Dairy Farming and the Hidden Atrocities

India by far is known as the land of agriculture and farming, and one more known fact is that India primarily consists of people who follow a vegetarian diet. Having said that it is also true that in India the tradition of cow or dairy farming has been passed down from generations to generations. What started off as a family tradition, soon became a profitable business, and gradually India soon became the leading producer of milk and other dairy products all over the globe.

This, however, also meant that as this business became more profitable and the demands kept growing more, so did the inhumane behavior against the cows that gave us this white gold. From the ethical and planned White revolution that was started by Dr Verghese Kurien, to the times today when cows are harmed and ill-treated, the dairy farming industry has changed magnanimously.

Over the last few years, the demand versus the supply has risen, which means that to meet these demands, cow farms have started looking for more unnatural and sometimes evil ways of ensuring that the demands are met. The cruelty that is being inflicted on these cows is something that we can’t even begin to talk about. For starters, most cows and buffaloes are genetically manipulated to have bigger udders so that they can supply more milk than the usual quantities.

If this was not enough, another trick that they follow is to inject these cows with synthetic growth hormones that help in the production of more milk, however, also leads to the possibility of getting infected by mastitis which is an udder infection. In India, farmers also follow the ‘phukan’ method through which sticks are rammed into the cow’s uterus which causes them immense pain. Through the process of genetic modification, the short term goal of getting more milk is definitely solved, however, all this mutation often leads to the development of swollen udders that get infected and this leads to blood and puss seeping into the milk.

The business of dairy farming was ethical till the time cows started getting subjected to inhuman behavior which also includes keeping the cows lactating even after their calves are taken away. Once the mother cows are milk-producing abilities wane off, they are either killed and their skin and flesh are sold off.

There needs to be an end to this inhumane way of dairy farming, in which thousands of cows are harmed in the most toxic way possible.