Friday, 1 June being World Milk Day, a battle royal raged on Twitter – between those who showed milk and dairy farmers in a positive light and those who decried milk as harmful and dairy farming as cruel and ruinous for the world. Let us try to make some sense of the many, and extreme views expressed on World Milk Day:
Since vegans consume neither meat nor dairy nor anything that has been obtained from animals (no silk, honey or leather either), they tend to be extremely anti milk. They believe and express the view that milk is not only unnecessary, it is actually really, really harmful for health and for the environment since production is very resource intensive and polluting.
The WorldMilkDay handle had a diametrically opposite view to express, obviously. The calcium content of milk as well as its products such as cheese and yogurt is one of the frequently touted benefits of this food.
Oragnisations such as PETA and vegan groups undertake rigorous campaigns to film and publicise cruel farming practice. Much of what they say about farming practices is true; all too often however, they present the most extreme and revolting of incidents as common practice to try and drive home their point.
The fact is that most of the world consumes milk and milk products. It is also a fact that dairy farmers work hard to produce that which the world enjoys. The farmers are trying to make an honest living like any other person. Farming associations are trying to drive home this point and to highlight the fact that these people make positive, necessary contributions to society.
One of the most emotional arguments animal rights activists put up is that of farmed animals being sentient beings with feelings and emotions. While this is true to an extent, activists try to humanise animals with and invest them with human-like qualities to garner more sympathy for their cause.
Vegans typically advocate the use of plant based milks derived from soy, almond, rice, cashew, coconut or peanut instead of milk sourced from milch cattle. These are basically substances ground up and mixed in water to replace milk.
Farmers and milk advocates insist that plant based milk are no substitute for the nutrition of animal milk. They also argue that plant based milk is nowhere near as versatile or tasty as milk derived from animals.
Amidst the grim tweets about the horrors perpetrated by the farming industry and the terrible harm that milk is supposed to do to the human body was this welcome bit of levity. ‘Lab’ tested – says good boy Charlie.
Some tweets offered a relatively new angle; about the dairy industry being a ‘dying’ one with the price of milk falling and dairy farmer suicides rising.
This tweet seems to satirise the anti-dairy lobby by using the same alarmist and hostile language that these organisations typically use to forcefully make their argument.
When a medical doctor with a blue tick next to his name speaks, people listen. They listen closely when they speak about cancer risk and damage to hearts.
On the one hand is the animal rights lobby that warns us against the perils of milk consumption and tells us how cruel the farming industry is. Most of the arguments put forward by these lobbies may be well-meaning but are usually exaggerated. There are many more studies to show the beneficial impact of milk than those demonstrate its supposed harmful impacts.
While it is a fact that those who are lactose intolerant must avoid milk and milk products, for most of us this is unnecessary speaking form the health point of view. It also makes sense to eschew milk if one has ethical concerns about it or to use only ethically sourced milk and milk products. However it also a fact that plant based milks are not as nutritious as milk sourced from animals and that hundreds of generations have been consuming milk without glaring ill effects.
So if you're worried about milk, try to ignore the extreme and alarmist views on both sides, read up a few studies on the subject. Then go by what your lifestyle and your beliefs tell you to do.
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