Letters: Mother’s Day is not for cows

A recent Washington Post expose of the U.S. dairy industry found that mega-dairies scam consumers into paying extra for “organic” milk that isn’t. The timing, just before Mother’s Day, could not be more appropriate, since dairy cows, worldwide symbols of motherhood, never get to see or nurture their babies.

The newborn calves are torn from their mothers at birth and turned into veal cutlets, so the dairy industry can sell the mothers’ milk. The distraught mothers bellow for days, hoping in vain for their babies’ return. Instead, they are chained on a concrete warehouse floor, milked by machines, then impregnated artificially to keep the milk flowing.

When their production drops, at around age 4, they are ground into hamburgers.

This Mother’s Day, let’s all honor motherhood and our natural compassion for animals by rejecting the dairy industry’s cruelty. Let’s replace cow’s milk and its products, laden with cholesterol, saturated fats, hormones and antibiotics. Let’s choose delicious, healthful, cruelty-free plant-based milk, cheese and ice cream products.