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

USDA Provides Funds For Dairy Propaganda

There really is no nice way to put this... The corruption is blatantly obvious.  The USDA just gave the dairy industry $1.1 million dollars so that they may explore more effective ways of communicating to customers how great cow's milk is. :/


That's not exactly how the grant reads... But it's the gist of it.  And you can draw your own conclusions here.


Now... Wanna see something FREE that shows how wonderful some people think cows are?


Today's Happy Veggie Kids post on vegansaurus highlights 6 year old Ruby Bird as she embraces the gentle giant beside her:

I don't think there's enough money in the world that could buy the honesty this photo displays.  


Want a real life without excuses that rationalize killing innocent animals?  Go Vegan. ;)

Cattle Drug Bust - Meat Industry Transport Corruption

There was a $6 Million drug bust at the Canada/U.S. border which seized 1,746 pounds of high grade marijuana concealed within the floors of a cattle trailer. "Customs officers found hidden under the floor, bundles of "BC Bud", a highly potent form of marijuana cultivated in British Columbia that can sell for $3,500 to $6,000 per pound in the United States." And it's not too surprising that there is this element of corruption within the Animal Ag/Meat Industry... Especially when we know of the human rights and labor law violations. But I think there was yet another wrong committed, slipping silently under the guise of law and justice - that of apathy and (blind) social acceptance. And this is concerns the poor beings within these "livestock" cars and "food animal" transport systems. All who, by the way - get their "humane handling" training from Beef USA. (oh that's comforting isn't it?) As far as the pitiful "welfare" issues these truckers are advised of... according to the USDA's Cattle and Swine Trucking Guide there are all sorts of considerations to make these animals "comfortable" on their journey. Including the amount of time they should be expected to travel without rest/food/water:

" Mature cattle have been delivered in good condition after being carried for as long as 48 hours. However, experienced transporters feel that cattle should not be carried for more than 30 to 40 hours without rest. Generally, feeder calves should not be in transit for more than 34 hours without rest. Swine have been carried for as long as 36 hours without rest."

But what gives here? How does it "depend" on many factors? What happened to the mandates of the generous(1877) 28 Hour Law, which states that the maximum amount of time animals can be hauled without rest is 28 hours?

So, animal ag... meat industry... usda... beef people... livestock vets... pig haulers and cow movers... which is it? Is there a "law" or isn't there? Or could it be that these are the same laws that get flexed, bent and ignored like the other "humane" laws? After all, do we really ever expect to hear a breaking news story reporting that a truck load of pigs or cows was being diverted because they haven't been sufficiently "rested"? Yet... I guarantee you - it happens all the time. Other things that concern me about the blatant lies in livestock transport: There are windchill charts - and warnings that when it's freezing - animals will huddle together... causing the ones at the bottom and middle to be crushed... It also suggests to limit water consumption, so urine does not exacerbate the windchill... All this is meant to be so much more "humane" as they are 18-wheeled to the slaughterhouse...

And in hot weather truckers might sprinkle water on swine during transit, as it "considerably improves performance and slaughter yields." There's more issues concerning ventilation, grouping like animals, grouping pregnant animals, truck sizes, chutes and other technical matters, all revolving around the bottomline of course. And there's the "humane euthanasia" that these truckers are expected to employ. If there is a sick or injured animal - (amongst the 300 or so) the driver is supposed to contact a vet (in the middle of a thousand mile trip) to aid the suffering animal. Or, he's supposed to tend to this animal himself.

R-I-G-H-T... I can just see it now... Joe Truckdriver, delaying the trip by hours to call a vet in an unknown nowhere... OR- stopping his route... risking life/limb to tend to the suffering of number 389-5x cow, or #84q5 pig... That's such crappy-dung! But of course they won't do that - it's not safe and it's not profitable... Just like the bleed rail... nothing shuts it down - Nothing. And here's more about the ins and outs of loading a dying animal on to a truck if it must be transported with the other animals - Fork lifts that could be used... wenches, and so forth - (trying to avoid further injury of course). But doesn't that contradict not proceeding if there's an injured animal? We're not supposed to roll, unless every one's healthy... Right??? Or which is it? Or is it anything that gets your "product" to the market, good enough to be killed. And "alive" enought to be processed into your little greasy sausages and bloody burgers that will do? Animal ag- meat industry... Your driver smuggling in the pot - is rather harmless in comparison to you who openly disregard pitiful "regulations", who offend and openly murder - all under the protection of archaic "law" and public ignorance. Go Vegan