Reply to a vegan

I received an email from a reader of our e-newsletter who expressed concerns about the way cows are treated by the dairy industry. This was in response to my CVO column about Hawaii's Fresh milk which we are selling. I thought I would share my response with my blog readers.

Aloha,

Thank you for taking the time to express your feelings concerning the way the cows are treated by the dairy industry, including Island Dairy.

It is very true that the dairy industry treats cows as an economic commodity and this includes the following abhorrent practices. The boy calves are generally either killed at birth or sold to vealers, the girl calves are taken from their mothers and kept in small pens for several months, and the mothers, who give their milk, are heartlessly sold for slaughter once they are no longer economically productive, which is usually many years before they would die naturally.

We deeply share your concern about these issues, and we are currently actively involved in attempting to find at least one dairy farm that will protect the cows and not engage in these practices so that we, and other interested retailers and manufacturers, will be able to sell dairy products from cows that are properly and respectfully treated. Our aim is to change the natural products industry from within to become aware of animal welfare issues; to make vegetarianism a key industry issue, just as organic and non GMO foods currently are. I hope to be able to report positive news about this in the coming year.

Down to Earth is a deeply committed vegetarian company; we do not sell any products from slaughtered animals, including gelatin capsules, animal sourced rennet in cheese flavorings etc. As milk is obtained without killing the cow we do sell it.

We do not agree that dairy products are unhealthy. One reason for this is that we look at cultures, especially Indian culture where the cow is revered as a mother who freely provides her milk to mankind, where a substantial part of the diet is milk and related by products. While we do not feel that it is improper for humans to utilize animals in economic endeavors, we most strongly agree with you that no animal should be mistreated, and they most especially should not be cruelly killed and eaten.

We appreciate that many vegans will not agree with our views, that is ok, we respectfully listen to other’s viewpoints, and we continue our own work of educating others about the many benefits of adopting a vegetarian diet comprised of organic and natural foods, and make these foods available to our customers. We know the world is a better place because of our efforts.

Thanks

Mark Fergusson
Chief Vegetarian Officer