Are grass-fed cows considered inhumane?

by Meghan
(Kentucky)

I have been a vegetarian for almost 8 years and have just recently given up eggs. I am finding it much harder to let go of cheese though. I tried avoiding foods with large amounts of cheese or milk, but am finding it extremely frustrating.

I know that when a cow goes without being milked for too long it becomes very painful and aggitates them, and have always felt that because of this, getting milk from a cow is the opposite of cruel. I have been trying to do research on cheeses and milk that come from farms with free range cattle that have been treated humanly, since the only reason I became vegetarian was animal welfare. Are there any such places that have a good reputation that sell online?

Answer:

You sound a lot like me! I know just what you're going through- cheese was my last step to veganism. I just loved it so much and thought I could find a way around the cruelty by finding a nice farm. You might be able to find a grass fed farm on localharvest.net, and it might be worth a look. I personally found those options few and far between.

As far as the cows needing to be milked, I too thought the same thing. After a bit of research I figured out that my vision of dairy farming was incredibly inaccurate, unfortunately. I'll include this link here in case you want to learn about> how cows are treated on dairy farms.

I totally understand your frustration-- going vegan after learning about animal farming data is truly inconvenient. You'll probably always have to do a bit more research to make sure your purchases align with your beliefs, but you should always feel good about what you are doing. Try not to let the frustration win over. Good luck!

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