There are many reasons why informed consumers are avoid consuming cow's milk
today, such as the fact that milk increases stagnation and can promote sinusitis and
asthma. There are humanitarian and ethical reasons, too; avoiding milk means not condoning
the abuse of dairy cows on conventional dairy farms. But one of the most important reasons
to consider avoiding the consumption of milk is the waste of water resources that go into
its production.
It can take up to 2,000 gallons of water
to produce one gallon of milk. The cow needs water to perform basic biological functions
from day to day, and only a fraction of the water the cow consumes is actually converted
into milk. The fact that it takes so much water to produce cow's milk means that anytime you or
any consumer chooses to drink milk, the burden you place on the natural environment is a
thousand times greater than if you were to consume water itself. Drinking one gallon of
milk is like pouring 1,999 gallons of fresh water down the drain.
With water tables falling all around the world and shortages appearing now in the United States and throughout
Asia, it becomes increasingly important for us to practice water conservation as
consumers. We, as a species, simply cannot afford to live in an environment where water
tables have dropped beyond our ability to pump water out of the ground. If we continue to
use our water in wasteful ways, such as supporting animal products like beef, cheese and
milk, then we will run out of water. Around the world, farmers and ranchers consume the
vast majority of the water supply.
We can save the world by eating plants
When we choose to consume plants rather than animals for our nutrition, we are directly conserving
mass quantities of fresh water. By eating plants, we are protecting the environment in
addition to experiencing the phenomenal personal nutritional benefits provided by plants,
which are considerable in their own right. Plants contain healing medicines,
phytonutrients, anthocyanins, and enzymes that protect the nervous system. Animal products
contain no such nutrients.
When we consume plants, we not only protect the water supplies of the world; we
also help protect animals from the cruel and inhumane treatment they endure on
conventional ranches, farms, and food
processing facilities around the world. When you drink milk, you are literally consuming
blood and pus from an animal that has been abusively milked and pumped up with artificial hormones. These hormones are banned in
almost every other country in the world but remain legal in the United States, unless you
are getting organic-certified milk from a free-range cow on a small, family farm. (Or raw
milk, which I do conditionally support if consciously consumed as a food and not just a
thoughtless beverage...)
As consumers, we must think beyond the price we pay at the cash register. We must look at
the big picture: What are the sources of these foods and beverages? What is the impact on
the environment? What is the experience of the animals from which these foods are derived?
Uninformed consumers don't look at the big picture. They only care about how much their
shopping list costs at the cash register. They don't look at the impact on the entire
planet; the impact on the experience of animals; the dwindling water supplies around the
world; or the run-off poisoning of our rivers, streams and oceans from pesticides,
herbicides and synthetic drugs pumped into cows.
In not considering these issues, our mass consumption is leading us to an emergency on a
global scale. We are looking at an approaching disaster in terms of the loss of fresh
water supplies. We are using up water the same way we are using up oil; by draining
underground aquifers that can't be replenished on a short-term schedule. Once they are
drained, the future of human life on our planet will be significantly more challenging to
sustain at current levels (if not impossible).
So we must look at the big picture and begin to make intelligent decisions about our
consumption patterns. We must shift to plant-based foods if we are going to be able to
sustain current population levels on planet Earth. We have to think in terms of what it
costs the environment to produce the foods we consume. Every time you drink a gallon of
water instead of a gallon of milk, you save 1,999 of fresh water in the natural
environment. This means that you, by making a simple choice, can have a huge and
measurable impact, a positive impact, on the world around you.
Drink water. Pure, fresh spring water. Not tap water, not bottled water filled with
plastics. Find and drink pure water from the Earth, and you will be doing your part to
help sustain the potential for human life on this planet for generations to come. You'll
also be saving countless cows from abusive exploitation by commercial dairy ranches, many
of which now laughingly claim to be "organic." See the Organic Consumers
Association (www.OrganicConsumers.org)
to learn more about the false organic cow's milk producers. While there are a few, smaller
organic milk operations in North America, nearly all the big names you see in popular
retail stores are engaged in organic fraud. (naturalnews, 6.02.2008, Mike Adams (see all articles by this author)
http://www.naturalnews.com/z023341.html