An animal rights group conducted an investigation of a dairy farm in upstate New York, and documented the horrors they found on videotape.  This dairy farm was in the practice of docking their cows' tails, a controversial process which has already been outlawed in California, and which may soon be outlawed in other states.

According to dairy farmers who practice it, tail docking prevents cows from spreading manure around.  (I'm thinking if your last line of defense in keeping your barn clean is to remove your cows' tails, you're doing it wrong.)  Needless to say, the docking is typically performed on adult animals, without the benefit of anesthetic.  The practice is barbaric, useless, and needlessly cruel, and needs to be stopped.

The graphic video (which you can watch here on YouTube, if your stomach is stronger than mine) serves to remind us that all too often, dairy products are not a cruelty free purchase.  Many people come to vegetarianism out of empathy, and a respect for animal rights.  While the meat industry certainly has to shoulder the lion's share of the burden for industrialized animal cruelty, the American dairy industry is not such great shakes, either.

Commercial dairy farms can be every bit as large, crowded, and filthy as their feed lot counterparts.  Whenever animals live under crowded conditions, disease becomes a major problem.  Therefore, the cows are preemptively pumped full of antibiotics, to prevent loss of milk production.  Not to mention bovine growth hormone, to stimulate the maximum amount of milk production.

All of these stresses take their toll.  A dairy cow's life is short, and most dairy cows are shipped off for slaughter as soon as their milk production begins to decline with age.

Furthermore, dairy cows don't produce milk out of the goodness of their hearts.  Cows lactate in response to the birth of a calf.  You may wonder what happens to all the calves born every year to keep the dairy industry going.  The answer is nothing happy, I can assure you.  Dairy calves are trucked away at about five days old.  Some of them are used for veal, and others are slaughtered for the lining of their stomach, which is called "rennet" and is used in the production of cheese.

Fortunately there are good alternatives to dairy.  Soy and rice milk are both remarkably good in quality compared to the early versions which came to market.  It's easier than ever to go dairy-free!

If you can't resist "real milk" and the like, then seek out a dairy which has been certified humane.  Here in the Northwest, Wilcox milk is certified Humane, which means that the cows are treated properly.  (Note that just because a milk is "organic," that doesn't necessarily mean "cruelty free.")  Wilcox milk and eggs are also sourced from local family owned farms, which makes it even better.

Keep an eye out for local milk producers, as well.  A lot of small local operations treat their animals properly (although there is still the issue of the calves).