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Corporate Dairy Farming. Current practice is to produce as much milk as the industry can, with fewer cows, and at the cheapest cost possible to ensure competitive prices on the world market. It has had disastrous effects on human health, the environment and especially the small farmer.In this sum
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1. Corporate Dairy Production: How the Industry Profits at Our Expense Jason McVay Urban Studies 515 Race Poverty & the Urban Environment www.whymilk.comwww.whymilk.com
2. Corporate Dairy Farming Current practice is to produce as much milk as the industry can, with fewer cows, and at the cheapest cost possible to ensure competitive prices on the world market. It has had disastrous effects on human health, the environment and especially the small farmer.
In this summary of intensive dairy operations, I will describe:
Dairy Production: Just how intensive production is. The amount of dairy product on the market, from the U.S. alone is staggering and production shows no sign of letting up.
Advertising: The advertising campaigns used to market and sell a product whos demand has been decreasing since the 1970s, and how the federal government sponsors the claims and the faulty scientific evidence with which dairy products are promoted to children, women and people of color.
Health Impacts of Dairy Consumption: associated with mass-produced dairy products, including effects of rBGH, hormones and dioxin.
Environmental Impacts of Dairy Operations: Including effects to other species, humans, and the risks associated with working on the corporate farm.
The Lagoon and Sprayfiled System: Waste disposal.
Corporate Dairy Production and Rural Development: Conglomeration in the dairy industry and how it effects the small farmer and deteriorates opportunity for community development.
The World Bank and Dairy Production: The World Bank wants to promote the Western model to the developing world, despite possible disaster.
Conclusion: Americans are concerned with their food supply. Corporate farming is in conflict with what we want, yet keeps chugging along with government support.
3. Dairy Production Holstein dairy cows weigh approximately 1,400 pounds and eat 50 pounds of dry feed each day, which accounts for half of the U.S. industrys production costs.
Feed generally consists of corn silage (fermented for increased nutritional value), winter grain silage, alfalfa hay, corn, barley, food wastes such as hulls and fruit pulp, cottonseed[i], soybean seed and other high energy additives like fats.[ii] Roughage must comprise 40 percent of feed in order to allow the rumen to function properly.[iii]
For Victoria, Canada, the countrys largest dairy producing region, total feed intake averaged 4,000 kilograms of dry feed per year per cow, and, during 1999/2000, total feed consumption for the dairy industry was about 7,224 kilotonnes.[iii]
[i] Collar, Carol. The Dairy Industry in Kings County {Private}. Dairy Notes, the University of California Cooperative Extension. http://countyofking.com/kingsce. Accessed 5/16/03.
[ii] Ely, Lane O. and Githrie, Larry D. Managing the High Producing Dairy Cow. University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service. http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/c788-w.htm. Accessed 5/16/03.
[iii] Dairy Research and Development Corporation. Grain Consumption by the Dairy Industry to double by year 2000. Meyers Strategy Group. Research Note 28, 1995.
4. Dairy Production Water consumption is immense. Dairy cows drink 10 times a day, leading to a 10.7 percent increase in butterfat content. Dry Holstein cows drink on the average 40 kilograms per day; milking cows about 85 kilograms per day. Calves drink 4 to 23 kilograms per day.[i] The USDA claims average consumption is between 25-50 gallons per day, with another 30 gallons of water per cow devoted to washing equipment and parlors. Jack Van Horn, with the University of Floridas Cooperative Extension Service, says a New Mexico dairy cow will use 115 gallons of water per day. Lots include thousands of cows:
...a 3,000 head dairy will use 345,000 gallons of water per day
not including water used for crop irrigation that will become feed. A dairy of the same size applied for a wastewater permit to discharge 75,000 gallons per day into a lagoon system.[ii]
[i] Irwin, R.W. Water Requirements of Livestock. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food Factsheet. Updated 1992. http://www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/engineer/facts/86-053.htm#dairy. Accessed 5/16/03.
