I thought it would go away. I mean a post like this one is so much bologna there should be no way that it would get spread around right? ... Wrong! What am I talking about? This...
****EDIT- February 2016 The original Facebook post was eventually removed. This is a screenshot of that post. Unfortunately some of the caption was cut off.****
The movie Earthlings was released back in 2005, despite it's almost 10 year old age, the promotional facebook page for the movie is still quite active. This particular post has been shared, liked and commented on since it was put out way back in April. Despite the post being a total fabrication, it appears to be one of the most popular posts on that page and has been seen by millions of people.
If you saw this post and felt shocked and saddened by what they were telling you, you've been had. Here are 6 ways that this post is lying to you.
- These little houses that calves live in are called calf hutches. A calf hutch is where most dairy calves live for the first stage of their lives. Like any newborn baby, calves need to be protected from germs and bacteria that can make them sick. The people that are behind this photo want you to think of it as a prison cell when it's really a more like a crib or playpen. Want to know why we separate cows and calves in the first place? Read this post.
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This isn't a veal farm. This is not how veal calves are raised. Even if it was a veal farm, veal calves are not slaughtered at 6 weeks of age. If you want to learn more about the veal industry in the US please check out this website or this website.
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This photo is from a heifer raising farm. Heifer calves (girls) are raised to become future dairy cows. Yes, there are a lot of hutches there. I don't know which farm this is but they may be raising heifer calves for one farm or several farms. Many dairy farms raise their baby calves on a different farm from where they milk cows. This allows each farm to focus on one aspect of raising calves. A high school math teacher has different lesson plans than a 1st grade teacher and an employee on a heifer farm has a specialty that is different than a milker on a dairy farm.
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This photo is stolen. It wasn't taken by Animal Rights activists, the photo appeared online on a dairy website and the folks behind posting it with the false information stole it off of that website to use it for their propaganda. That's just not cool.
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Let's look at what a calf hutch looks like from the front. It should blow the idea that calves can't move around in them right out of the water. Click on each photo to read the caption.
6.Make no mistake, Nation Earth, the group behind the 'Earthlings' movie and this facebook page wants your money. Even though the movie is almost 10 years old, they aren't ready to stop milking their cash cow, which is the only kind of cow they care about. From the Earthlings website donation page-
"Nation Earth uses all funds raised to continue streaming EARTHLINGS online for free, to help raise awareness in other people and other organizations, to donate copies of the film to organizations and individuals, to continue activism in the animal rights field, to produce UNITY, and to help produce other educational media."
The bottom line on all of this is that this post is the perfect example of people being able to make up whatever fits their agenda and use it to pull the wool over unknowing people's eyes while making a grab at their pocket book. The post from Earthlings has been seen by millions of people and unfortunately the truth will only be seen by a fraction and that's exactly why we need more farmers telling their stories and showing what really happens on farms.
P.S. If you choose to comment on the post, please be respectful. Many of the comments already there are perfect examples of how not to act online and they come from "our" side.
Barbara Wogsland
Thanks Carrie for getting the correct image about calf hutches out. I can't start to count how many times I've had to explain the very logical reasons why we use calf hutches on our farm to visitors. So many non-farm people have come to the wrong conclusions about one of the best inventions in the dairy industry.
ME
I'm a hunter, and I was explaining to my mom how we don't hunt females after December 31st in our state because they could already be pregnant. That means the remaining month of the season, we only hunt bucks.
"But, if you kill the buck, who's going to protect the doe and her fawn?!" she cried.
"Please stop getting your biology information from Disney. The bucks don't stick around after doing the deed."
THAT'S the problem. The eagerness people have to decide that ALL animals have equal or superior emotions to humans makes the "keyboard commandos" pretty stupid.
Chris Northuis Kuck
Very well put! Male bears don't stick around either.
Wild Wolf
People really are stupid. Bambi is a fantasy story. Not reality..
Theresa
I've seen the calves in person housed in these hutches and they seemed healthy, happy and clean. Nothing at all wrong with housing them in clean shelters. I havent seen the video from the AR group.
Mary Pawelko
A child can be happy and healthy in an orphanage too, I guess, but it's not the same as being with his/her mother. Cows could be isolated with their calves easily enough, but then the farmers wouldn't get the milk, the calf would. I've read that cows have been genetically altered through the years to provide ten times the milk that they did many years ago, so maybe that wouldn't apply anymore. Still, I'd rather my newborn child stay with me than get farmed out to an orphanage for 'safety.'
walterstucco
a calf is not a kid.
" Cows could be isolated with their calves easily enough, but then the farmers wouldn’t get the milk, the calf would"
that's not true.
what do you think the calves eat?
steaks?
"I’ve read that cows have been genetically altered through the years to provide ten times the milk that they did many years ago"
everything you eat everyday had been "altered" (better phrasing is "carefully selected") to produce more than it did before.
We would not have edible wheat as we know it without human selection.
"I’d rather my newborn child stay with me than get farmed out to an orphanage for ‘safety.’"
repeat with me: a calf is not a child.
should we send them to school, so they can improve their social position?
tend
Firstly the issue of whether plants have been modified to increase yield in no way justifies increasing the milk yield of animals for human consumption, in my opinion.
Secondly~ whether or not a calf has total similarities with human children is secondary to the fact that it is a living being, and the offspring of a mother~ they are hard wired to be together unless human beings separate them. Of course, these days, they would not be born at all were it not for the dairy industry.
I have been really glad to read the expose of the facebook post~ so I am not radically pro vegan propaganda by very long shot~ I just don't think it is for humans to diminish animals in nature,need, consciousness or sensitivity~ in the calves heart it is a child, even if it does not know the word, and even if you think it is not.
Tony Chalmers
Walter, when Mary talks about a child staying with its mother she's not saying that cows are human, she's suggesting that the same relationship applies, which from the cow & calf's point of view is true. Sure, they don't go to football games together, but they do experience emotions of comfort & security or loss, depression & pain. Your lack of compassion in not recognising this fact is alarming.
Calves don't get to drink their mother's milk in the way your sarcastic reply suggests, they drink milk substitutes made from milk, plasma & serum or a cheaper form of protein made from eggs or plants.
Your comment about everything we eat being "carefully selected" to improve yield or edibility masks some important facts in the case of dairy cows. Among these are the fact that dairy cows are forcibly inseminated to become pregnant over & over again to ensure they keep on producing milk, not for their calves, which are taken from them & killed or placed in isolation hutches for their own 'safety & welfare' a day or two after they're born, The average life expectancy of a cow is about 20 years or, in the case of a dairy cow, 3 or 4 years due to their bodies being depleted of nutrition in producing all that milk, which in many cases leads to fractured bones due to calcium loss & eventually kills the cow through sheer exhaustion. Again, your lack of compassion is alarming.
kramerfaye15
Do people forget that they eat steaks whether beef or pork or lamb. These Calves are getting better care than most so people need to get a grip and quit trying to humanize what is reality. These calves are happy and healthy.
