Almost a quarter (24%) of Britons said they were ready to become ‘more vegan’ after learning the truth about dairy farming.
The research, commissioned by Viva!, is part of the animal rights organization“Müller Killer” anti-milk campaign. It was launched in response to a recent survey revealing the rise of intensive dairy farming in the UK.
It is believed that around 20% of UK ‘dairy cows’ are raised in ‘no grazing’ systems, spending their entire lives indoors. They are grain-fed and confined in large sheds, rather than on pasture. These farms would supply large dairy companies, including Müller and Arla.
Survey results
Live! Intensive dairy farming is on the rise
A poll of 2,000 UK adults found only three in 10 were unaware of no-graze cow farms. After being informed, 69% expressed their opposition to the system.
Almost half (49%) of respondents said they were unlikely to buy a dairy product created from this process. Most (56%) said it should be banned completely, while 87% thought cows deserved a good life.
A minority of people (41%) knew that cows had to get pregnant and give birth to a calf to produce milk. Even fewer (27%) knew that calves were taken from their mothers after birth to be killed or kept in isolation.
Once made aware of the reality of dairy products, 24% said they would be ready to become more vegan. The age group most likely to say this was 25-34, with 45% responding as such.
“The dairy industry does a great job of hiding their dirty secrets, so it’s no surprise that the public believes their clever marketing campaigns,” a Viva! the spokesperson said Plant Based News. Cheers! encourage anyone who is shocked to learn of the cruelty of the dairy industry to try vegan today.
The dairy reality
Live! investigators visited three of England’s largest dairy farms – and a calf-rearing facility – between 2021 and 2022. These were Pawton Manor in Cornwall, Newburgh Dairy in Dorset and Lea Manor and Grange Farm in Cheshire.
In evidence, the organization described as “overwhelming”, the cows were housed in “sterile box-style sheds”. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) states that non-grazing systems put cows at increased risk for “problems with hooves, teat tramps, mastitis, metritis, dystocia, ketosis, retained placenta and certain bacterial infections”.
It should be noted that even cows kept in pasture systems are still likely to experience a great deal of pain and suffering in their lifetime. Farmers impregnate them by artificial insemination and take their calves away from them a few hours after birth. Lameness and mastitis are common in dairy cows and they are sent to the slaughterhouse when their milk production decreases.