[ii] Concerned Citizens for Clean Water, Inc. Dairies and CAFOs Contribute to Water Depletion and Pollution. http://saveourwatersupply.com/cafos. Accessed 5/16/03.
5. Dairy Production These numbers are to promote optimum production from the cow:
Every time the cow goes off feed she will decrease her milk production. Not only is milk production lost, but because some secretary tissue is lost, she never quite recovers her production potential.[i]
Constant lactation is current practice, milking three times a day if feeding is adequate, increasing production up to 25 percent. Rolling herd averages are above 20,000 pounds per cow per year, with some hitting 30,000 pounds.[ii]
USDA numbers from 2002 state an average of 18,571 pounds per cow, up 412 pounds per cow from 2001. There were 9.14 million cows producing milk, 27,000 more than in 2001.[iii]
[i] Ely, Lane O. and Githrie, Larry D. Managing the High Producing Dairy Cow. University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service. http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/c788-w.htm. Accessed 5/16/03.
[ii] ibid.
[iii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Statistics Service. Milk Production, Disposition and Income: 2002 Summary. April, 2003.
6. Dairy Production The darling of the industry is Arlinda Ellen who produced 55,661 pounds of milk in 1975, a current record. Her best day was 195 pounds of milk, and she averaged 152.5 pounds per day. During the peak of lactation she ate over 65 pounds of 16 percent commercial grain, 70 pounds of alfalfa hay, and she drank 50 to 60 gallons of water per day
She consumed over 7 percent of body weight as dry matter
[i]
[i] Ely, Lane O. and Githrie, Larry D. Managing the High Producing Dairy Cow. University of Georgia College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service. http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/c788-w.htm. Accessed 5/16/03. www.animal-lib.org.au/lists/ vegan/vegan.shtml www.animal-lib.org.au/lists/ vegan/vegan.shtml
7. Dairy Production The United States, the worlds largest dairy producer, markets milk, milk powders, frozen deserts, cheese and whey. For 2002, dairy production was as follows:
Fluid Milk: Production increased 3 percent from 2001 to 170 billion pounds.[i]
Cheese: 8.6 billion pounds, 4.1 percent above 2001. Wisconsin was the leading state, contributing 26 percent of production.
Butter: 1.36 billion pounds, 10 percent above 2001. California led with 28 percent of production.
Frozen desert: Regular ice-cream totaled 989 million gallons, 1.9 percent higher than 2001; Lowfat ice-cream totaled 362 million gallons, down 4.9 percent; and Nonfat was 20.6 million gallons, a 7.8 percent decrease from 2001; Sherbet production increased 3.8 percent from 2001 levels to reach 54.6 million gallons; and Frozen Yogurt production hit 73.4 million gallons, up 3.2 percent from 2001.
Nonfat dry milk for human consumption: 1.57 billion pounds, up 11.0 percent from 2001.
Dry Whey Products: Whey for human consumption increased 7.5 percent to 1.05 billion pounds; animal whey production was 63.1 million pounds, down 5.6 percent.[ii]
[i] ibid.
[ii] U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Statistics Service. Dairy Products: 2002 Summary. April, 2003.
8. Advertising Dairy industry advertising campaigns have been very successful at keeping an industry whose demand has been generally decreasing since the 1970's, profitable. Cash receipts from milk marketing efforts in 2002 reached $20.5 billion, a 17 percent decrease from 2001. Per hundredweight returns for producers dropped 19 percent from the previous year to $12.19.[i]
[i] U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Statistics Service. Milk Production, Disposition and Income: 2002 Summary. April, 2003. http://www.whymilk.com/digipress_art.htmhttp://www.whymilk.com/digipress_art.htm
9. Advertising The promotion programs (administered by the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board which operates under the larger blanket of the USDA) have come from two Acts of Congress:
the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 (Dairy Act), and the Fluid Milk Promotion Act of 1990 (Fluid Milk Act).