Ryan
You guys are all city slickers thinking is country people are bad , calfs love the warmth from them , and they are for dairy calfs not beef
Laura
I feel really sorry for you
Lori
Tony, your comment is completely misleading. The average lifespan of a dairy cow may be around 5 years(not 3 or 4 years), but it isn't because of the reasons you listed. Rather dairy cows serve 2 purposes- milk and meat. It isn't because they are depleted of nutrients or fracture bones, nor does it kill the cow through "sheer exhaustion." They have new cows entering the herd every year, so they cull others for hers management. Older cows may produce less milk so they send them to be butchered for meat. Dairy farms do have cows that are older than 5, some are 9 years old. These cows are treated extremely well. Cows are a completely domesticated animal. There is absolutely nothing wrong with slaughtering animals for meat. After all we are omnivores, and the process is much much less painfuland more kind than predators out in the wild killing their prey. Nobody here is lacking compassion, you have just been mislead by self righteous animal rights activists that lie because the facts aren't nearly horrible enough for them to have a legitimate complaint.
As for the original comment, it's just not a good example to compare a human child to a calf. Cows in no way have the same range of emotions that humans do, so it's not the same relationships. Weaning is never an easy task, but it has to happen regardless of if it's a week after birth or a few months after birth. And either way, it's just as difficult no matter when it happens. After the initial shock, they are happy and healthy. At the end of the day AR groups paint a nasty picture full of misinformation.
Laura
You are absolutely correct
SLA
Not much different than having baby chicks in brooders, under lights and away from adult chickens. Babies have to have certain - and different - conditions than adults.
Matthew Bartlett
If that were true, then there would be no chickens. The Chickens through all of time didn't know that they weren't providing the different environment that chicks need, so no chicks would have ever been able to reproduce, thy would have all died. No chickens until people come along and figure this out.
Azure James
Totally agree with you because my friends are so easily swayed by these images. 80% of the people I know are bleeding heart liberals and pretty stupid as well it seems… But I try to explain things to them.
SLA
Really? Do you REALLY have to resort to name-calling? I'm a liberal and I am NOT stupid. But I do know quite a few very stupid conservatives. And I've tried explaining things to THEM - backed up by FACTS - and they just don't get it.
Gene Xiaos Dage
If you took a second to actually read what the poster wrote you'd see that you're jumping the gun, yea they said bleeding heart liberal, but they did not call liberals stupid, they said their friends are "pretty stupid as well" meaning that not only are they liberals, but they, specifically "they" (their friends), are pretty stupid. The poster did not however say that "liberals are stupid". The fact that i had to explain this though paints a very different picture about your claim of not being stupid.
SLA
No - YOU reread what was written:
"80% of the people I know are bleeding heart liberals and pretty stupid as well it seems"
Donna Marshall
If healthy discussion us to take place then all name calling should be checked at the door.
walterstucco
I consider myself a liberal, but I cannot stand " bleeding heart liberals", they are the devil.
They think they are liberal, but they are just christians without jesus.
They replaced the cross with baby animals.
Provoked
Hello walterstucco - The cross of Jesus as man or savior has little evidence of existence. There is no proof that such a "Christ-on-a-cross" event is even historically real. Yet... We can see, hear and touch these babies. There is no doubt they are here. Having been brought forth by monetary gain and the manipulation of nature, their stay is never long. And their end is never just. I can prove all this...
But honestly... Stealing babies from mothers... Disposing of the "undesirable" births... Many of you in the dairy business call and treat them as "waste" don't you? It's a system that runs on mother-less babies and childless mothers, all mixed and sieved into the same meat-trough of misery and murder. Only a sinister and corrupted Devil could make such practices a business model. Innocent life sacrificed for greed - The animal industries do a fine job at putting babies on that cross.
I reject killing. I reject the notion that I may take by force and might, what belongs to someone else. I possess only one life. I have no claim on another's. If that makes me a "bleeding heart liberal" - I'll take that stand - Gladly.
walterstucco
"I reject killing."
And yet you're doing it every day of your life.
You're killing to live, that's what we do, that's what everyone does.
You are american, you kill people to have gas for your cars.
Don't "I reject killing" me, please.
"The animal industries do a fine job at putting babies on that cross."
it's all an american problem, solve it with politics, solve it by not allowing giant international corporation to grow animals that way.
I assure you that in Italy, where I come from, my family have been farming for decades and when a cow gave birth, everyone waited for the moment, everyone cheered when it happened, so please, spare me the rhetoric of the sanctity of life, I live just ten minutes by the pope in Rome... I would listen to him if I cared about religious stuff.
You've put in it even the devil and don;t want to admit that it's only some kind of cult based belief?
Come on...
I'm not that stupid!
We need meat, we were born to eat it, but we weren't born to eat ONLY that.
And still, you say reject killing but I assume you at least eat vegetables.
Aren't vegetables living creatures?
Didn't your bleeding heart liberalism told that?
Matriarch
The day when the dairy industry ends and the meat industry ends is the day when cattle will begin to become extinct. Who would keep cattle if they weren't useful? They're big, make tons of waste, eat tons of food and require costly veterinary care. Care of farm animals needs to be humane. But the notion of free range animals happily living with their adorable babies without being killed or exploited for human purposes is nonsense. Without a good reason to create more cows (big, dirty, expensive -- remember?) no sensible person is going to allow cattle to breed. No more adorable babies. No more cattle.
Mary Pawelko
I'm not a liberal, quite the opposite in many ways, though I am a compassionate person. If closing your eyes and heart makes you a 'conservative' then color me liberal, I don't mind the label. I'd be careful who you call stupid though, judging by your style of writing.
Lori
"While bleeding heart liberals" may be more apt to believe crap like this, you can't really say that that's a trait that only liberals posess(nor is stupidity). I see just as many right wing conservatives sharing images with extreme misinformation as I do liberals. They just share different kinds of images, like ones denying climate change, or misrepresenting how something works. I'm a liberal and I don't just believe everything I see. Liberals don't have a monopoly on stupid, there are just as many stupid conservatives. People tend to believe whatever confirms their bias. For instance, you seem to believe that it's only liberals that believe everything they see on the Internet, which isn't true by a long shot. Just pointing that out.
Chris Northuis Kuck
Agreed, Lori. I'm amazed at the people who believe every meem they see without fact checking. I abhor labeling and pigeon holing people. I've come to the conclusion that the people that are far one way or the other like to argue for the sake of arguing. I want no part of that.
the south dakota cowgirl
If I were the owner of the photo, I'd post a DCMA takedown notice immediately and make Facebook remove the post.
