Serge Nesbitt, Sartell
This Mother’s Day, May 8, many of us will celebrate the powerful bond between mother and child. Tragically, the worldwide symbols of motherhood – dairy cows – never get to see or nurture their babies. Newborn calves are torn from their mothers at birth so we can seize and drink the milk that mother cows produce for them. The powerless, distraught mothers bellow for days, hoping in vain for their babies’ return. The babies are kept alive elsewhere, to soon become veal cutlets.
Dairy cows spend their lives on a concrete floor, chained with no outdoor access. To maintain their milk flow, they are artificially impregnated each year. Around four years of age, their milk production drops and they are turned into hamburgers.
This Sunday, let’s honor motherhood and our natural compassion by refusing to subsidize cruelties of the dairy industry. Let’s replace cow’s milk and its products, laden with fat and cholesterol, with delicious, healthful, cruelty-free nut or soy-based milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream offered in every grocery store. Mother cows and our own bodies will thank us.
