Dairy Cows and Their Calves: When Mother is Separated from Baby

My new book, Vegetarian to Vegan, is going through the publishing process now.  I thought I might give you all a taste of some of the information in the book by blogging excerpts from it over the next several weeks. 

I wrote Vegetarian to Vegan because while many authors have written very compelling books about the horrors of slaughterhouses, how smart cows, pigs and chickens are, and how bad meat and dairy are for both our health and our environment, no one has ever focused in-depth on the health, animal rights and environmental issues of just the dairy and egg industries – the two industries that vegetarians support, but vegans do not.  And it turns out that there is a lot you might want to know.

For example, when I began researching dairy cows, I found that they suffer from very high rates of Johne’s disease, mastitis, bovine leukemia, milk fever and other adverse effects that happen occur in dairy cows, but not usually in beef cows.  Similarly, I found statistics in medical journals about eggs, such as that the Physician’s Health Study found that there was a 23% increase in the risk of death in people who ate just one egg a day.^[1]  In fact, there was a lot of information that I had never come across about the diary and egg industries when I really started diving deep into veterinarian journals, medical journals and environmental reports. 

Here is an excerpt from the section on dairy cows and their calves, and what happens when a calf is born and separated from it’s mother…

Separation

On a factory farm, cow’s milk is not intended for baby cows – it’s intended for humans.  Therefore, baby calves are not allowed to nurse.  They are taken from their mothers as soon as two hours after birth, and are either fed a commercial milk replacer that is made from dried milk powder, or they are fed milk that has been deemed unfit for human consumption.

Besides keeping the milk for humans to consume, there is another reason why baby calves are taken from their mothers so quickly:  According to the Journal of Dairy Science, “Calves left with cows for more than 2 hours [of birth] had a higher risk for infection, possibly due to exposure to large amounts of infectious agents in the maternity pen.”^[2]  Letting the calf stay with its mother for any significant period of time increases risk for Cryptosporidium infection^[3] and respiratory disease, which increases calves’ risk of death by six times.^[4]  Basically, these authors are saying that the “maternity wards” at the dairy factories are so filthy that the calves’ lives are at risk if they hang around for more than a couple of hours.

Sadly, just like human mothers bond tightly with their newborn babies, so do cows bond with their calves.  Mother cows have been reported to bellow for many hours or even days after her calf is taken from her.  Author Oliver Sacks, MD discusses a visit that he and Temple Grandin made to a dairy farm: When they arrived, they heard many cows bellowing, causing a very loud and unnerving sound.  Temple commented, “They must have separated the calves from the cows this morning,” and indeed, that was exactly the case.^[5]  Similarly, John Avizienius, a senior scientific officer at the Farm Animal Department at the RSPCA in Britain, discusses one particular cow that suffered great emotional distress over the separation from her calf:  She bellowed for hours, and even after six weeks would hover at the pen door where she had last seen her calf.^[6] 

In a cruel twist of fate, it’s been shown in mammals that multiparous females (those giving birth for the second time or more) have higher levels of oxytocin than primiparous females (those giving birth for the first time.)^[7]  This means that with each subsequent birth, a mother cow presumably grows more and more bonded to her calves, and it likely becomes more and more emotionally traumatizing for the cow each time a baby calf is taken from her. 

Just as the mother forms an immediate bond with her calf, the newborn calf also has an immediate attachment to his or her mother, and is healthier the longer it gets to bond with its mother. Calves allowed to remain with their mothers for up to 14 days showed weight gains at three times the rate of calves taken within 1-2 days, and they also showed signs of better searching behaviors and better social relationships with other calves.^[8]  But as we’ve seen, baby calves are taken away within hours due to both the risk of infection from their filthy conditions, as well as the desire for the farmers to keep the mother’s milk for humans – not calves – so they can make a profit.

It has been shown that baby calves experience emotional distress when they are separated from their mothers.  Unbelievably, they have been known to try to bond with the factory farm workers, even trying to suckle the fingers of the worker who is sending them off to slaughter. 

Female calves will be raised to become dairy cows like their mothers, and the male calves will go to veal farms where they will be slaughtered for their tender meat.

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[1] Djousse L, Gaziano JM. Egg consumption in relation to cardiovascular disease and mortality: the Physicians' Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:964-969.

[2] Gulliksen, S.M., et al.  (2009)  Calf mortality in Norwegian dairy herds.  J Dairy Sci, 92, 2782-2795.

[3] Faubert, G.M. & Litvinsky, Y.  (2000)  Ntaural transmission of Cryptosporidium parvum between dams and calves on a dairy farm.  J Parasitol, 86, 495-500

[4] Gulliksen, S.M., et al.  (2009)  Calf mortality in Norwegian dairy herds.  J Dairy Sci, 92, 2782-2795.

[5] Dasa, S.  Cows are Cool.  Soul Science University Press, 2009. Pg 38.

[6] Dasa, S.  Cows are Cool.  Soul Science University Press, 2009. Pg 39.