Provoked
Hello - If you go to the original photo and right click there's an option for google to "search for this image" - It will take you to hundreds more just like it: https://www.google.com/search?q=calf+hutches&sa=X&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=7lvgU4HZEpehyATV1oDYCg&ved=0CCcQsAQ&biw=1018&bih=544 So I hardly think there's any proprietary violations here... At least not those regarding the photo. The infants removed from their mothers and "protected" to insure further "use" is a different story however. Personally I find the whole practice depraved. Learning of it and Earthlings helped nudge me from a naive vegetarian to an informed vegan.
SLA
Do you actually know anything about animal husbandry? Most animal babies (other than human babies) can be separated from their mother with NO negative consequences. You are attributing human characteristics and feelings to animals. That's called anthropomorphizing.
the south dakota cowgirl
Provoked - Just because a photo is in the public domain doesn't mean it's yours to use or take. There's this little law called Copyright law. And as soon as you or I or anyone else pushes that little button on a camera that closes the shutter, that photo belongs to me - along with the RIGHT to use it how I want. Those rights are only transferable to another person in writing and have limits on how they can be used. https://www.ppa.com/about/content.cfm?ItemNumber=1720 And JUST because they're already online doesn't give you the right to use them either. But this just goes to show, not only are you uneducated in animal husbandry, you're uneducated in basic copyright law too.
If you want to be a vegan, rock on, but don't push your beliefs onto everyone else.
Paul
Really?! ...and just which part of seeing groups of healthy well fed calves encouraged you to become a vegan? Your choice of dietary restriction is ok but I am curious of what you saw moves you to eat different foods...
gabbyglenister
I am actually in the process of writing my own blog post about this exact photo and post! I am glad that someone else is still trying to share the truth about this image. Thanks Carrie! 🙂
wendy
thanks carrie, ive been told about the poor caged calves killed at 6 weeks old all my life.so i know someone watched that movie and told my parents about it.
Sarah
more of our milk in US is being imported from China. wonder how their animals are treated????
Marion
This post makes me so sad. I actually work for a heifer raising facility and we always have 350 to 550 calves in hutches exactly like the ones in this picture. The calves have plenty of space in the hutches for the small span of their live they are in there. No, not because they die in six weeks (what?) but because when they are weaned off their milk they get to go with their peers in large group pens. We work with a crew of four and taking care of the calves is all we do. I am in charge of calf health and we all feed the calves and keep them happy and in clean dry bedding. The three guys I work with are awesome and they take great care of the calves. No matter whether it is blazing hot or if the weather is freezing and we have to plow our way through three feet of snow like last winter, we are out there and proudly raising the dairy cows of the future. I have no problem with vegetarians, vegans or anybody, but I DO have a problem with people who feel the need to lie and misinform in order to get their point across.
Lucie La Bounty
Thank you for your comment. Having spent many of my growing up years on a dairy farm, I do understand the workings and hard work involved with this profession. I will admit I got attached to many of the girls and their babies. They all got names from me. Yes, some of our babies were sold off and some were raised to be used on the farm. I grew to have a very human relationship with them. They are not dumb animals and they do have feelings and fears like all other living creatures. My diet is mostly meat free for me. I am 66 years old and get most of my dietary needs from other sources. However, I do love chicken eggs and a good roasted turkey breast at times. Cheese can be a weakness for me in regard to the dairy part but all my milk consumption is coconut only.
Thank you for all you do to provide these babies with the best of care. I truly want to believe this is all true and the babies are treated humanely. The older I get, the more important animal care is to me. Reflection of age, I guess. Please continue on with all your good work !
Nicole Lane
Hey Carrie,
What about the time that calves are removed from their mothers? Animal activists seem to think that is a very bad thing. Are they really separated that early and if so, what is the purpose and why is it okay for the animal?
Thanks so much!
An ag advocate just looking for info,
Nicole
dairycarrie
Hi Nicole,
I have a post that talks about how we care for new babies and why that should answer most of your questions here- https://dairycarrie.mystagingwebsite.com/2012/04/16/newbaby/
VenisiaG
Thanks for posting the truth about this.
Dan
According to https://www.dutchvalleyveal.com/html/vealfaqs-links.htm (from USA), 15% of veal is "bob veal", or less than 3 weeks old. And more are slaughtered after 3 weeks, but before 9 months. It might be that Canada prohibits that (not sure), but that doesn't make it any less real in the US.
dairycarrie
That has nothing to do with total numbers of bull calves raised for veal vs raised as beef steers.
"Veal" is not an all encompassing word to describe calves.
Dan
I'm not sure I follow. In your point #2, you said "Even if it was a veal farm, veal calves are not slaughtered at 6 weeks of age". The US raises 700,000 to 1 million calves as veal yearly. 15% of those are "bob veal", which are slaughtered at less than 3 weeks old. So, at the very least, 105,000 calves are slaughtered for veal at 6 weeks or less in the US per year.
dairycarrie
Sorry I read your first comment wrong.
Where are you finding your numbers on veal calf numbers?
Dan
The 15% is from https://www.dutchvalleyveal.com/html/vealfaqs-links.htm:
"Bob" Veal: About fifteen percent of veal calves are marketed up to 3 weeks of age or at a weight of 150 pounds. These are called Bob Calves.
also, (same #) https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/meat-preparation/veal-from-farm-to-table/CT_Index
700,000 to 1 million calves I need more research on, but so far:
1 million: https://www.mspca.org/programs/animal-protection-legislation/animal-welfare/farm-animal-welfare/factory-farming/cows/veal-calves-on-a-factory-farm.html
700,000: https://woodstocksanctuary.org/learn-3/factory-farmed-animals/cows-for-dairy/
Though I can't (yet) find other sources for U.S. veal calves / year, it remains true that at least 15% are 3 weeks or younger, and I assume there are more that are 6 weeks or younger.
dairycarrie
Ok, so a percent of calves are bob veal and are slaughtered before 6 weeks. I'll concede that point. But it doesn't change the point of the post or that particular point. The vast majority of veal calves are not slaughtered at 6 weeks.
I asked about your numbers because I have been unable to find an official number. Not sure that the two sites you have listed are going to have accurate numbers given their bias.
Dan
And a large number of calves are (regardless of if it's not the majority). When consuming milk/cheese from US cows, one may well be drinking the milk of a "bob veal" calf, or consider the ethical ramifications of 100,000+ calves slaughtered at 3 weeks or less.
I also invite you to consider the claims of Earthlings in the context of veal history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veal#Animal_welfare
The veal industry has been trying to make changes after revelations of veal crates and other atrocities in the 1980s. Given that, I am personally more sympathetic of their fact-checking mistakes, though I do think errors should be corrected.
dairycarrie
I'm not against veal in any way Dan. I don't like how the calves had been housed and cared for in the past but I've seen how they do it now and I've talked to veal farmers and learned from them about the truths of their industry.
