Mar 13, 2013

Dairy - Wholesome Goodness or Wholesale Corruption?


The dairy industry loves to sweet talk its consumers about how beneficial its products are. Meanwhile, it's trying to gain approval to add the questionable chemical aspartame to its liquid poison -- and without additional labeling, mind you! As a weaned adult, I find this move by the dairy industry troubling at best. See http://www.activistpost.com/2013/02/aspartame-in-milk-without-label-big.html

And as a weaned taxpayer, I find the Milk Income Loss Contract Payments even though they're legal -- objectionable as well. Why should my money go to support an industry that has trouble keeping its products marketable? Hum? 


Meanwhile Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is in court over allegations that it manipulated trading in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Cheese Spot and Milk Futures markets to drive up the price of dairy products across the US. Again there was trickery because there was an unwanted "excess" of their "cheese" products: http://www.dairyreporter.com/Manufacturers/Dairy-Farmers-of-America-facing-court-over-alleged-manipulative-dairy-trading

As if those questionable activities aren't bad enough, what about the deceit on the farms regarding the employment of illegal workers? A legal case involving a Michigan dairy, filed in 2007, just came to a close. The investigation revealed that the Bad Axe dairy operation employed 78 different illegal aliens from approximately 2000 to 2007, which constituted almost 75 percent of its workforce over that time period. 

And in Idaho the dairy industry admits that between 75% to 90% of employees are here and employed "illegally". Bro Jeb Bush is on the task force, along with a bishop with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento to create a "compassionate approach to foreign workers." I imagine the tasks are vile and the pay is low. Luckily these immigrants found kind "overseers" who supplied them with the work no one else wanted. I suppose picking cotton was once like that too. :/
            
Courtesy of New York Historical Society
Also, in case you didn't know, The DairyHerd Network reports that Illinois is the 4th state to allow undocumented workers driver's licenses. It's for the good of everyone on the road don't you know?

Now here's the big question: If cow's milk is in such "demand" (enough to create cows that "yield" almost 13 times more than her calf could ever drink)... If dairy is such a "vital" part of the economy... If "cheese" eating is all that "powerful," then why all the underhanded practices and seedy shenanigans? Why not pay legal employees a proper wage? Why all the wholesale corruption? 

If you're still drinking cow's milk and you're wondering what other things this industry has lied about...
There's abundant good reason to Dump Dairy. The black-and-white fact of it is... Milk isn't wholesome at all!
Art Work by Sarah Kiser


4 comments:

proud womon said...

corruption trumps goodness where the dairy industry is concerned... why can't people question? why not ask "if 'dairy' is so 'healthy' how come there are so many humans intolerant to it?"

veganelder said...

Liars lie...and the profits fly. Profit and living beings should never ever be associated. In fact...profit essentially means getting more from an activity than you put into it...and we've condoned it for way too long. The results are predictably ugly.

Bea Elliott said...

I know proud womon. For me I don't know what's worse... The greed or the ignorance of those who ignore it - To their own peril at that!

As far as dairy and "health" goes... Don't even get me started on Brucellosis that I just read a informative piece on. What is covered up in trade from profit boggles the mind. :/

Bea Elliott said...

You're exactly write veganelder - Profits are above what is earned - When that "excess" is had from the suffering/use of others it becomes nasty stuff.

May the consequences leave the ones we love - Undamaged. <3