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Why Choosing Dairy is Also Supporting the Beef and Veal Industries

Jan 24, 2025

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
By Justin Long, Writer at Switch4Good

 

The beef and dairy industries have joined forces in recent years, merging their interests to maximize profits and protect their market stranglehold. Think of it as two nefarious superpowers teaming up for world domination—not good for anyone. Whether you’re a concerned consumer or vegetarian who shuns meat but sticks with dairy, this unholy alliance raises important questions about its impact on public health, the environment, and animal welfare.

Veal: The Dark Legacy of Dairy

Traditionally, the beef and dairy industries operated separately, though they’ve always been intrinsically linked. Male calves born to dairy cows are sold to the beef industry for veal or conventional meat production, while female calves stay in the dairy system. Once adult dairy cows’ milk production declines and their bodies give out, they’re sent to slaughter and turned into hamburger meat.

The veal industry, in particular, owes its existence to Big Dairy. Male calves, deemed useless to dairy farmers, are confined to tiny crates where they can barely move, keeping their muscles tender for those who consider veal a “delicacy.” This custom originated in Europe, where milk-fed veal was a staple. Calves were often anemic, deprived of their mother’s milk, and instead fed a whey-based formula designed to produce paler meat. After World War II, immigrants brought this tradition to the U.S., craving familiar dishes. The demand for veal provided dairy farmers with a way to offload male calves, creating a persistent cycle of cruelty and profit.

The Beef-Dairy Connection: What’s Really Going On Now?

While the dairy industry accounts for roughly 20% of the total beef supply in the U.S., things are shifting. With milk consumption declining, dairy farmers are leaning more on beef-on-dairy crossbreeding—breeding dairy cows with beef cattle through artificial insemination to produce calves with traits like greater muscle mass and marbling, which are desirable for meat production.

Consider this quote from Dairy Herd Management, a news source for commercial dairy producers: “At the outset, cattle feeders knew a beef-on-dairy cross would grow faster, be more tolerant of extreme weather conditions and produce a beefier carcass than traditional dairy calves, but that’s a low bar for today’s beef industry, and many feedlots and packers are adjusting their sights much higher.”

Why Should Consumers Care?

The union of the beef and dairy industries has far-reaching implications that affect everyone. Here’s why:

Health Concerns: Both industries produce foods linked to chronic health issues like heart disease, certain cancers, and Type 2 diabetes. Together, they have greater power to lobby for favorable regulations, fund misleading research, and shape public perception about the healthiness of their products.

Environmental Impact: Beef and dairy production are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and water pollution. While both industries claim the beef-on-dairy approach is more sustainable, all beef production remains deleterious to the environment (1)(2). In other words, you can’t make wine out of vinegar. By teaming up, these industries can pool resources to resist environmental regulations, hindering critical efforts to mitigate climate change.

Animal Welfare: Both industries subject cows to intense confinement, painful procedures, and premature death. Dairy cows endure repeated cycles of forced impregnation and separation from their calves. Efficiency is prioritized over animal welfare, perpetuating systemic suffering on an immense scale (3).

Vegetarians, This Affects You Too!

Many vegetarians abstain from meat while consuming dairy products, often believing this choice to be “kinder” or less harmful. However, by purchasing dairy, they unintentionally support practices that have always fueled the beef industry—such as the breeding and slaughter of animals.

What Can You Do?

The merger of the beef and dairy industries is a wake-up call for anyone who cares about health, ethics, and the environment. By choosing whole foods and plant-based alternatives from transparent, sustainable brands and advocating for policy changes, we can challenge a system that prioritizes profit over people and the planet.

 

REFERENCES

  1. Meat consumption: Which are the current global risks? A review of recent (2010–2020) evidences
  2. Environmental and land use consequences of replacing milk and beef with plant-based alternatives – ScienceDirect
  3. Review: Overview of factors affecting productive lifespan of dairy cows – PubMed

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