The Earthlings movie doesn't have one or two small mistakes. They blatantly lie about what is going on in an attempt to sway my customers. I'm not going to support something that does that.
Chris Conrad
Cattle farming and the methane produced is the worst polluter on the planet. Worse than cars....look it up. Cow milk is horrible for the human body as is red meat. These are all facts that anyone can learn and the reason why Americans are so fat. Reading all the insults and name calling makes me so glad I left the U.S. All the red meat and milk fat is making a bitter society that I gladly left.
Eat more chicken & fish!!!!
Drew
Idiot
Lori
Your comment is full of misinformation. Red meat and cow milk has nothing to do with Americans getting fat nor are they absolutely terrible for you. Plenty of other countries do eat quite a lot of red meat and drink quite a bit of cow milk. Moderation is important, and it's up to each individual to eat everything in moderation. And no, it isn't making anybody bitter, that's pseudoscientific nonsense. Lol
Again, everything in moderation, eat plenty of fruit and veggies, red meat and milk won't harm you in moderation. As for cow methane, it does have an effect of the environment but a citation is needed for it being the worst polluter on the planet. And not one from an animal rights site that clearly has bias. I'm talking about peer reviewed research. It's highly doubtful that it is the worst polluter. Of course, science will probably be able to help us solve that environmental situation while keeping beef on our tables. So it would help for people not to try and prevent scientific advancements like some seem to be hellbent on doing.
gordannov
interesting, dairy carrie, that you choose not to post the one single comment that refutes your post, from me several weeks ago, proving that sometimes these crates are indeed used for veal calves. Is this an error? Or does it mean that you are a close-minded one-sided agenda presser, not willing to publish facts that refute your position?
Lori
Interesting that she posted this comment. She's also posted plenty of comments that disagree with her. Nonetheless, it is still a fact that those crates aren't for veal. I know exactly what kind of proof you were going to post(though this is a year old). Animal rights sites aren't proof of anything. Just because words accompany a picture does not mean that it is evidence of anything. Perhaps she vetted your "proof" and saw that it was just a bunch of misinformation. Nobody has an obligation to post your misinformation. You seem to have a case of confirmation bias. it doesn't sound like any amount of evidence would persuade you away from the AR misinformation. Or maybe she didn't post it because it was extremely rude and included nasty comments.
frank makia
thanks for the info. i will agree with all of the reasons presented. would you still like your dog to live a life like a dairy cow?
dairycarrie
Our farm dog pretty much does live the same life as our cows.
Kier Salmon
Somewhere somebody wrote, "A calf is not a child." Another person wrote, "That's called anthropomorphizing." And I have to fight my vet to not require I treat my cat with the same expensive lab tests and cancer treatments humans get.
There is very little arguing possible with people reacting from the gut and their airy-fairy prejudices. I try, though most of my efforts are directed towards vaccinations of humans.
Today I learned a very lot about the cattle industry. What I knew informed me and what I have learned thanks to you has re-inforced and modified that learning. Thank you very much.
Ivo Jara
Hello Kier, My dog had cancer, It got surgery, and chemotherapy (just like a human), it was expensive as hell and he is well, of course i was offered the option of putting him down and I chose not to, but after paying for the treatment I can understand why some people would choose the latter option. FYI cancer in cats, specially tumors in the back and further methastasys is usually caused by applying vaccines in the wrong place, in the back between the shoulder blades. Ask your vet about this, after treating your cat for cancer have ALL its further injections applied intramuscular in the hind legs. Peace.
tiffany
Nothing wrong with calf huts. We use them for oiyr goats too.
SingleMom56
it takes a special kind of stupid to write an article about something you know absolutely nothing about. do your research before shooting off your mouth about agriculture/farming--what an idiot!
Lori
It appears that the one who has no clue about farming and agriculture is you. If you're calling dairycarrie an idiot, then you should re-evaluate whether those terms actually apply to you. It's pretty obvious that you don't have a farm, and aren't involved in agriculture, except maybe a small garden. Regardless, believing a post on the Internet simply because it has a picture and confirms your bias are really indicative of the terms you utilized to describe a person who laid out exactly why you've been misinformed. Googling animal rights sites aren't research. Again just because there are pictures and words next to each other doesn't mean that the truth is being told. It does appear that you have believed anything that confirms your bias without question. This has lead to you being so misinformed that you think anybody who shows you the facts, which are contrary to what you believe, I just stupid. That, of course, isn't the case by a long shot.
Laura from Firelight Heritage Farm
#7
The image with the rows and rows of hutches is CG. Every single row is just as in focus as the front row. It is smaller, but the focus is the same. The lighting row by row is also the same. Those things never happen in real images. Fake.
Ron
Hey Laura,
I too would like to think the image might be staged or manipulated. But I think it's premature/hasty to conclude it's fake because of the focus. Broad depth of field (in focus region) does often happen in real images. Variables such as aperture, distance between lens and subject, focal length and sensor size affect depth of field. A small aperture setting typically produces a large/broad depth of field, where much of the subject (as near as a few meters, out to nearly "infinity") is in focus. I'm not sure what you mean about "lighting row."
If the image is staged/manipulated, it would certainly suggest a dishonest agenda.
If it is authentic, it doesn't automatically indict or suggest animal cruelty in my opinion.
FYI and so you understand I'm not critical of your sentiment: five of my formative years were on a dairy farm. I have a deep appreciation for farmers, farm life and livestock. And though there are some biological similarities, I'm clear-headed enough to know there are deep differences between humans and animals.
Lucy
Disingenuous...
It’s no secret that conventionally raised veal has become stigmatized. Consumers aren’t always happy when they realize that production practices have typically included confinement, isolation and restricted movement. The American Veal Association (AVA,https://www.americanveal.com) reports that individual calf housing has been the primary means of raising veal in the U.S., although it has adopted a resolution calling for all veal producers to transition to group housing by December 31, 2017.
https://www.farmingmagazine.com/dairy/raising-veal/
Kit Ives
Thank you for this great series. Clear, well-written, and helpful. Signed, a delightfully liberal, trending toward vegan, occasional-buyer-of-range-meat-directly-from-source, practical, realistic, scientifically minded, cute-baby-animal-loving, descended-from-ranchers, Left Coast mommy 😉
Linda
My son and his buddy used to drag a calf hutch back to the bush to camp out in the winter. BTW my son is 6' 7" and his buddy is not much smaller. They fit really well. A calf would have even more room.
