Products from factory farms are off my table because I am no longer able to ignore the cruelty to cattle in the dairy industry’s non-stop pursuit of higher production and lower prices.
I like dairy products and want to find milk, butter, yogurt and ice cream from smaller-scale producers whose animals live a natural, outdoor life quite different from the miseries of the global industrial system.
Vegans are satisfied with cruelty-free alternatives which merely raise new ethical questions. The sudden proliferation of soy products takes no account of serious impacts from increased production. Not long ago, fast food corporations were forced by consumer outrage to stop buying beef from Brazil when it was revealed that swaths of the Amazon rainforest were being destroyed to provide cattle range. Today, the same rainforest is threatened by similar destruction, this time to produce tofu and soy ‘milk.’ Tofu and soy milk are therefore not an answer; they’re a new problem.
Almond ‘milk’ demands massive amounts of water in drought-plagued regions, starting with California. Trendy consumption of coconut products disrupts regions where coconut palms grow. For dwellers in rich countries to consider themselves entitled to use products at the expense of local cultures is not a solution, it’s another problem.
I have had mixed results finding cruelty-free dairy products. Milk from pastured cows is available in returnable glass bottles from a dairy company with cruelty-free and organic standards. Butter, ditto. There is a B.C. producer of excellent yogurt (Olympic) sourcing its milk from well-treated cows in the Fraser Valley. Ben and Jerry’s Caring Dairy program looks like a good option for ice cream and I am hopeful that Island Farms, as well as GMO-free, is also cruelty-free.
I have, however, failed to penetrate the complexities of milk powder, which I have been accustomed to use when baking bread. Dehydrated milk (milk solids) on the surface looks like a sensible way to manage periodic milk surpluses, but in the absence of any information to the contrary, it seems probable that the two kilogram bags in supermarkets originated from factory farming and therefore cannot be considered cruelty-free.
It’s worth supporting Little Qualicum Cheeseworks, whose owners are committed to high standards of caring for their dairy herd. I am assuming that Hilary’s Cheese in Cowichan Bay, which provides fine cheese and excellent yogurt, will be cruelty-free.
Cheese production has been improving in Canada due to the efforts of artisanal cheesemakers.It does seem a shame that, just as our cheesemakers are beginning to produce competitive quality products, our federal government has signed a trade deal with Europe which will bring more of the famous and well-established European cheeses into our markets.
I was excited recently to find Orkney cheese for sale locally, as I had understood the Scottish island cheeses I love were prohibited here. A bit of research confirmed that the Orkney cheese is cruelty-free by my standards, which made me even happier.
However, it is important to uphold the value of local and small-scale production.
Marjorie Stewart is past chair of the Nanaimo Foodshare Society. She can be reached at marjorieandalstewart@gmail.com.