Are Confined Spaces Cruel?

Housing is used to protect animals-and your food-from nature

There are many ways to house dairy cattle. Some operations will keep their cows out on
pasture, like my neighbors, so the cows aren’t in the barn a lot during the
summer and fall. However, even those cows are in the barn for shelter during
weather, to eat their specially mixed ration (a nutritionally balanced feed
mix) and to get milked.

         “Dairy
cows being abused” is an increasingly common headline. It’s important to
remember context, which is tough to do if you have not been on a dairy farm.
For example you may find it disgusting to sleep in a bed of sand, but cows love
it.  What
may be cruel for your dog is not necessarily so for a cow.

         Since cows wear their leather coats every day,
they can handle a lot of cold, but protecting their udders is a priority. It’s
important in the cold is a priority to dairy farmers who live in harsh winters.
Those who live in a more arid area are concerned with keeping the udders clean
during times of high rain, when it’s muddy.

         Shelter for milking cows is really important
because their teats (each cow has an udder with four teats hanging down) can
get frostbitten or damaged in the mud. Frostbitten teats can be permanently
damaged, leading to more mastitis (an infection which is hard on the cow and
expensive to treat).  Mastitis is most
commonly treated with antibiotics, but the milk is withheld, so it does not
enter the food supply.

         Likewise, providing shade for cattle not housed
in barns in extreme heat is important. Dairies will have shades so that their
cattle can better handle the heat.  Clean
drinking water is always important, but especially critical during periods of
high heat. Cows are also monitored for panting; many dairies have overhead
sprinklers to keep their cattle cooler.

                   Some dairy farmers put cattle out on pasture a
good part of the year. New Zealand is known for that because of their climate,
but it’s also done in the U.S.  These
operations require a lot of pasture management, have reduced feed costs and
typically a lower milk production. And most farms today have a metal barn with
closed doors – not to hide anything, but to protect their animals biosecurity.
These metal barns, while not as pretty as the old wooden barns of yesteryear,
are a significant improvement in cow comfort and biosecurity because animals
are protected from the elements and diseases from other species.

         The view from my office is Holsteins out on
grass. It is beautiful, but there are different ways to keep cows happy in
both confined spaces and green places. Why does a dairy farmer choose one
way over the other? They choose what works for their family, cattle and
resources. The critical factor is being sure the cows are managed well, which
includes keeping a close on cow comfort, health, nutrition, etc. from the time
they are babies.

         The good news for you is that the milk in the
store is the same quality of milk whether it’s from a small operation milking
80 cows in a pasture using robots or a large family farm with 5,000 cows milked
in a rotary parlor.

Read more at   Food Truths from Farm to Table  to arm yourself with 25
truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop without guilt,
confusion, or judgment. A new book,  Food Bullying , releases November 5 to upend the way you think about eating
choices.