IN BRIEF
- The Facts:
Another factory farm, that supplies milk to one of Coca Cola’s companies has been exposed in the form of graphic video footage for extreme animal cruelty.
- Reflect On:
How have we become so desensitized as to where our food comes from? Are animal products actually healthy, or has this simply been mass marketed by big food corporations? How can we stand by and let innocent, sentient, empathetic beings be tortured?
Nearly 100 percent of all animal products come from factory farms or other extremely unethical sources. I would argue that there is no ethical source for producing or eating anything that comes from an animal, especially in today’s day and age when it’s become quite clear that using animals for goods and services as well as food consumption is completely unnecessary and represents one of the largest, if not the largest, contributors to environmental destruction. There are billions of animals raised for slaughter every single year and so many of them go through a torturous, depressing, and heartbreaking existence. How have we allowed this to happen? Our relationship with animals is supposed to be a sacred, special one. How have we become numb to the hurt and pain we cause to these innocent, vulnerable, empathetic, intelligent, and emotional beings?
The latest example of animal cruelty that’s surfaced comes from animal rights activists who released horrifying footage from a Coca-Cola farm. This footage may seem shocking to many, but it’s not shocking for most animal activists as this is very well known and a reality that’s happening everyday on the majority of factory farms.
As a result of the footage, the Coca-Cola corporation has cut ties with the farm, which was supplying milk for the company. But then again, if you drink milk and/or eat or use animal products, this is what you are supporting.
The Animal Recovery Mission sent undercover workers into Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana, one of the largest dairy farms in the country that supplies milk for Coca-Cola’s Fairlife brand.
The footage was released on Wednesday, and it shows workers punching, kicking and throwing calves as well as beating the animals with steel rods and plastic milking bottles “on virtually a daily basis.” Newborn calves are crudely branded and given inadequate food and nutrients. Dead and dying animals are left to bake in the sun and male calves are sold to veal farms, despite the farm claiming the contrary.
While we are on the topic of dairy farms, it’s important to know that cows are forcefully impregnated so they can produce milk and their babies are ripped away from them, which is heartbreaking for the animals because it’s the only piece of love they will ever experience. The babies are then grown for slaughter or killed after being ripped from their mothers not long after birth.
Furthermore, why do humans drink the milk of a cow when it’s not needed? In fact, it’s not good for us at all. Milk from cows has been touted as making our bones stronger and preventing conditions like osteoporosis. It turns out that it’s the complete opposite, that milk causes bone degeneration by leeching calcium from the bone. You can read more about that here. Futhermore, Doctor Colin Campbell, author of the “China Study,” discovered that animal protein (casein found in the milk of a cow) can accelerate and “turn on” cancer, while plant-based protein has the opposite effect. You can read more about that here.
Making space for animals that will be used for human consumption is also one of the leading causes of deforestation.
You may also be interested in reading the following articles:
Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Meat
The Heart-Disease Rates of Meat-Eaters Compared To Vegans & Vegetarians: The #1 Killer In The US
Plant-Based Protein VS. Protein From Meat, Which One Is Better For Your Body?
Metabolic Acidosis: It’s What Happens To Your Body When You Eat Animal Protein
The Takeaway
Why do we treat animals the way we do? At the end of the day, we are the ones buying these products and supporting this industry, so we have the power to stop it. However, awareness is increasing and the vegan “market” has exploded, whereas dairy products are now having a harder time with sales. Milk sales in America alone declined by more than a billion dollars.
Things are changing, and we must continue to keep creating awareness and speaking up for those going through the biggest genocide in history who are unable to speak for themselves.