Ann Sowards
THis is typical of the extraordinary measures humans have to go through trying to replicateMother Nature. Dairy farms that are industrialized on this level lack natural open space, grassland pastures and are so crowded they need antibiotics and milking machines, which are what calves are, unless you want to sell all the milk to make the necessary profit to pay for all this BS. It is certainly not humane to take the calves from their mothers, and it wouldn't be necessary...and hasnt been for thousands of years....if you didn't have a farm the size of a small slum. I've raised chickens in a none industrial setting and I can tell you the Rooster and the Hen know exactly what to do without incubators, special lights, special nests, special watering and feeding equipment, and the whole chicken house helps take care of the babies. I also don't require a vEt, antibiotics, or growth hormones. I've raised puppies also in a non puppy mill situation. This is a photo of the equivalent of a puppy mill. It may be sanitary but it is not a natural environment. The calves would be healthier left to their mothers, their aunts and being allowed to nurse when ready, not some caretakers schedule of feeding them all at once, and with enough room to run and play. And manure never hurt a cow, unless the space was a crowded concrete floor slick with urine. Would you raise human babies this way and expect them to be healthy mentally fit and optimal? Seriously?
There's a lot Nature puts into raising animals that people can only hope to replicate. Natures ways raise healthy individuals, and the ones that aren't are quickly culled. Industrial farming of cows has not prevented hoof and mouth disease, mad cow disease, or much else. It has made E. coli and other disease much more prevalent. Same for chicken farms and hog farms. So this may look ok to people who ha e never grasped that Nature works in an indifferent to profits but ultimately better way....every time humans take over a,other Earths job, we find we create new problems and we have to tweak, and tweak, and tweak, until we have an artificial world we'll need computers just to keep livable.
Marie
Thank you Ann !
Samantha
Well said, Ann.
redwhine
Well said!
Drew
Anne! You have no idea what you are talking about. Dairy cows, beef cows, veal calves, chickens, hogs, you name it, were all put on this earth to feed and clothe humans. If not for these 3000+ cow dairy operations, I'm not sure of the exact figure, but I'll guarantee you that close to half the world population would starve to death. Then all the tree hugging liberals would be up in arms over that. If you want to be a vegan or vagan or one of those v words, God bless! But before you start shooting your mouths off and trolling the Internet looking for shit to stir up, educate yourselves. Go out and actually see these farms in person. Don't just troll the Internet looking for shit like this "Earthlings" trash. And why in the world are you arguing veal calves when the whole article is about dairy calves? There is a huge difference in the two! Again, educate yourselves!
Kirsti
The UN has actually predicted that if the entire world adopted a plant-based diet, world hunger could be solved. Think of how much food and water it takes to raise animals for slaughter. You should educate yourself too because I can guarantee you that just about every person who made the choice to stop eating meat (which is definitely more convenient in this society) did at least a little research before making such a drastic lifestyle change. Start by checking out this report, and then maybe look up how much water it takes to produce a single hamburger.
https://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM
Lori
Yeah, that's not true at all, kirsti. That's just some first world animal rights propaganda. If anything is going to solve world hunger, it's biotechnology. However, the situation is much much much more complicated. The problem isn't just having enough food. In fact, we do have enough food. It's distribution into 3rd world countries. Many countries are ruled over by warlords and dictators. For them, a starving populace is easier to control. So the issue is getting them the food they need so desperately, and dictators are not just going to let you walk in and give them enough food. Not to mention that humans are omnivores, which means the protein has to be replaced properly without meat. No, a plant based diet is not going to solve world hunger.
mary
Wow, you're really a hypocrite, aren't you? You say "it is certainly not humane to take calves from their mothers." So, I must ask, isn't it equally inhumane to take puppies from their mothers? Because when you raised puppies, that is certainly what you did!
ray
great point!
Lori
Cows are completely domesticated animals at this point in time. Yes, they know what to do, but human intervention makes it much safer for the cows. As for taking calves from their mothers, it's not in humane at all. Eventually, they have to be weaned anyways and it's going to be stressful for a few days regardless if it is done at a few weeks or at 6 months. Even if the cow weans the baby herself, it would be stressful. After the few days the calf is perfectly happy. We also wean horses when people have foals. Again, it's a bit stressful, but mostly loud, and after a few days they are perfectly fine. It's something that has to be done eventually. Just because nature has done it, doesn't mean it isn't something that needs to be done now.
You're using the naturalistic fallacy, but your dogs, and cats, and horses, and chickens are far removed from being in a "natural environment." They are also far removed from their "natural" ancestors. If they lived naturally then they would be killed. Canned dog and cat food isn't natural. Still natural does not equal better.
You're also using the false equivalence fallacy(perhaps wrapped up in the naturalistic fallacy). You're equating puppy mills with this because it's an "unnatural environment." Again, our domestic dogs that aren't in puppy mills also aren't living in a natural environment. This has absolutely nothing in common with puppy mills.
You're also misinformed about industrial farming as a whole. We have absolutely no other way to feed a nation of 300 million, or a world of 7 billion. There are also standards set for meat being produced for consumption. You won't get E. Coil from properly cooking your foods. Diseases like mad cow disease aren't really more prevalent, and it's prevalence isn't necessarily caused by industrial farming. Antibiotics aren't in your meat or milk as they test the meat and milk and if they come back positive then they have to throw out the entire load.
At the end of the day, what you are talking about is just a lot of fear mongering that there is an insanely low risk of. The only reason our life spans are around 80 years is because of how man has intervened with medical science. So I'd have to disagree that you know about nature, because science and technology has completely removed you from nature. You can't say that anything around you is natural, not even the veggies that claim they are natural(they also had human intervention). Humans have no only replicated nature, we've beat it at it's own game, and you have a lot to be thankful for because of that. Unless you'd prefer to die during childbirth, or of various diseases that were actually prevalent, unlike the things you listed. We've eradicated entire diseases made by nature. Nature loves making diseases like the Black Death. Just pointing out that before preaching about how superior nature is, you should keep in mind that everything you have, and every reason you aren't going to die at 40, or before due to diseases is because of everything that is "unnatural."
ANA
You don't require a vet? So you just let animals suffer when they become ill?
gester
so are we expected to say "oh it's not deplorable so i guess the whole industry get's a pass?" it's still deplorable how we treat these animals, just because this picture is a lie, doesn't mean that the industry isn't cruel and horrible to these animals.
Drew
Maybe you should go visit some of these farms and educate yourself instead of just looking at pictures.
Lori
Animal rights sites are full of misinformation like this. What it's supposed to do is make you think about the claims that are being made by these groups, and to be careful about what you accept as fact. You should be angry that you've been lied to, and you should be questioning what else these groups have lied to you about. These animals are treated pretty well. It's certainly not deplorable to eat meat, or drink milk. After all, we are omnivores. Getting your information from obviously biased sources that have to lie about their cause to make it seem legitimate is pretty deplorable, and questionable.
