Clarification of the misconception that a vegetarian diet means that animals do not have to suffer and die

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Many people are willing to give up meat and fish because they have realised that eating them causes animals to suffer and die and they do not want to cause it. It is therefore important for us to point out that even with a vegetarian, more precisely an egg-lactovegetarian(1) diet, living beings must suffer and die, so that more awareness can arise.

Disposable cows and disposable calves – suffering and death caused by milk production:
 «Since it is possible to obtain milk without harming the cow, most people assume that dairy products are naturally free of animal cruelty. » (Joy, 2013).
In the dairy industry, money is made from the cows, meaning, the milk, and not from the calves. “Consumers don’t see the suffering in the milk. But the production of the «white gold» is preceded by the pain of separation. In order for cows to deliver milk consistently, they must calve once a year. As a rule, calves are separated from their mothers shortly after birth and raised in isolation in so-called igloos; this prevents the natural and social bond from growing. Automatic feeding machines, milking robots, milk quantity recording by computer: there is no room for nursing mothers in high-performance dairy farming. » (Day Indicator, 2018)
To increase milk yield, the cows are injected with genetically engineered growth hormones and their udders get bigger and bigger, so that they sometimes have trouble walking. At the same time, however, they can be “used” for less and less time and they are “burned out” sooner. (Busse, 2015)
«The disposable rule of modern dairy farming is that after an average of three years in the milking parlour, dairy cows are disposed of in Germany, i. e. slaughtered. When the cows are just five years old. » (Busse, 2015) The normal life expectancy is around 20-25 years. To ensure milk production, cows are artificially inseminated once a year. “This constant getting impregnated and lactation puts so much strain on their bodies that many cows begin to limp or develop mastitis, an udder infection that can lead to severe inflammation. ” (Joy, 2013)
At fairs, where particularly beautiful and productive cows with large udders are exhibited and awarded, the cows are often not milked beforehand to make their udders look even bigger and their teats are glued to prevent milk from escaping, which is extremely painful for the cows. “Despite the considerable physical strain to which dairy cows are exposed, perhaps their greatest suffering stems from the emotional trauma they experience every year after giving birth.
Their male offspring go into veal production, the female into milk production. As mentioned before, cows have a close relationship with their calves and nurse them for up to a year. In animal factories, on the other hand, the calf is usually taken away only a few hours after birth, so that the cow’s milk can be used for human consumption instead. Often the calf is simply dragged away from its mother, who screams hysterically. {. . . } Just like human mothers, cows can become frantic with despair if they can’t find their children. » (Joy, 2013) Calves are thus deprived of their mother’s milk, which is vital for them, as well as their mother’s care and physical contact, and social contact with conspecifics, by mostly being kept in individual boxes. This is done because otherwise the calves try to suckle each other. This behaviour leads to diseases, underdevelopment or behavioural disorders, which have to be treated with medication.
“Economically speaking, its life is not worthwhile. Its purpose has been fulfilled with its birth. {. . . } The milk is the gold, the calf is the waste.» (Busse, 2015)

Every day that a calf lives and eats, it incurs costs that the slaughter price does not outweigh. If they do not die anyway, the calves are transported to fattening farms after a few days or weeks and then – as soon as possible – to the slaughterhouse, usually after 16-18 weeks. (Joy, 2013) In the case of breeds which are bred exclusively for milk production and whose meat is unprofitable, Swiss law allows the male calves to be killed after seven days. (Tages Anzeiger, 2015)
To think that everything is different on smaller farms or on organic farms is unfortunately a big mistake!
However, such photos, which do not correspond to the reality of the vast majority of animals, create an idyllic image in the minds of consumers, so that they continue to consume as much milk and dairy products as possible with a clear conscience. (Source: Tages Anzeiger, 2018)

Disposable hens and chicks – suffering and death caused by egg production:
«Laying hens are birds used for egg production. {. . . } The male chicks are economically worthless and are therefore disposed of shortly after birth. For this purpose, they are either tipped into a large shredder and ground up alive, killed with gas or simply thrown into the garbage can, where they suffocate or die of lack of fluids. The female chicks chicks are sent to battery cages, where an average of six birds are stuffed into a wire cage the size of a filling drawer {. . . } Because the hens are genetically modified to lay ten times as many eggs as their ancestors, their bones are rotten and often break, because a disproportionately large amount of calcium is extracted from their skeletons to form the eggshells. {. . . } As soon as the hens no longer lay enough eggs to be profitable, they are torn from their cages. {. . . } Just over a year old, a laying hen already ends up in the slaughterhouse. » (Joy, 2013)
Battery cages are officially banned in Europe, but implementation is not yet complete in many countries. The problem of unprofitable male chicks also persists in open-air, open-air and organic farming, as well as the massive shortening of the normal life span of a chicken and its overcrowding, so that as many eggs as possible can be squeezed out of it in a little over a year.

Suffering and killing are therefore not only a direct consequence of meat consumption, but also of milk and egg production and consumption. This can be prevented by a vegan diet.

(1) Ovo-lacto-vegetarians do not eat meat or fish, but dairy products and eggs

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