Both programs are funded by levies placed on product; 15 cent-per-hundredweight for the Dairy Act's production research and nutrition education efforts, and 20 cent-per-hundredweight assessment for processors who market more that 500,000 pound per month for the Fluid Milk Act's education and promotion schemes.[i] "It is estimated that dairy producers received $5.33 in return for each additional dollar spent on generic promotion."[ii]
[i] Blisard, Noel. Advertising and What We Eat: The Case of Dairy Products. Economic Research Service, USDA.
[ii] ibid.
10. Advertising Both Acts accounted for $183.5 million in advertising from 1984 to 1996 and increased consumption by 16.9 billion pounds of fluid milk.
An increase of 1.4 billion pounds of consumed fluid milk occurred from October 1995 to September 1996, when $29.8 million was spent on advertising. This amounts to a 5.9 increase in sales.
24 billion pounds of cheese were consumed during the 1984 to 1996 period, an increase of 561.9 million pounds or 2.3 percent. From October 1995 to September 1996 advertising increased cheese sales by 5.3 million pounds (0.4 percent).[i]
[i] Blisard, Noel. Advertising and What We Eat: The Case of Dairy Products. Economic Research Service, USDA.
11. Advertising In March 1994, the marketing efforts of the American Dairy Association and the National Dairy Council merged to create Dairy Management, Inc. (DMI).[i]
DMI's implementation allows for national, regional and local marketing efforts to function together. "At the 2001 forums, dairy directors across the country helped to finalize dairy promotion's long term marketing plan, which for fluid milk focused on kids and the mothers of those young children..."[ii] Also, a heavier focus on kid's school programs and a more "proactive" dairy image protection effort were goals for 2001.
Public relations campaigns, print, and television advertising has received primary funding, focusing on kids, young teens and Hispanic and African-Americans.[iii]
[i] Kaiser, Harry M. Impacts of Generic Fluid Milk and Cheese Advertising on Dairy Markets 1984-1998. Department of Agriculture, Resource, and Managerial Economics. Cornell University. 1999.
[ii] ibid.
[iii] ibid.
12. Advertising Milk is marketed to our youth through the school systems.[i]
It is important to remember, that milk and other dairy products are promoted as necessary for healthy, nutritious diets. Schools are required to promote good nutrition and receive pressure from the government, parents, and the public at large to do so. As long as dairy products are treated as necessities to prevent osteoporosis and promote strong skeletal development, dairy products will always be a part of institutional nutrition education.
[i] Rangwani, Shanti. White Poison: The Horrors of Milk. www.alternet.org. 2001.
13. Advertising DMI claims that school milk consumption promotes the general health of our children. In a fairly recent study sponsored by the National Dairy Council and published by Promar International an economic consulting firm, "specializing in food and agricultural economic and strategy analysis" that, "If the nation's schools adopted enhancements to school milk, children's nutrition would improve long-term and Americans would likely achieve major long-term cost savings in health care."[i]
This claim is the result of a pilot test conducted during the 2001-2002 school year, involving more than 100,000 students from 146 schools in 12 markets. "The pilot test clearly showed that more children will opt to drink more milk when offered an enhanced milk product as part of the school meal program."[i] The estimates suggest a per capita increase of 1.4 gallons among the 6-17 age bracket resulting in a 67 million gallon overall increase. The industry is currently riding a 10-ear high in consumption among this same age group.[ii]
[i] Pelzer, David. Study: School Milk Enhancements Nationwide Will Help America Save $1 Billion in Future Health Care Costs. Dairy Management Inc. 2002.
[i] ibid.
[ii] ibid.