[7] Levy, F., K. M. Kendrick, J. A. Goode, R. Guevara-Guzman and E. B. Keverne. 1995. Oxytocin and vasopressin release in the olfactory bulb of parturient ewes: Changes with maternal experience and effects on acetylcholine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, glutamate and noradrenaline release. Brain Res. 669(2):197-206.

[8] Flower FC, Weary DM - Institute of Ecology and Resource Management, School of Agriculture, Edinburgh, UK. "Effects of early separation on the dairy cow and calf: 2. Separation at 1 day and 2 weeks after birth.". Retrieved 2009-05-29.

A New Culprit for Heart Disease

A recent article in the NY Times shocked many of us who follow health research: Researchers at the Cleveland Clinic now believe that saturated fat and cholesterol only play a minor role in heart disease.  They believe that a little-known chemical called TMAO is actually the major player in heart disease … in fact, it may even be causing heart disease.

It turns out that carnitine, which is found in high levels in red meat (and eggs, and to a lesser extent, poultry, fish and dairy) may start a chain reaction leading to heart disease by a newly discovered mechanism:  Meat eaters have a certain type of bacteria in their guts that get their fuel from carnitine, and when they eat meat, this bacteria burps out a little-known chemical that is converted by the liver into TMAO.  It is now thought by these researchers that TMAO is the major culprit in heart disease because it allows cholesterol to penetrate vessel walls, and also prevents the body from getting rid of excess cholesterol.

In a ground-breaking study, five meat eaters and one long-time vegan (who shouldn’t theoretically have the carnitine-eating bacteria in his gut) ate a full steak.  Afterward, their blood was checked for TMAO, and all the meat eaters had very high levels of TMAO in their blood, but the vegan had virtually none.  Since vegans don’t ingest carnitine, they don’t have the bacteria in their guts that lead to TMAO.  Further studies have proven a strong correlation between TMAO and heart disease.

Interestingly, since TMAO is created in a chain reaction started by bacteria, it’s thought that antibiotics that target the bacteria can lower heart disease risk.  In fact, these researchers found that when meat-eaters ate a steak but took an antibiotic beforehand, TMAO did not show up in their blood. 

But I say, no need to be on antibiotics for the rest of your life … just go vegan!

To learn more, you can read the article in the NY Times here: 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/health/study-points-to-new-culprit-in-heart-disease.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130408&_r=0

The Four Agreements, Vegan Style

Many of you have read Don Miguel Ruiz’s famous book, The Four Agreements.  In his book, he outlines in detail, four “agreements” that we should make with ourselves to have a truly happy life and avoid all the drama that so many people live with on a daily basis.  I have recently been applying this to the vegan diet, and have started to live my life as a vegan a little bit differently.

Be Impeccable with Your Word

This first agreement is not just about being truthful – certainly, as the name implies, it does mean to speak the truth at all times – but it also means to speak positively and lovingly … especially to yourself.  It’s easy, as a vegan, to get caught up in eating the “perfect” vegan diet – if you follow a raw vegan diet you can’t eat cooked foods, or if you follow Dr. Esselstyn’s diet you can’t eat oil.  It’s easy to “agree” with these diets and then use that knowledge to beat yourself up if you don’t follow them perfectly.  If you’re not careful, you can find that you feel emotionally worse after being vegan for a while, because you’re beating yourself up all the time!  (This is a common occurrence with any type of diet, not just the vegan diet.) 

I have broken all agreements with dieting, and instead try to do what is best for myself because I love myself.  Sometimes, what is best for myself on a particular day might be to enjoy that gorgeous piece of vegan chocolate cake!  But, not every day, and never the whole cake.  J  Ironically, I’ve dropped a few pounds.

Don’t Take Things Personally

The second agreement is to not take anything personally.  For example, if a friend asks you repeatedly about the vegan diet, and you spend hours outlining all the reasons to go vegan, yet she still doesn’t change … don’t take it personally.  If you get chided from friends, family and colleagues about being vegan … don’t take it personally.  If people on Facebook or TV slam vegans or try to make veganism look ridiculous … don’t take it personally.  You get the idea.

Here’s why you should never take anything personally:  Everyone has a different background, with a different set of experiences and thus, a different perspective.  There are no two people (not even identical twins) who have the exact same perspective on everything.  Therefore, when someone speaks negatively about the vegan diet or gives you a hard time for being vegan, there are countless reasons for their feelings … maybe they once knew a militant vegan who was a jerk, or they only know two vegans and they happen to be as thin as twigs, or they are fearful you’re going to try to make them change, etc...  But whatever their reason, it has nothing to do with you.  Even if they know you well, and look you in the face and say “You’re an idiot for believing all that stupid vegan rhetoric!  I thought you were smarter than that!” it still has nothing to do with you.  They simply have some perspective (or some defensiveness or some fear or something) about veganism that is making them react violently about it, and guess what?   It has nothing to do with you.

