13 Problems with grandma's cow's milk

This blog post is based on our own personal experiences.
Lukas grew up on a small family farm which I am also assisting on in the last 1.5 years. What you will read below was not easy for us to share, but there are simply too many people (I used to be one of them) with a romantic idea of grandma's farm and the practices of a "traditional" milking of a cow.
We recommend this post not just for city-people, but anyone with an nostalgically dreamy vision of small farms.

1.  The cows usually artificially and forcefully inseminated each year (normally by a guy with a long glove. OR with more "natural" ways: Either grandma' is keeping a bull, which is rather food demanding and not common OR she is having a bull transported each year and waits until they fall in love. Both of these options can be very unsustainable and expensive for grandma's farm.)

2. The cows have to be pregnant (for 9 months) and give birth each year in order to produce milk, as all mammal-mothers. They are NOT magical creatures that lactate without a baby :(.

3. In order for grandma to get the milk from the mother cow, sooner or later she needs to separate the calf from the mother. This (I saw with my own eyes) is hard emotionally for the baby and the mom as well (both can cry for weeks). Cows are herd animals and they would stay with their offspring for a long time.






4. There is a 50% chance that the calf will be male or female: the calves are taken away and either sold as meat (if male, as bulls have no use on grandma's farm) or raised for the same purpose as the mother (if female and IF there is space and resources to keep an other cow)



5. The cows' lifespans are significantly shortened due to this intensive pregnancy-birth routine. (yes, even on grandma's farm)




6. Yes, cows will continue giving milk if grandma is milking them, but they do not NEED to be milked. Normally, their own babies, the calves, would wean for up to 1-2 years. After that their milk production would slow down and stop naturally.



7. Dairy is still highly inefficient comparing the amount of land, water and food cows consume compared to plants. (From a personal experience, we know it's unbelievable how much a cow would eat, compared to humans during winter. AND not only animal-based food can survive winter... grains, legumes, root vegetables, potatoes, and other starchy food can be stored over winter to provide food for the cold days. ---> Now this food is given to the animals...)

8. Cows raised free range also contribute significantly towards the generation of GH (Green House) gases.

9. Even though raised on a small farm, cows are often on chains or restricted otherwise (as grandma might have no space, energy or time to run after the cows when she wants to take their milk).





10. Unfortunately, no matter that the cows are loved and named, when the cow(-s) cannot produce enough milk anymore (maybe they are used for a couple of years longer then on a industrial farm), grandma sends them away to the same slaughterhouse as industrial farm cows are slain in.

11. The hardest thing about grandma's farm is that she does not know any better. We experienced it ourselves... However, we calculated that a farm could survive, be sufficient and sustainable if it would grow only plants for food. So it seems, even for grandma, it is about habits, learned behavior and traditions.

12. Even on grandma's farm animals can get sick and need medication. All that goes into their milk which we then drink.

13. Depends on where grandma's farm is located, if it's a cold country, animals are locked up and restrained in barns for the cold months (sometimes for 5-6 months). That can cause sickness and frustration for the animals.

We all love our grandmas and we are not here to judge of our love for them. 

But old traditions are not always morally right.