Time to Quit Dairy #Thoughtsoutloud
Today shoveling the remnants of snow, or rather heavy, watery mash, good friend of our family Uncle Vova or Vladimir came with his car bringing us milk, cottage cheese and some sour milk for sale.
While I was on my way to get money, my mom popped out of the window and all three of us were talking about random things. He, Uncle Vova, told the story of his two cows, which he sold recently to one aspiring farmer — «entrepreneur». The new host treats the cows badly, doesn’t feed them on time and even asked Uncle Vova to borrow some hay. Besides, he asked him to show how he milks them.
The saddest thing I heard about this story is that the new owner forbids the calves (oh yeah, the cows were with calves) to drink the milk. Cause every droplet of milk he plans to sell… To this Uncle Vova said that calves need milk, for its the basis of their future health, their physique and immune system.
That made me sad. How us, humans, treat animals and nature, in the most greedy and corrupt ways. All we do — extract, use, abuse, and throw it away, when there’s nothing to suck more from.
Parasites indeed.
This story made me ponder and reconsider my love of dairies. I grew up at my grandparents’ house with traditional Kazakh food, rich with dairy products. Therefore, everything made from milk was on my favorite products list. Now, I think it’s time to let that go. If cheese I eat or milk I drink, deprive a growing calf of its food, I want to learn living without it.
Besides, with Ramadan fast going on, I feel like we, humans, eat and consume way too much. Food, clothing, cars, furniture…So much is taken from nature to pamper us with comforts. I guess, eating less can be an act of goodwill. Though, it’s not an easy step to make or habit to bring in your life, especially for people like me, with inclinations to binges and overeating.
In one reels video a guy named Askar Seissembayev said that 30% of world population is in constant hunger, which is a lot. He said, if you are not in that underprivileged group — you’re already blessed, a big reason to say THANK YOU.
It makes me sad to think that my pleasure of drinking coffee with cream may cost no mother milk for some calf. I know that there is humane treatment of animals, but honestly, how often do we look inside? Are we even aware of the conditions these poor animals live in? You probably can’t call it a life. Stuck in sheds and cages, they understand that all they are here for is their meat, bones, milk or fur… So sad.
Next is the question to ask yourself — what are you willing to give away, to share, to live without, to make the pain less.