Don’t Make Assumptions

The third agreement is to never make assumptions.  For example, never assume someone doesn’t want to hear you talk about the vegan diet.  And never assume they do!  Never assume people won’t want to eat at your house because they’ll have to eat vegan.  And never assume they do!  The only way to know what someone else is thinking is to simply ask them.  You can say, “I’d like to have you over for dinner, but I only cook vegan at my house.  Would you like to come over and have a vegan meal, or would you prefer to go out?”  No assumptions – you just ask. 

Many people can take one assumption and spin out of control: “My new boyfriend won’t want to eat at my house.  He’ll hate vegan food.  He’ll be hungry and will stop at McDonald’s on the way home.  If he stops at McDonald’s then I couldn’t date him anyway.  But who could blame him?  I don’t cook well.  I’ve never been a good cook, even before I was vegan.  Probably because my mom didn’t teach me how to cook…” blah blah blah!  All of this awful negativity just from an assumption (that is quite likely to be faulty anyway) that “He won’t want to eat at my house if it means he has to eat vegan.”  So don’t make assumptions – just ask.

Always Do Your Best

The nice thing about the fourth agreement, Always Do Your Best, is that if you know you’ve done your best, you can’t be upset with yourself if things don’t work out well.  For example, let’s say that you give a lecture in your community on the vegan diet.  You do your best by practicing many times, but instead, you bomb.  It’s okay!  You’ve done your best!  Although you may wish you had nailed it perfectly, you can let it all go because you know you did your best to prepare ahead of time.

If you are an aspiring vegan, but not all the way there yet, this one is very important for you.  Do your best to set yourself up with delicious vegan options, but if you unexpectedly find yourself eating something non-vegan, you can forgive yourself because you know you did your best.

But what if you get down on yourself because you ate a Snickers Bar and knew that you shouldn’t and don’t feel you did your best?  It’s important to know that doing our best on one day may be very different from doing our best on another day.  If your flight was delayed 4 hours, you’re starving, your boss just called and yelled at you, and a baby is crying loudly right next to you, your “best” at that moment may not be the same as your “best” when you are well-rested, relaxed, happy, and have no timelines for the day.  It’s easy to see how an aspiring vegan may fall prey to cheese pizza in the former scenario, and be less likely to fall prey to it in the latter scenario.  So, do your very best all the time, and be kind to yourself if your “best” in that moment isn’t your lifetime best.

My good friends know that I have been re-invigorated by re-reading The Four Agreements, not just with my veganism, but in life in general.  If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it!  It is short, but a very powerful read.

With Love and Ahimsa,

Sarah

PCRM

There are many great organizations that are helping to advance veganism.  I love them all, and I especially love the people behind these organizations.  Even if I don’t always agree with their tactics, I have a very deep respect for their motives.

One organization that I feel every vegan needs to know about is PCRM – the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.  PCRM is run by 1. medical professionals and 2. people who work in politics. Here is why this mix of people is so impactful:  The medical doctors and researchers understand scientifically why animals should not be used in research, and what good models can be used in in their place that are as good – or better – at getting research results that are truly applicable to humans and medical research.  They also understand how a healthy vegan diet can reverse diabetes, heart disease, and even affect autoimmune disorders, and are studying these conditions (using sound research methodologies) with a vegan diet.  The people who are working on the political side of this organization understand who is who on Capitol Hill, how to network in Washington DC, and how to get legislation passed.  I think this last piece is crucial if we ever want to enact sweeping change.  For example, we can try to convince our friends, one-by-one, the importance of feeding their children healthfully (and cringe when we see their kids popping chicken nuggets into their mouths just a few days later), or we can support organizations like PCRM who have the scientific data and the political know-how to march into DC and pass legislation to clean up the school lunch program.  Or, instead of conducting “extreme activism” and breaking into research labs at medical schools and setting all the animals free, we can support organizations like PCRM who can march into DC and demand that medical schools quit testing on animals (which are nothing like humans) and start using human models of anatomy and disease instead, which are far more relevant and humane.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t advocate at a personal one-on-one level – that is still important, and there is nothing like one-on-one conversations with someone we trust to get us to see things differently.  However, to make sweeping changes, we usually either need such a huge groundswell from the people that they eventually enact change from a grassroots effort, or we need the government to change their laws and enforce change. 

In addition to all their medical research and political work, PCRM also has a great outreach program to the public.  They have a 21 Day Vegan Kickstart program in several languages around the world, where they teach people how to live healthier through a low-fat vegan diet.  They also have cooking classes called “Food for Life” where people like you and me are trained to teach vegan cooking classes in our communities!  If this interests you, you can sign up to get trained and become a Food for Life instructor for your area – in fact, the next instructor’s class is in late June.

There is much, much more to PCRM than I am writing here in this short blog, but they really are worth checking out.  I do not let anyone pay me or “encourage” me to blog about their products or organizations, so anything you see me write about here, you know I am writing about because I am a true believer. To learn more, go to www.PCRM.org.  If you have an organization that you feel should be recognized as well, make a comment below!

With Love and Ahimsa,

Sarah