The New “Truths” You’re Being Told About Milk Are Myths

As a dairy farmer, I can’t help but come across articles about milk on the Internet. This recent one from the Daily Meal proclaims to let you in on little secrets about milk, but they couldn’t be further from the truth. 

I’ve combined some of these because they were stretched out over several slides in order to boost SEO and get you to see more ads on the original site.

1. Cows don’t feel pain if they are not milked.

Are you kidding? Of course, she will feel pain because she’s going to keep making milk and getting fuller and fuller. If she isn’t milked soon she will get an infection called mastitis. Don’t believe me? Go ask a breastfeeding mother that for some reason is late to feed her baby.

And then there’s the nonsense about farmers impregnating their cows only so they can milk them. What would happen to cows if we left them to nature? As one of our vets has said, the bull will take a personal interest in the cow. Amazingly, the bull will guarantee the cow stays pregnant.

2. Milk is for calves and not people.

And this argument says then that we shouldn’t drink it. With this argument in place, what should we eat? There is a bug or animal that wants to eat every fruit and veggie and animal out there. If we eat it then we are taking their natural food away from them.

And this argument says then that we shouldn’t drink it. With this argument what should we eat? There is a bug or animal that wants to eat every fruit and veggie and animal out there. If we eat it then we are taking their natural food away from them.

If we plant food for us then we are displacing some other plant habitat. We are hurting others and doing what is unnatural and preventing nature from being…. natural. So, stealing others food is what humans do. Milk is food. The rest doesn’t matter.

3. Calcium from milk is bad.

Milk is a great source of calcium and builds bones. Yes, you need calcium. Yes, you can get it from other sources. So, diversify. Eat a large variety of foods, including milk.

4. Cows milk is processed.

This is ridiculous. The jug of milk you buy is plain old real milk from a cow with only Vitamin D added to help with the absorption of calcium because milk is a good source of calcium.

5. Milk is full of hormones and antibiotics.

Farmers can not sell milk that contains antibiotics. Period. Milk is sampled before it leaves the farm and multiple times thereafter. If it has antibiotics in it then the milk gets dumped. The end.

Yes, some cows are given a hormone that is exactly like the one they naturally produce so they will make more milk.

BUT….

Despite the fact that you can’t test in any way the difference between treated cows’ milk and non-treated, consumers said they didn’t want it. Look at any jug of milk or dairy product and it will say rBST free.

6. Dairy-free alternatives are hard to find?

Seriously? Nut and rice juice, because it is juice and anything but milk, is on the shelf at the grocery store next to the real milk pretending it is milk. Go ahead and look at the label of these juices and count the ingredients vs milk. Talk about processed.

BUT….

These juices, like milk, are food. They are ingredients. They are good at what they do. They have tastes, consistencies, and cook differently from milk. If a particular recipe needs them to turn out well, then use them, but don’t lie to yourself about what they are and what they are not.

6. Other foods are high in protein.

So what. Eat a balanced diet. Enjoy milk as a delivery system for protein and eat meat, fruits, and vegetables, too.