The American dairy cow is becoming easier to spot from a distance even as their population numbers have dramatically declined.
Animal rights advocate, top animal science expert and teacher, Temple Grandin, says that we are harming the dairy cow in this country.
There are officially 2 million fewer dairy cows today (Changes in the Size and Location of U.S. Dairy Farms pdf), yet the milk production output has remained fairly level despite this steep decline. How is that possible?
Part of the answer is a result of changing the design of dairy barns, increasing milking schedules and altering the feed mix. It’s also messing with the genetics of the cow to increase their physical body and udder size that also increases their appetite for eating. According to the Post’s article, a Wisconsin dairy farmer has produced a holstein cow to a towering size, producing 75,000 pounds of milk annually, 3 times the industry average (America Has A New Queen Of Milk Production. Meet Gigi, The ‘Diva’ Cow).
Read more what Temple Grandin has to say and the conventional dairy industry response in this Washington Post article, written by Roberto A. Ferdman.
Watch these related animal welfare videos:
- Temple Grandin: Humane Treatment of Livestock (video)
- Six Speak Out on Preventing Cruelty on the Farm
- Factory Farms: Animal Welfare, No Legal Protections (video)
- Factory Farms: Animal Welfare, No Legal Protections 2 (video)
- Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations—CAFO’s: Dan Imhoff Speaks Out (video)
- Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations—CAFO’s: Dan Imhoff Speaks Out-2 (video)
- Temple Grandin: The World Needs All Kinds of Minds (TED Talk)