Question: The maintenance of dairy cattle damages nature just as the maintenance of beef cattle. How can one justify the consumption of milk?
Answer: True enough. The way it’s done today you are right. That’s not designed like that either. All these factory-farming practices whether it is for milk or for meat, or for vegetables, or whatever, are against God’s arrangement. It’s all about the economy, “How much money will I make?” It’s not about the food and whether it’s good or not for the people.
The average life time of a dairy cow is around 15-17 years. But the average life of a dairy cow under factory farming conditions today is 3 years, 3 years of intense suffering. They’re filled with hormones and antibiotics to make them produce more and more milk, their udders become infected, there is pus in the milk. They are confined to one spot day and night, they can’t walk around, they can’t exercise, they have to lie down in their own excrements. In other words, it’s hell for the cow.
But it’s good for the farmer because he’s investing money. This is the world of demons, this is nothing to do with what we’re talking about. There’s no sensitivity, there’s no concern, just another way to make money – exploiting the poor cows.
But still if you take that milk from the cow who is suffering so much and you offer that milk to Krishna, that suffering cow gets spiritually benefited. You’re not going to go into that farm and help that cow. What can you do? You can’t do anything. But if you offer that milk, you truly help that cow on the spiritual level.
So there are so many imperfect things going on in the world today because people are not following God’s arrangement, they are following their own selfish desires.
But it still doesn’t justify eating meat because it’s suggested suffering for the cows.