Cows Produce Excess Milk… Myth or Fact?

An honest peek into our general understanding should help us determine whether cows do produce milk all the time, along with producing it in quote-unquote, excess.

One common question that rings in people’s minds is whether cows produce milk only when pregnant. The obvious answer would be “yes” as that’s how nature has designed the process – mammals lactate only when they are pregnant with a baby (with their own baby!).

That brings us to the next question – do cows produce excess milk? Let’s deep-dive into this and arrive at a conclusion based on logic and evidence.

Milk produced by cows in Nature vs as a result of farming practices

All mammals produce milk for their own offspring. Just like human animals, non-human animals produce milk that is just enough for their babies. However, the extensive modern-day practices in dairy farming have largely increased the milk produced by these animals. This means that the “excess” milk would not have been possible without using certain extreme practices.

There is naturally no need for cows to produce more milk than their calves need. Cows usually produce about 1 gallon or 3-4 liters of milk every day under natural circumstances. However, the quantity of milk production of one cow today is a whopping 20-25 liters a day.

Do cows produce milk all the time or only when they are pregnant?

Every mammal goes through the cycle of pregnancy and birth in order to lactate. Therefore, the question of whether cows have to be pregnant to produce milk is not valid. This solves the mystery of whether cows produce milk all the time. Buffaloes, camels, and goats are no exception to this. Human animals also go through the cycle of pregnancy and birth in order to breast-feed their babies.

Strangely, people view cows and buffaloes as milk machines who need not be pregnant to lactate.

Somehow, people do not consider dogs, cats, and other non-human animals as milk machines. They are all mammals who feed their offspring their milk. But when it comes to cows and buffaloes, we steal their milk instead of leaving it for their own children.

The difference in our perception could be playing a large role in this wide-spread inconsistency. Therefore, the question “do cows produce excess milk?” is just as ridiculous as “do dogs produce excess milk?”

Do cows produce excess milk? They do! But… how? Here are the practices resulting in excess milk…

No animal, human or non-human, intends to give milk to another’s baby without first feeding her own. While this is under constant debate, the fact is we *steal* the milk of the cows and cows do not “give” milk to us.

Several investigations over recent years have revealed the severe mistreatment of cows and buffaloes caused by the demand for dairy. Here is one short film by Animal Equality India documenting the dairy industry in the Indian context.

We clearly see that non-human animal mothers do not willingly share their milk with us. Some of the cruelest and unjust practices followed for cows and buffaloes to be more “productive” are:

Artificial insemination

Cows give birth only once or twice in their natural life span. On the other hand, the dairy industry expects cows to produce milk in large quantities so that the “business” is profitable. Therefore, cows are artificially inseminated. More pregnancies every year mean higher profits and more money for the dairy industry. This is why artificial impregnation has become a widely accepted approach in the industry. Cows are injected semen using bare hands and/or tools that are not sterilized.

Separation of calf from the mother

After the birth of the calf, the mother is not allowed to spend even a day with her child. The calf is immediately separated from the mother so that the colostrum can be sold as a premium product. If the calf is a male, he is transported to the leather and meat factories. The female calves suffer the same fate as their mothers.

Other atrocities

Some of the other hurtful practices involve pumping antibiotics, using steroids, and injecting oxytocin into them. Oxytocin is a hormone that when injected, causes as much pain to the cow as going into labor would. However, it boosts the milk produced by the animal.

The above points must help in clarifying whether cows produce excess milk as a natural process. The current quantity of milk produced by cows to meet the high demand is absolutely not a miracle. It is the incredible work of the antibiotics and steroids injected into the animal. Therefore, the claim of a naturally grown cow producing milk sufficient to satisfy the current demand can safely be called a myth.

Mastitis in cows and buffaloes

Cows and buffaloes have been in existence in their original breeds such as yak and bison way before human existence. It must sound absurd now that they wouldn’t be able to survive without “giving” us their “excess” milk, doesn’t it? They can survive happily and healthily without human interference. Not stealing their milk would not cause them diseases just as not stealing milk of a lion doesn’t harm the lion.

Mastitis is a known disease in cows and buffaloes that involves severe udder infection. While dairy consumers claim that they consume dairy to save the animals who are likely to develop mastitis, here’s some news – Mastitis occurs BECAUSE of the dairy industry practices!

Mastitis is the result of continuous contact with the milking machine and/or contaminated hands and other materials/equipment used on the udders to suck milk from them. This leads to painful inflammation of the mammary glands. In India from time to time, we all see cows with massive udders roaming the streets. Well, the size may just be due to mastitis. Such a condition often makes cows experience difficulty in sitting down or standing and walking for a long time.

Summary: Do cows produce excess milk?

Do cows produce excess milk or are consumers manipulated into feeling good about their choices that they are doing cows a favor by consuming their excess milk? The dairy industry exploits cows and buffaloes only with a view to making a profit. In this chain, it is also the non-animals who face the brunt of apathy. The antibiotics and steroids that go into the animals’ bodies enter ours through the milk. The advanced machinery and other practices release blood and pus into the milk. Let’s take a moment to think whether consumers also pay a heavy price, in a way, by not considering the ill-effects on their own health.

Here are two resources from physicians’ guilds, PCRM and SHARAN that size up dairy from the health perspective for what it is worth.

About the author, Sowmya Lakshmi

“I have been vegan since 2013 and it originated from my love for animals as I could no longer make sense of the disconnect between my love for them on one hand and my actions that were contributing to their harm on the other hand. I eventually decided to take it upon myself to spread the message of veganism as widely as possible as I realized that veganism paves the way to animal liberation.”

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