To Ve or Not To Ve(gan)

Origins

I remember the first time I saw Disney's Dumbo. The movie started out alright - the storks all delivered babies to the animals in the circus, and Mrs. Jumbo the Elephant gets little Dumbo, with his huge floppy ears. Quickly enough, the other animals make fun of poor Dumbo, and he eventually gets separated from his mother. The most emotional scene of the entire film is when the song "Baby Mine" plays, and a montage is shown of all the circus animals taking care of their babies, but Mrs. Jumbo is separated from hers. Seeing Dumbo's big sad eyes, and hearing the sad, sweet lullaby always reduces me into uncontrollable tears.

Ever since I can remember, I've always had an incredible empathy for animals. Anthropomorphic children's films notwithstanding, any time I read about or see an animal get hurt (or even be sad), I become very emotional. That's how I ended up with Ivy, my rescue pup - she was lying on the ground at an adoption event, too malnourished to walk. In my mind, it wasn't even a question; I knew I had to save her.

Ivy at the adoption fair.

But my love for animals started long before I had the means to adopt a rescue dog. I remember when I was 11, I tried to become a member of PETA online. But to become a member, you had to make a donation with a credit card, which I obviously didn't have at that age. I asked my Dad if I could use his for the donation, and he went on a rant about how PETA was a ridiculous organization and that he wouldn't be caught dead supporting them. I immediately started crying, devastated that I couldn't help the animals.

However, it wasn't until I was 12 or 13 that I decided to become vegetarian. I've always had a hard time eating meat, knowing that it came from an animal (and especially after learning about the conditions those animals live in), but I was always peer pressured by my parents to eat more protein. Then, after high school, I stopped being vegetarian for health reasons - I genuinely wasn't getting enough protein. Granted, I wasn't aware of all the other amazing protein options out there, and vegetarianism hadn't really made its way into the mainstream quite yet.

Now, at 22, I find myself re-evaluating my lifelong dedication to animal welfare, my health, and the choices of what I put into my body. Part of this scrutiny comes from my journey into the yoga world - yoga teaches us an inherent respect for all living things, and enlightens us to the interconnectivity of all beings. However, the majority of this self-reflection has come from the inspiration I've received in the health-blogging community, and yoga/health Instagram communities. Bloggers like This Rawsome Vegan Life and star (vegan) yogis like Talia Sutra have made me realize that being vegan is not only in alignment with my own values, but would be easier than I had ever imagined.

However, I don't like to make health decisions without considering the science aspect of things, so I've started to research the effects of animal products on human health. Now, I don't really need much convincing to give up meat (since I don't really like to eat it anyways), but I do need a sort of scientific nudge to give up dairy. So here's what I found:

Dairy & The Human Body

Between 65-75% of the world's population is lactose intolerant (depending on the source). The NIH gives the more moderate estimate of 65%, while the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine puts the number at 75%. But this is the science behind it: mammals evolved to consume their mother's milk during infancy, humans included. As infants, we are able to digest lactose (the sugar found in dairy) because of an enzyme called lactase, which is found in the LCT gene in our DNA. However, as humans grow out of infancy, the expression of the LCT gene gradually decreases, taking away the ability to digest lactose. Multiple studies have concluded that the decreased activity of the LCT gene is the biological norm in humans, while adults who are still able to digest lactose have a mutation on the gene that allows its continued expression.

In 1988, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported, "It rapidly became apparent that this pattern [of lactose intolerance] was the genetic norm, and that lactase activity was sustained only in a majority of adults whose origins were in Northern European or some Mediterranean populations." In other words, Caucasians tolerate milk sugar only because of an inherited genetic mutation. - Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

I personally was diagnosed with lactose intolerance at the age of five. I thought it would be the end of the world that I couldn't eat ice cream; but as the years went by, I found I craved fruit sorbet instead of ice cream, and actually preferred my pizza without the cheese (and dipped in salad dressing!). It's amazing how the human body's tastes and preferences can adapt based on what we eat.

But the takeaway from this scientific sidebar is that humans, biochemically speaking, weren't meant to digest lactose past infancy; and that the only reason some are able to do so now is because of a genetic mutation that made its way into our population. So how does this explain the multi-billion dollar dairy industry?

Got Milk?

Dairy is virtually unavoidable in the American diet, which translates to millions of cows being used for their milk. And, at first glance, it doesn't seem so bad - they're cows, they don't have feelings, who cares if we take their milk? But let's take a minute to examine the primary driving force behind animals (aside from their survival), which is the goal of propagating their DNA through reproduction.

In the plant and animal kingdom, there are virtually two options - have as many offspring as you can in hopes that some will survive, or only have a few offspring and take close care of them. This choice is called Parental Investment, and is universal for all animals. Cows, like humans, have relatively few offspring, opting to nurture and protect their young instead of reproducing many times. And, like all other mammals, the mothers give milk to their babies after they have been born. Scientifically, it's not all that different from how women breastfeed their children after birth to nourish them. But think about it - women don't produce milk all the time - they only lactate after having given birth. The same rule applies for all mammalian females. So in order for cows to produce milk, they need to be impregnated. And in order for us humans to use this milk, the calf must be separated from its mother (so we can take the milk instead of the calf). In the American dairy industry, the calf is usually separated from its mother a day after it has been born, and is either slaughtered immediately for veal, or allowed to live until it can be slaughtered for beef.

source

Some of you still might say, well, it's a cow, and it still doesn't have feelings. But consider this - when the mother is separated from its young, it causes an enormous amount of stress for the both the mother and the calf. This leads to an increased production of the stress hormone cortisol, which then becomes a chemical component in whatever part of that animal is being harvested, whether it's the milk or the meat. And while cows may not have "feelings" like the rest of us, the postpartum neurochemical activity for both the mother and the calf have been extensively documented. This isn't just "bleeding-heart" animal rights activists feeling sorry for the cows - this is science. In fact, the post-birth separation is a problem that even dairy farmers are trying to mitigate  - they try to minimize separation anxiety because it creates an inferior "product" for them.

Your Choice

Otto von Bismarck famously said, "Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made." We are able to cope with that which we consider to be unappetizing, disgusting, or immoral by simply closing our eyes to it. However, there is compelling scientific evidence that diary products do more harm than good to the planet, and to our bodies. In fact, studies have even shown that milk is not the "be-all, end-all" source of calcium, as it was once thought to be.

Now, I'm not going to sit here on my high horse pretending like it's easy to give up dairy. There's a reason I haven't gone vegan yet - and that reason starts with P and ends in izza. But knowing what  I know now, I can't in good conscience continue to eat a product that has come as a result of unimaginable cruelty. This is my choice.

The Plan

I don't ever want to be someone that proselytizes, guilts, or condemns others for not sharing the same lifestyle as me. I believe that the best way to convince others is to lead by example, and supplement that with scientific fact. Nor do I plan to guilt myself if I slip up, or make a mistake. All I can do going forward is make the best possible decisions knowing what I know, and experiencing what I've experienced - hoping for the day where we can all live our fullest lives without it being at the expense of other living creatures.