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The Organic dairy farm is generally smaller than the huge factory-style farm. It does not use antibiotics, pesticides, and hormones on the cows. They do not add any milk additives into the milk. However, these farms also keep the cows continually pregnant, sell approximately 80% of calves to the veal or beef industry, and cows are sold to slaughterhouse after five or six years of life. Therefore, organic milk is almost as cruel as regular milk.
3.2 Ecological Impact of the Dairy Industry
The following data summarizes the magnitude of cruelty and the impact on the environment. These data are taken either from USDA or other similar sources.
1. Waste Released in Environment
In the USA alone, more than 500,000 cows, hogs, and other animals, and 24 million chickens are killed every day. Waste released into the environment by the US meat and dairy industry is 230,000 pounds per second, polluting our land, air and water systems.
2. Greenhouse Effect
The world's 1.3 billion cows annually produce 100 million tons of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas and traps 25 times as much solar heat as carbon dioxide.
3. Water Consumption
Livestock (cattle, calves, hogs or pigs) production accounts for more than half of all the water consumed in the USA. To produce one Ib of meat, an average of 2,500 gallons of water is used, while one lb of potato, wheat or rice requires an average of 50 to 250 gallons of water.
4. Land Usage
A third of the surface of North America is devoted to grazing. Half of American croplands grow livestock feed for the dairy and meat industries. In the USA, this represents 220 million acres of land, in Brazil 25 million acres, and half of the forests in Central America have been deforested for livestock production.
5. Impact on Health
Over the past more than 25 to 50 years of medical study indicated that consumption of meat and dairy products is associated with the major causes of disease and death among middle and upper class people around the world: heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and even fractures. Some medical studies have observed that as milk consumption increases, fractures actually increase, which shows, contrary to advertising, that consuming calcium in milk does not protect people.
"Not only meats, but also dairy foods, contribute to the high fat and cholesterol diets which are major causes for heart disease and type 2 diabetes". "Dairy foods are linked to prostate cancer and the development of type 1 diabetes".
4.0 Jain Way of Life
The Jain Way of Life is very ethical and it respects and honors the Earth and the Environment. Our scriptures indicate that we need to practice our religion based on time, place and the environment that we live in.
A cow is slaughtered immediately in meat production, while during milk production cycle the cow is:
Jain Education International
Tortured and tied most of the time at one place
• Kept pregnant
Fed or injected with hormones and antibiotics
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