Gillian Fewster
Why can't the calves be left with their mothers or at lesst be raised in groups? Animals learm by experience and from their mothers.
dairycarrie
I've discussed the many reasons that we raise calves the way we do in this post. https://dairycarrie.mystagingwebsite.com/2012/04/16/newbaby/
Martha Waltien
Here is what I think: It's not as if we were all going to suffer disease and die if we didn't eat animal products. It is now beyond any dispute that we can survive, indeed thrive, on plants. I have just become a vegan after years and years of struggle and gradually removing animals from my diet. I saw a photo 2 weeks ago of a castrated young male steer running for his life near my home, only a few miles away, through the streets of NYC, running away from a Halal slaughter house where he had been brought. That image seared into my mind: He did NOT want to die and he was running desperately away to live. Why can't we see this? Why do we have to ascribe anonymous, object-like images of cows and steer and calves as "cattle" or "livestock"? We don't need to eat them, they were born to live out their lives, weren't they? They were born for us to eat and use when we really don't even need that. I just don't get it. I watched that steer running down the streets in a wild panic for his life and thought: "He looks like one of my cats running down the street, one of my late dogs, etc." See, if you can't feel as I do, then, OK, we are different. I now see animals as having the right to a normal lifespan in a normal environment. They think, they wish, they feel pain, they feel many emotions - sorry, happiness, loneliness, anger. To kill a pig or to kill a used up cow who gave her life in a factory farm as a pregnant and then new mother giving her milk is to me inhumane. I am "not" condemning meat eaters or milk users. I would resent it very much if anyone condemned me. I just don't feel it is right, that's all, to harm animals in any way. Or prematurely end their lives. Or, as in this photo (I have seen the other side of these tiny "houses" in other sites, it's not new to me, the calves are in tiny spaces, they don't get to be with their mothers, their relatives, they don't get to spend the afternoon in a field eating grass, lying down if they want on the grass, giving and receiving affection with one another. None of that. They have to live like THIS. It's not normal! They don't get to express their natural instincts!! To run and socialize! And then, as adults, to be put on machines to pump out milk after having been artificially (no choice in the matter) impregnated over and over again, only to lose their babies forever, then put on milking machines and on drugs if they are sick in the environment. They are at the whim and wishes of large farms and don't enjoy their lives. This, to me, is wrong. We need to stop being so selfish, we humans. Thank you. P.S. I am over 65 years old and I finally came to be able to stop using animals.
Cowgirl8
First let me say that people who are in the meat business do not make money off neglected abused animals, period. To make money the animals have to be taken care of, not unlike the family dog..Dogs and kittens are not left to live with their families either nor do they live in their normal environment do they????....ever think of that? Leave calves with their families and the young heifers would be raped by their fathers and brothers just as dogs and cats would be, But of course to be responsible pet owners, we must have their reproductive organs yanked out against their will..ending their right to have offspring.....
Second, cattle live on land that is not cultivatable. Taking animals out of production, which would mean they'd never exist, does not mean that that land then can be plowed and produce grown. There would be land left to grow into fire hazards. So to counter that, the land would have to be mowed...(takes you to the third thought)
Third, go stand in a field thats being plowed. You want to see murder and mayhem, just for your vegan dinner. Watch fields being prepared for seeds, vultures follow tractors for a reason. Many small animals, turtles, birds, are killed..No way around that if vegans want to live, just imagine if everyone quit eating meat....no cows, pigs, chickens.....turtles, rabbits, field mice, moles, etc..
I could go on and on. No matter what we do to survive, somethings gotta give.
Great blog. We raise beef cattle, but let me tell you, dairy cows are the most pampered animals on earth. I'll repeat it, animals do not produce if they are abused and unhealthy....
*i saw the fear mongering post on FB... lead me to your blog..
Cairenn Day
So when my dog ran away from my house that meant he didn't want me to eat him? Sorry, you comment is silly, to me. The steer was not running away because he knew he would be killed. He likely just wanted to get back to his herd.
Dairy cows are not hooked up to miliking machines all the time and they are not on drugs either. In a wild herd they would be bred earlier and with more force.
It is unfortunate that you have such misinformation about dairies and farmers.
Martha Waltien
That's funny because I read in a comment somewhere else, written by a man who spent years loading cattle to be taken to the slaughterhouse, that they all had this very scared look on their faces. He said they knew something bad was up. My feeling is that the steer I wrote about, Freddie, now at Skylands Sanctuary in NJ, smelled what was going on. After all, he couldn't be THAT stupid! He was brought to the doors of the Halal slaugherhouse. You don't think he could smell bad things happening?
Steven Reimer
The original article became suspect to me when the used the term "male cows".
Martha Waltien
How long do the dairy cows live? Do they spend time outdoors? How do they die? Do you contain veal calves for long periods in small quarters (after they leave the initial "houses" you have that are shown). Do you sell veal calves knowing that they will live their lives in the conditions so described below?
I found this: "Contrary to public perception, there are no green
pastures where dairy cows go to retire. When
they are no longer profitable to the industry, they
are typically crowded onto trucks and sent to
slaughter—their overtaxed, diseased and injured
bodies made into hamburger and other low-quality
beef products. While cows can live to be 20 years
or older, these sensitive, intelligent creatures are
normally killed at just four to six years of age. "
"Nearly every dairy cow produces three to six
calves during her lifetime. The cows’ female calves
may grow up to join the milking herd. Males are
commonly slaughtered for veal—some at just a day
or hours old. Other veal calves are isolated from
other animals and chained by their necks inside
small crates for about 20 weeks. Here, the calves
cannot turn around, stretch their legs or even lie
down comfortably. Veal producers feed the calves
a liquid milk substitute, purposefully deficient in iron
and fiber. The calves’ complete lack of exercise,
combined with an inadequate diet, results in the
pale-colored, anemic flesh sold as “white,” “milkfed,”
“special-fed,” or “fancy” veal."
https://www.farmsanctuary.org//home/nginx/domains/dairycarrie.com/public/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Truth-Behind-Dairy-Final-4-21-09.pdf
dairycarrie
Lots of questions, I'll try to answer them all....
Dairy cows live for as long as they can continue to be productive members of the herd. A cow doesn't have her first calf until she is two, the oldest cow we've had on our farm while I've been here is 14. I've seen activists claim that cows naturally live into their 20's, I think that's like saying humans naturally live to be 100. Yes it can happen but it's not the norm. Our cows do go out to pasture in the summer. Not all farms have pasture for their cows. Most modern dairy barns have curtain sides that open up to the outdoors when the weather is nice and can be closed to keep cows warm in the winter. In places like California and Texas where the weather is warmer year round, most cows live outside 24/7.
When a dairy cow is sold for beef she is slaughtered at a slaughter plant. There are some good YouTube videos that Temple Grandin helped produce that covers the slaughter process.
Baby calves are raised in hutches for the first 2-3 months as I said in my post. Baby calves do not equal = veal. Only about 10% of Dairy bull calves go to veal production. I am not a veal farmer so I can't give you a ton of detail on that front but I do know that unlike how veal used to be raised, today most veal calves are raised in group pens.