14. Advertising The increase in consumption is directly related to the enhancements implemented, which was the focus of the pilot test. The enhancements include:
plastic, resealable packaging in sizes from 8-16 ounces,
introduction of additional flavors (beyond white and chocolate),
expanded availability, including vending machines, and,
improved refrigeration.[i]
Promar states that the savings would be due to the healthier diet of our youth:
"During their lifetime, more than 2.6 million students could reduce their risk of osteoporosis, hypertension, colorectal cancer, type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke by adopting and maintaining healthy diets - including drinking milk at school and participating in school meal programs."[ii]
[i] Pelzer, David. Study: School Milk Enhancements Nationwide Will Help America Save $1 Billion in Future Health Care Costs. Dairy Management Inc. 2002.
[ii] ibid.
15. Advertising The school programs implemented in the United States have now become international. President Clinton launched the Global Food for Education Initiative in 2000. The program, with $300 million in funding, allowed the USDA to export surplus foodstuffs such as skim milk powder, and various starches to 9 million children around the world.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council is thrilled. "USDEC supports the initiative as a way of helping needy children, while also promoting and developing new outlets for dairy products.
USDEC believes this program should be permanent and operated in a manner that is not limited to the disposal of skim milk powder. Instead, the program should be expanded to include other dairy commodities, which also promote good nutrition and establish long-term commercial markets.[i]
[i] U.S. Dairy Export Council. http://www.usdec.org/tradepolicy/schoolfeeding.htm
16. Advertising Milk itself is a reflection of our institutionally racist culture. Not that the dairy industry is trying to deprive anyone of their product, but most non-white races cannot process lactose, the primary sugar in milk, yet the government markets milk to Asian, African and Latino-Americans to increase overall consumption. Because non-white people on average do not consume milk, this is a constantly emerging market.[i]
The dairy industry is quite impressed with their marketing efforts toward Asians and Hispanics in particular. Cheese exports to Mexico in 2001 exceeded 2000 levels by 63 percent. "In China, where cheese is not a part of the traditional diet, dairy ingredient promotions led to a 69 percent increase in lactose exports and a 20 percent increase in whey exports."[ii]
[i] U.S. Dairy Export Council. http://www.usdec.org/tradepolicy/schoolfeeding.htm
[ii] USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. Impact of Generic Fluid Milk. http://www.ams.usda.gov/dairy/prb/rtc_2002/chapter_3.pdf. Accessed 5/15/03.
17. Advertising 2001 brought with it the "got milk/Milk Mustache" campaign from DMI, which developed partnerships with Walt Disney and the National Basketball Association, among others, in order to capture child, teen, adult and athletic markets.
These print ads appeared in more than 90 magazines, the largest buy of any beverage advertiser. The campaign also included medical advisory board members as spokespersons, billboards, transportation sector ads, consumer promotions and contests, hotlines about the benefits of milk, informational brochures, internet sites and college campus tours.[i]
[i] Blisard, Noel. Advertising and What We Eat: The Case of Dairy Products. Economic Research Service, USDA.
18. Advertising The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) conducted a census survey to determine the popularity of the Milk Mustache campaign.
Three-fourths of the 1,500 Americans from 15 cities "like or love" the ads.
Nearly 85 percent of the respondents "would like to have the benefits that go along with the Milk Mustache celebrity lifestyle,"[i] and would like to have their own ad.
Overall, 60 percent of the respondents said that the ads get them to drink more milk.[ii] It is no wonder, considering the list of celebrities that have donned the mustache: former president Bill Clinton, despite his allergy to dairy products[iii];
[iInternational Dairy Foods Association. Gallons and Gallons of Glamour: Survey Shows Americans Love the Milk Mustache Campaign!. http://www.idfa.org/news/gotmilk/2000/glamour.cfm. accessed 5/15/03.
[ii] ibid.
