The Australian dairy industry is often touted as a wholesome industry in which happy, healthy cows wandering freely in lush green meadows willingly provide us with their milk. But this mythologising of the industry by industry bodies hides an ugly truth.

The dairy is inherently cruel: it relies on impregnating dairy cows and denying calves their mother’s milk by removing the baby from the mother soon after birth. The milk meant for the calf is then harvested and turned into milk, cheese and ice cream for human consumption, while the unwanted baby animal is slaughtered.

Most Australians have been raised to think that drinking milk and consuming dairy products is normal and essential if we are to get our required daily dose of calcium. But how ‘normal’ is it to drink the breast milk of another species - especially when nature has endowed that milk with all the essential nutrients and hormones for the nourishment of their babies, not for the production of ice cream, cheese and butter.

The Miserable Life of a Female Dairy Cow

Like all female mammals, cows need to be producing offspring to produce milk. So for a cow to be considered ‘productive’, she needs be pregnant as often as possible. The dairy industry ensures this happens by artificially inseminating cows and then separating their babies from them usually right after birth. This separation is, of course, highly stressful for both mother and calf. And it happens repeatedly until the female cow is no longer productive and is finally sent for slaughter.

Ordinarily, a cow might live up to 20 years, but the lifespan of a dairy cow rarely lasts that long. It has been estimated that few dairy cows live longer than seven years(3), with many only living to four or five years due to being burdened by excessive breeding and milking(4). Selective breeding and genetic modification produce cows with gigantic udders that put a metabolic strain on the animal and stretching or tearing of the ligaments. The constant cycle of breeding, along with the fact that the amount of milk each cow produces annually has more than doubled since 1980, has significant health impacts on a female cow. Dairy cattle can also be susceptible to infections of the feet, teat and udders(5).

Calves – The Unwanted Leftovers

In Australia it is estimated that 450,000 to 800,000 unwanted calves are born and killed each year(6) - the vast majority of these calves are male as they are of little use to the dairy industry. These ‘bobby calves’ are considered industry ‘wastage’: they are removed from the mother within hours of birth(7), and are often transported long distances for slaughter(8) sometimes for up to 30 hours at a time causing them to starve(9). The legal framework that is meant to protect these animals allows calves less than 24 hours old to be killed by a blow to the head(7).

Environmental Impact

Milk production also impacts the environment in various ways. Here in Australia, one of the biggest problems is water usage. It has been estimated that on average, Australian dairy farms use about 800 litres of irrigation water for every 1 litre of milk produced(10) with 90% of the water used on dairy farms used to irrigate the pasture(10). In addition, dairy farming contributes to the loss of ecologically important areas like wetlands and forests due to deforestation. Many of these lands provide habitat for native species, and as the rate of clearing continues to increase, we stand to lose thousands of endangered species to farms. Then there’s the fact that dairy cows emit methane that is 21 times more lethal than the exhaust coming from your car (11). 60 – 70% of dairy farm emissions originate from cows digesting their own food. The use of fertiliser and pesticides also has an impact, especially when allowed to run into waterways and soil.