The bull calves born on our farm are sold to another local farmer who raises them as beef steers, not for veal.
If you want to learn more about veal production, I suggest checking out the links I included in this post.
revolutionoftheheart2013
Let's cut to the chase -- "It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on him not understanding it." -- Upton Sinclair
dairycarrie
Likewise, your bias clouds your view.
Lori
You've missed the point completely. The same could be said for animal rights organizations, except they really don't understand, or intentionally mislead people in order to make their cause seem legitimate when it's not. Bottom line is that farmers and ranchers understand their field, while AR groups have an extreme bias that misleads people into believing myths about the industry. What exactly makes that image and story about the veal, accurate? All it is is a picture with words next to it. It has no reliable source and it's obviously pushing an agenda. Your comment illustrates a way for people to hold their biases tight and disregard everything an industry professional says. Who's more reliable? Someone who has worked in the industry, or someone who has never seen a farm, and their extent of knowledge is that farms exist?
Connie
Just one question?
Would you live in those conditions?
dairycarrie
Well if we were going to make a true analogy here, what you would ask is if I would raise my son in these conditions...
If my son was born without any immunities as calves are, he would be kept in the NICU in a plastic bassinet until he reached a time where his immune system was strong enough to fight off infection. So yes, I would.
Comparing humans and cattle doesn't work because we are not the same animals. Humans have the ability to pass immunoglobulins (i.e. antibodies) to their children in utero. Cows do not pass immunoglobulins vie the placenta like humans, coupled with cows not being toilet trained, this puts calves at a distinct disadvantage against human babies.
Carole Griffiths
An extract from Cattle Today.
Basically saying that it's farming methods that are creating the low immunity issues in calves.
A cow in a natural environment may not become exposed to very many disease-causing organisms, but today most cattle are confined some parts of the year (in corrals, small pens or pastures that have been very contaminated by heavy cattle use) and comes in close contact with other cattle-with much more chance of disease spread. But with vaccination and natural exposure to various pathogens, the cow develops many antibodies and strong immunities. And during the last part of pregnancy she puts these antibodies into the colostrum she produces, so that her calf can have some instant immunities right after he has his first nursing.
The antibodies in colostrum are very important to the new born calf because he has very little disease resistance of his own. The fetus can begin to produce antibodies against certain pathogens at various stages of development (for instance a fetus can start to make antibodies to BVD and IBR as early as 90 days into gestation, and against leptospirosis bacteria after 180 days), since some of these invaders can pass through the placental barrier from the mother's bloodstream if she becomes infected. This is why a fetus can become infected with BVD or other diseases or die from lepto or Bangs and be aborted. Certain infections in the cow can kill the fetus or cause it to be born diseased, or cause it to start making some antibodies of its own.
Martha Waltien
P.S. I was hoping I could get a response to my questions when you have the time. Thank you!
Cowgirl8
Martha, you didnt answer mine, how is a cows life different than the family dog? Neither live the life they were intended. They were taken away from their mothers (although, beef calves live with their mothers long enough for the mothers to want them out of the nest so they have it better than dogs or cats)... They are confined, although beef cows get where i live 4 acres per cow, but they do have fences.. bull calves get castrated like dogs, but heifers do not get spayed.. We do eat cattle, but i've always said, if dogs and cats tasted good we'd be eating them too..lol... Yet, i just bet before long it will be illegal to leave a dog or cat out when its hot or cold. That time is coming, the humanizing of the family pet. Thats ok, but keeping a cow indoors, giving her all the food and water she can want, climate control, is abuse.
Carole Griffiths
What makes you think dogs and cats don't taste good? There are plenty of people in Asia who find them delicious.
People in other countries don't eat cats and dogs because they think it's wrong, but they are okay about killing and eating other equally sentient animals.
revolutionoftheheart2013
Pimp Carrie and all your other cretin friends: Make sure to ignore and not publish this too:
In recognition of International Women's Day I am trying to bring awareness to the atrocities that happen to females in order to produce milk and cheese for human consumption. This can be avoided by switching to plant based alternatives that are equally delicious and not cruel.
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalEquality/videos/10153320505569077/?pnref=story.unseen-section
Ron
Oh boy. Another bleeding heart looking for a cause. You can choose to self-identify as animalia if you wish--making whom the cretin here? Most of us know better.
Cairenn Day
Please stop insulting Carrie and the folks that produce our food. If you want to be an herbivore, please be one, but humans are omnivores, stop pretending that is not a fact.
James shaw
I have cows. These are excellent. But can be used for many things. My dog loves his.
antiquestrian
This is making the rounds on FB again right now via friends in CA. No one takes the time to do research, they just hit SHARE add their 2 cents and pass it on. The person who my friend shared it from showed that it had been SHARED from her over 1500 times. What I find so funny is that my friend is a teacher in Southern CA. I have shared this link to prove them wrong.
Thank you for this post and the education,
dairycarrie
It just keeps going around and around!
antiquestrian
One of her friends said it was true as she saw it last year on a road trip to Oregon.
When I asked her where exactly in Oregon, there was no reply.
Do you by chance know where the photo originated from. What dairy website it was stolen from?
ray
thank you!
henning heinemann
Actually, it's why we need to build an infrastructure like this; so everyone farms:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/urban-agriculture-and-energy--2#/
Sandy
So, it's better than the false story? Whatever the reason, it's still not humane. The almighty dollar shouldn't trump quality of life. Would you be ok with your kids being required to live in there for their first year to keep them free of germs and disease? They should be out playing, socialuzing, exploring and soaking up natural vitamin D.
Lori
She has already answered that very question in earlier comments. She stated that if her child was born without an immune system like calves are then he would be kept in the NICU and she would be perfectly fine with that. She also pointed out that humans are not comparable to cows, and she's completely spot on.
These calves are treated very well, but they are still cows. Your bias is showing. You have been shown that it is, in fact, humane rather than a place where veal calves are taken away from their mothers and placed in closed crates. And yet you insist upon it being inhumane. The calves are happy, healthy, and can go out in the sun. This is just temporary for them to be protected for a limited time. Nothing about this fits the definition of inhumane. Their quality of life isn't being sacrificed for money. In fact, their quality of life is improved. So instead of getting various illnesses, they don't get sick. And yes, it is much much much better than the false story.
Ray Junior
Hi Carrie , thanks so much for this. i have a few questions.
I've abstained from eating veal and non-cage free chicken eggs for years. after reading this i'm reconsidering veal. here's my questions:
1) while I'm every industry has morons that do the wrong thing, as a general rule is it ok to eat veal (in the sense that the majority of the providers treat the animals humanely) or is there only certain veal from certain vendors i should be considering?