[iii] Cohen, Robert. Rugrats: An Endangered Species. The Dairy Education Board, 1998. http://www.notmilk.com/deb/110198.html. accessed 5/15/03.
www.notmilk.comwww.notmilk.com
19. Advertising Spike Lee, WNBA basketball stars, tennis players Serena and Venus Williams, and model Tyra Banks have all done ads, when 95 percent of African-Americans are lactose intolerant
and Larry King wore the mustache soon after recovering from triple bypass surgery. Would Larry King's doctors recommend him drinking milk? It would be hard to imagine considering the average American will consume enough cholesterol from dairy products to equal 53 strips of bacon daily![i]
[i] Cohen, Robert. Rugrats: An Endangered Species. The Dairy Education Board, 1998. http://www.notmilk.com/deb/110198.html. accessed 5/15/03.
http://www.whymilk.com/celebrities/index.htmhttp://www.whymilk.com/celebrities/index.htm
20. Advertising A current mustachioed ad features the Rugrats; cartoon children still in diapers, the eldest of the group being three years of age.
Robert Cohen, anti-dairy activist and executive director of the Dairy Education Board, notes that the proteins in milk products lead to diabetes in young children.
He quotes an article from Prevention and Medicine published in 1992, revealing that, "It has long been suspected that cow's milk proteins are a principle cause of diabetes in children, and a new report in the New England Journal of Medicine adds more support for this explanation...The journal article presented evidence implicating cows milk as the cause of diabetes in every one of 142 diabetic children in the study."[i]
[i] Cohen, Robert. Rugrats: An Endangered Species. The Dairy Education Board, 1998. http://www.notmilk.com/deb/110198.html. accessed 5/15/03.
Rugrats:http://www.notmilk.com/graphics/rugrats1.jpgRugrats:http://www.notmilk.com/graphics/rugrats1.jpg
21. Advertising In the face of such blatantly misleading print, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission in 2000 claiming false advertising by the dairy industry.
"It...explained why the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA'S) National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board, the dairy industry trade associations, and the advertising agency that developed the ad campaign should all be held accountable for what PCRM holds to be..."deceptive, and harmful advertising."[i]
The complaint focused on the faulty science applied by the FDA which ignores issues such as hypertension, high saturated fat content, lactose intolerance in minority communities and that osteoporosis is not caused by a lack of calcium, but by calcium loss.[ii]
[i] Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. PCRM Calls on the FTC to Investigate False and Misleading Health Claims in Milk Ads. http://www.pcrm.org/news/FTC_complaint.html. accessed 4/11/03.
[ii] ibid.
22. Advertising The FTC dismissed the claim in 2002 after a "'thorough review of relevant materials'" provided by the government (FDA) and other sources.
The review noticed a consistent trend toward the importance of calcium in the diet, and that dairy products are cited as good sources of calcium. The review states that milk consumption, based on its calcium, is beneficial for bone growth and prevention of osteoporosis.[i]
No mention is made of alternative sources of calcium, or the leaching effects of animal proteins. The emphasis is clearly on calcium, with added language that dairy products are a good source of calcium. The connection is not made to a point where one feels dairy products are necessary for a good diet. The review does not refute the fact that minority communities are most often intolerant of lactose, but states, quite simply, that they need calcium too.
[i] Landau, David. Federal Trade Commission: No Action Needed on PCRM Petitions, 2002. http://www.idfa.org/news/gotmilk/2002/pcrm.cfm. Accessed 5/15/03.
23. Advertising In a similar law suit, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has challenged the California Milk Advisory Board's "Happy Cows" campaign, which features the slogan, "Great cheese comes from happy cows. Happy cows come from California."[i] The television and billboard campaign features computer generated cows grazing in green pasture below California's blue skies, talking about their idyllic lives.
[i] Weise, Elizabeth. PETA: 'Happy Cows' Ad is a Lie. USA Today, 2002. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2002-12-11-happy-cows_x.htm. accessed 5/16/03.
24. Advertising The suit claims this is false advertising. In reality, most California cows never set foot in a pasture. Most cows spend their time in the feedlots, eating and walking to the milking areas of the farm.
