Bottom line: no, i would not stop drinking dairy products, it is not unfair to the cows, females are content creatures for the most part, visit a small dairy farm and you would find this out

Wow, there has been ALOT of BAD information given out in these comments. I will try to correct as many as I can. First of all, I am a mother, second of all, I have lived on a dairy farm for over 50 years so I know something about cows and milk.

The process of impregnating a cow, giving birth and milking is her natural life cycle. In other words, if man had not domesticated the cow, she would be doing the same thing, only in much more dangerous situations and without the care that the dairy farmers provide during these processes. So there is nothing cruel or unusual about the cycle.

As far as raising a dairy cow organically, if you tried to raise your child organically, you could be brought up on child abuse charges. When your child is sick, do you not take her to the doctor and accept the prescribed medications? If you are raising a cow organically, you may not give them penicillin to treat an infection, or if you do she must be removed from the farm. (Have you ever considered doing that to your child?)

Next, NO milk that a consumer purchases, no matter how is was produced, contains antibiotics, or artificial bovine growth hormones. Milk is tested several times from the time it leave the cow until it arrives at the store for any antibiotic residue. If any is found, it is immediately discarded down the drain. There is no danger of any antibiotics in your dairy or even meat that you purchase from a store. There are VERY STRICT government rules and guidelines regarding this topic. As for the use of the artificial bovine growth hormone (rbST), it is consumed by the cow’s body in the production process of the milk. No artificial hormone is found in her milk. However, ALL milk no matter how it was produced contains natural bovine growth hormones in the same quantities. There is NO TEST available that can determine if milk was produced with or without the help of rbST.

As to the fat content in milk, that is a personal preference with consideration given to your particular health needs. Some people/children need the full fat milk, others don’t. That’s why milk is offered in so many different ways.

I hope this clears up at least most of the major misstatements from above. Happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Here are a few health facts based on verifiable research:

- Unless otherwise labeled, most milk produced in the US contains genetically modified bovine growth hormones. This is a reason that the EU does not accept US beef and dairy products into its food supply. Milk also contain antibiotics that is helping decrease resistance to germs in the population. Germs are getting harder to fight.

- Milk is a good carrier of germs and viruses.

- Milk is not the best source of calcium. One large-scale study showed decalcification for women who drank more milk. Vitamin D is better attained through exposure to sunlight.

- Milk contains 24 proteins that can cause allergic reactions.

- Whole milk contains unhealthy fats.

- Milk is not necessary for a healthy diet.

Deaths from heart disease is in part due to excess consumption of dairy products. Milk is like a liquid protein. The American diet is too rich for your health.

The media emphasizes animal rights. The real story is the right of every American to have a healthy lifestyle. We need to reduce consumption of unhealthy foods. Dairy could be completely removed from our diets with a huge improvement to overall health. Even health professionals seem unaware of this fact.

Milking conventionally and milking organically is not different. Cows have the urge to be milked, and actually go up to the automated equipment to do so, and computers and sophisticated equipment insures no cow skin or blood or anything like that ends up in the milk, in organic and conventional milk. But of course in organic milk, grass fed, no rBST etc etc.

After giving birth, a cow will continue to provide milk, for either 6 months or a year and a half I forget sorry

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