2) as i said I only buy cage free eggs right now because i'm willing to pay more for conscience sake. or is this just the left wingers creating a marketing frenzy around a problem that doesn't exist?
thanks
_Ray
Martha Waltien
Cage free does not mean no suffering! Don't let the egg industry fool you: https://www.humanemyth.org/cagefree.htm and if you don't like that site, look at this one: " But it would nevertheless be a mistake to consider cage-free facilities to necessarily be "cruelty-free." Here are some of the more typical sources of animal suffering associated with both types of egg production:
Both systems typically buy their hens from hatcheries that kill the male chicks upon hatching—more than 200 million each year in the United States alone.
Both cage and cage-free hens have part of their beaks burned off, a painful mutilation.
Both cage and cage-free hens are typically slaughtered at less than two years old, far less than half their normal lifespan. They are often transported long distances to slaughter plants with no food or water.
While the vast majority of the battery and cage-free egg industry no longer uses starvation to force molt the birds, there are battery and cage-free producers alike who still use this practice. https://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/cage-free_vs_battery-cage.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
James Hunter
If the various animal farming industries really believed their practices were entirely defensible, then why have they lobbied so hard for laws prohibiting any sort of transparency around their industry practices. It's a bit rich to accuse animal lovers or "bleeding heart Liberals" of naiveté, bias, or misinformation when your own industries cloak the entire processes in secrecy, protected by litigation. The day these industries abandon secret practices and aggressive anti-transparency laws, then, and only then, MIGHT they be entitled to be legitimately indignant.
Ivy storey
I think this post is full of half truths. I live around the corner from a veal farm and it is why it is. Every spring and fall the babies are taken from their mothers and sent away. The mothers cry constantly. Don't believe this rhetoric.
antiquestrian
Do you run the "Veal Farm" around the corner? Interesting, I would need more factual evidence other than taking what you said to be the truth.
Trevor
I tried the AVA link provided. The page doesn't exist anymore but on https://www.americanveal.com/animal-care-housing/ they say:
"On May 9, 2007 the Board of Directors of the American Veal Association (AVA) adopted a resolution calling for all U.S. veal producers to transition to group housing methods by December 31, 2017. Veal farmers are expected to spend over $25 million to transition to new group housing systems. Industry leaders estimate the transition to group housing is more than 85 percent complete as of January 2016. Group pens allow the calves to stand, stretch, lie down, groom themselves and socialize with other calves."
I agree the facebook post was misleading but this statement shows it might be advantageous to treat the calves better. That is unless the statement is just marketing. Since this page was written in 2014 I don't know why it wasn't mentioned.
Oh and where was it I read that dairy cows care less about their calves because it has been bred out of them. Nice, how humane of us. Reminds me of Douglas Adam's Restaurant at the End of the Universe where the animal has been bred to not only want to be eaten but also to verbally express it.
JLBjock
You must be joking. These crates are no substitute for mom. I don't care how you justify it. This is factory farming at its most disgusting, and showing your husband feeding one of the calves with a fat cat in the background, does not excuse your inhumanity. You should be ashamed of yourself, as you float on your yacht in the Bahamas, bought with money from these poor, defenseless animals. Shame on you. I'm ashamed that you are one of us. Not even animals do this to each other. You are like Nazis and justifying it just the same.
dairycarrie
Factory farm? My boat in the Bahamas!?!?! You're hilarious!
JLBjock
Sorry, I was on a rant. I shouldn't have said that.
LJezard
Here's what the Humane Society says: Veal Crates - Unnecessary and cruel:
https://www.humanesociety.org/issues/confinement_farm/facts/veal.html
dairycarrie
These are not veal crates. Veal crates are something totally different.
LJezard
Understand that now. I also see this on the Snopes site that is good at researching rumors: https://www.snopes.com/veal-crates/
All things considered, it seems a hutch is immensely better than the crates.
I guess one can say that any kind of "mass" rearing of animals that necessitates this kind of housing is a bi-product of our huge consumer society. That calves are removed so early from their mothers is another bi-product. That we don't live in The House on the Prairie anymore.
dairycarrie
Calf hutches have nothing to do with the size of the dairy farm. We milk 100 cows and use them. My husband's uncle milks 25 cows and uses them.
As far as removing calves from cows, there are many reasons we do so. I wrote this post that covers how a new calf is cared for and why they are raised in hutches. https://dairycarrie.mystagingwebsite.com/2012/04/16/newbaby/
Martha Waltien
Yes, but you yourself said elsewhere that 10%, I think it was, of your calves are sold to veal farmers. So you sell calves who will end up in veal crates?
dairycarrie
I said approximately 10% of dairy calves go to veal. Our specific calves do not because we sell them to a farmer locally.
That being said, the veal industry has almost completely converted from veal crates to group pens and I believe the deadline for veal farmers to convert is 2017.
eva1365
I appreciate the article and information. I respect that the vast majority of ranchers, especially on smaller farms, take very good care of their animals and try to treat them as ethically as possible. However, in EVERY industry there are abuses and room for better and more compassionate ways of doing things. I have the ultimate respect for ranchers who will engage in honest conversation about this. The majority of the ones I have visited with on animal welfare issues are quite open and honest about the problems in their industry and challenges implementing change.
Too often the meat and dairy industry is so quick to go on the defensive and deny questionable practices, that it adds fuel to the fire of activists. I think honest conversation would earn the respect of many, like myself, who are concerned for the welfare of animals.
Cristie Caldwell
So while it is not all true, you feel it is more important to remove the baby from its mother and manhandle it becsuse you have too many together. Why not remove the baby and the mother and let them be together. Nothing about your explanation in this article is a positive for the animals or show any kind of decency towards them. I do not belong to PETA and I do eat meat, so I only object to you making it seem somehow you are doing right by these animals when your not.Woman up about what you are doing.
Cam
I grew up in a small town where majority of the town are farmers and their families. I've lived on a farm. I have family members who make their living farming. I support farmers 100% but this I do not understand. My cousin lives by one of these places in Kansas and when she showed me it, it broke my heart. I just don't understand the concept. Even after reading, I'm just not convinced. Feel so sorry for the calves. I know it's for a reason but I just feel like there could be a better way to raise them without putting them in a hutch. ):
bren313
According to the website you linked to (Strauss): "We are the only company in the U.S. to raise 100% of its veal calves in non-tethered, humane environments..." That's your link. This company claims to be the ONLY American company that raises veal calves humanely. So all the other veal calves in the U.S. are raised inhumanely? This does not reassure me that farmers care about the animals they raise.
dairycarrie
You can learn more about how veal is produced here- https://www.americanveal.com
Cheri
This stupid photo is STILL making the rounds! The friend of mine who posted it recently did change her tune a bit when several people pointed out that this photo was debunked YEARS ago but she just switched to “not veal but hogs so still not humaine.” So it wasn’t enough that someone else made up a story about the picture but now she’s doing it too??? Geez!