Do you support the dairy industry? If so,why?

[theist 1]

How do you feel about using dairy products that come from tortured cows and calves?

 

Do the vegans have a better arguement then ours on this issue?

 

 

I took this from PETA'S web site.

 

 

According to the ads for the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB), "Great Cheese comes from Happy Cows. Happy Cows come from California." To back up this ludicrous and fraudulent slogan, the ads show a couple of bulls or a few cows on lush green pastures. It is an idyllic image. The problem: For the vast majority of California dairy cows, these ads are pure fiction … and PETA is calling the Board on its deception.

 

The reality is that most of California’s dairy cows live anything but easy lives. They are kept in feces- and urine-saturated, completely treeless, grassless, "dry-lots" of dirt (mud, during parts of the year); artificially inseminated as often as possible; attached to milking machines nearly every day of their lives (including throughout their pregnancies); have their beloved calves (shown in the ads talking about the bliss of their lives to their grandmothers!) taken away to be turned into veal; and, when their worn bodies can no longer meet the inordinately high production demands of the industry, they are trucked in all weather conditions to the slaughterhouse to be strung up by one leg and have their throats slit. Happy cows?!

 

PETA attorney, Matthew Penzer, has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), requesting that the agency issue an injunction to stop further dissemination of these ads and impose other sanctions for what is clearly, to us, the CMAB’s violations of the law. In its complaint, PETA contends that the CMAB, recognizing through this campaign that people care about animal welfare, is trying to increase dairy sales by unlawfully misleading consumers about the conditions under which cows are kept.

 

"Consumers have the right to be informed; advertisers do not have the right to misinform. At a time when manufacturing assurances, such as ‘Made in the USA’ and ‘Dolphin-Safe Tuna,’ mean so much to consumers, misrepresentations that cover up the harsh treatment of dairy cows cannot be overlooked," says Penzer.

 

Granting PETA’s complaint could make a world of difference to cows and calves who live miserably to provide milk for the dairy industry and flesh for the veal industry. Of course, the best way to help these animals is to stop supporting industries that regard animals as food machines, instead of as living beings with feelings, wants, and needs. Click here for a free vegetarian starter kit.

 

Please write to the FTC and urge that PETA’s complaint be granted and an injunction issued to prevent the further dissemination of the CMAB’s "Happy Cows" ads:

 

Federal Trade Commission

CRC-240

600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.

Washington, DC 20580

1-877-FTC-HELP (382-4357)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pratyatosa Dasa 0]

Originally posted by theist:

 

How do you feel about using dairy products that come from tortured cows and calves?

Using dairy products from the local market is authorized by Srila Prabhupada, but Srila Prabhupada also wanted that each ISKCON temple eventually own a self-sufficient farm where the cows are protected. He wanted the temples to then get all of their dairy products from these farms.

 

Since Srila Prabhupada's instructions were never followed, and since we have to have animal fat in order to keep body and soul together, what else can we do except purchase dairy which, unfortunately, is a product of violence? Just make sure that you offer it, following Srila Prabhupada's instructions, before partaking of it.

 

May be of interest: "Protecting Krishna's Cows by Letting Them Play!" By Pratyatosa Dasa, March 23 1998

 

Dear Prabhus,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

 

Here's an idea that would give the cows and oxen a fun thing to do with their time, and would also allow them to earn their keep.

 

The idea is that we would build a contraption that they could play on that would also generate electricity.

 

The contraption would consist of a ramp leading up to a platform.

 

The oxen walks up the ramp onto the platform.

 

When the oxen is completely on the platform, he would push a lever in front of him that would cause a door to close behind him, and the platform to be released.

 

The platform would then be allowed to be slowly lowered to the ground, due to the weight of the oxen, and would be connected to a system of gears which would charge batteries by causing an electrical generator to turn at high speed.

 

After the platform is on the ground, a door would open in front of the oxen, and the oxen would walk forward into a pen.

 

When the oxen was completely off of the platform, he would push a second lever in front of him.

 

Pushing this lever would cause the door to close behind him, the platform to be released, so that springs could return it to it's upward position, and a special treat to be released.

 

After the treat was eaten by the oxen, a door in front of him would open, so that he could go out and graze, or walk up the ramp again for more fun and treats!

 

I believe that the cows and oxen would enjoy this activity so much, that there would be a constant line waiting to get on that platform!

 

Old cows and oxen could be put in a separate pasture that has one of these same contraptions, but with a more gently sloping ramp, and perhaps not such a high platform.

 

If we wanted to get really sophisticated, a video camera could monitor the whole operation to make sure everything was working, and that no cow or oxen got into trouble. An automatic transmission could vary the gear ratio depending upon the weight of the animal. Sound and video effects could be added to make the experience even more fun and enjoyable for Krishna's cows!

 

Many of the parts for this "gizmo" are already available "off the shelf", I've been told, as they are currently being manufactured for automated slaughter houses.

 

Cow protection is one of the keys to successful varnashrama, so this idea may be an important step toward fulfilling one of Srila Prabhupada's most cherished desires!

 

Your servant,

Pratyatosa Dasa

 

[Note from jndas: added linked article for easy reference.]

 

[This message has been edited by jndas (edited 05-01-2002).]

[theist 1]

Pratyatosa,

 

That is quite a contraption that you came up with.A toy for cows that generates energy.

 

I may disagree that we need animal fat to keep the body and soul together.In fact too much of it may hasten the separation.

 

I avoid dairy myself, for health reasons and I consider it cruel in today's context, at least in the US.The exception being Maha-prasadam when I am fortunate enough.I did cheat last week.Two days in a row I bought a 1lb container of yougurt each day and ate them with relish.I was just craving it.Two days after that I was sick from it.My body doesn't handle it well.

 

But I do understand your position.The material world is always putting us into these ackward positions.

 

Any vegan bhaktas out there?Or even 99% like me.

[Shashi 0]

Originally posted by theist:

Any vegan bhaktas out there?Or even 99% like me.

TheistJi I am not being the bhakta but I am 100% with you on this one issue. I am not being the veganism either as I am taking the honeys and am having the leather on the mirdanga and the woolen clothing for the wintery times.

I am thinking that the cows must be the worshipable creatures in their own rights and not simply being so for the utilitaRanism purpoise for the supply of foodstuffs. I am not agreeing with the other one who is saying humanities must have the animal fats somehow. Even the modern western nutrition jnanis are not saying same.

 

Thanking you for the concern for MataJi.

 

[This message has been edited by Shashi (edited 05-01-2002).]

[theist 1]

Hare Krsna Shashi,

 

You are a bhakta for sure, I have read your posts.It is a difficult issue amongst devotees here in the US.Especially when it comes to offerings in the temple etc.Honey, you know I never really think of that one.I stopped eatting bee pollen years ago when I kept seeing bee legs in the pollen.The screens that scraped the pollen off the bees as they came into the hive would also take off their legs.

 

I have fallen back into wearing leather boots so I have to work on that one.

 

I wouldn't worry about the drum heads though.Is there an alternative to leather for drums?Every endeavor is covered by some fault.

 

Haribol Shashi

 

 

[Sarasvati 0]

Don't they get the leather for the mridangas from cows that have died of natural causes, or is that yet another myth?

[Tarun 6]

Natural Death Cow Leather was certainly the standard.

Now TulasI's r also ____ for those beads at Loi Bazar.

Or should I say Bizarre. External Vraj has changed plenty.