Picture three packets of cheese. The first is handmade with cow’s milk from a small, family-run organic dairy farm in a picturesque village near Bath, England. The second is plant-based and produced by a major brand. The third is real dairy made from genetically engineered microbes instead of cow’s milk. Which one would you buy?
Judging purely by the label, the first, the one that is handmade from organic cow’s milk, might seem like the most natural, ethical choice, but a new undercover investigation by UK nonprofit Animal Justice Project shows that there is more to this packet of cheese than meets the eye.
In seven months of secret filming at Park Farm, an organic dairy in southwest England that sells handmade, artisan cheese as The Bath Soft Cheese Co, Animal Justice Project uncovered “callous kicking, slapping, punching, yelling and swearing at cows; the desperation and anguish of calves who cried for days after being separated from their mothers; and the pitiful individual housing afforded to youngsters for up to a month post-separation preventing play and other normal, social behaviors.”
Commenting on the findings, veterinarian Dr. Molly Vasanthakumar said, “The footage presented by Animal Justice Project reveals unacceptable methods of handling cattle. Cows are rushed through slippery, slurry-filled concrete walkways, hit with gates and alkathene pipes, and shouted/sworn at.”
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