Dear Editor,
If you haven’t already tried tasty vegan milks, now’s a fitting time, considering that bird flu has been found on a dairy farm in New Mexico and the Food and Drug Administration has found traces of the virus in samples of retail cow’s milk. It’s just not safe—or kind—to drink cow’s milk, regardless of whether it’s infected with bird flu or not. It contains cholesterol, saturated fat, and sodium and contributes to cruelty to animals, the climate catastrophe, and other environmental problems.
On dairy farms, cows are artificially impregnated so that they’ll provide a steady supply of milk for humans. Newborn calves are taken from their mothers—most end up at the slaughterhouse bloodied, dangling by their hind legs with their throats cut. When their grieving mothers can no longer produce as much milk, they, too, are slaughtered. Before they’re killed, each adult cow can release as much as 500 liters of methane a day, which accounts for about 3.7% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
But vegan milks, including oat, almond, and soy milks, are cruelty-free, healthful, and environmentally friendly.
See PETA.org for more information and product suggestions.
Sincerely,
Heather Moore
The PETA Foundation
Norfolk, Virginia