# Cow milk is for calves **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [July 20, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910 "2021-07-20T20:03:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/22 "2021-07-21T14:16:20Z")
> [@PozhanPop](#): > > quote from vegans and animal rights activists about how humans are not adapted to digest cow milk and it should be rightly left for calves to drink I’m more likely to wind up in gastric distress from a bunch of beans, fruit and veggies than from a steak and some dairy. Ispo facto presto chango, cow milk is for me. Also, cows are for me. Edit: I should specify that I don’t mean this as a taunt (I roll my eyes at the “Tell the vegan you’re eating a big burger!”) but a comment about how terrible this logic is. I mean, people are allergic to peanuts, gluten intolerant, and a whole range of other “plants must not be for people” digestive issues. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/23 "2021-07-21T14:22:51Z")
I agree that cow milk is for calves. And that veal is for me. ---
**Author:** ![tricoteuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tricoteuse/32/4334_2.png) [@tricoteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tricoteuse)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/24 "2021-07-21T14:45:58Z")
Something I don’t get. Magically, the “cow’s milk is for calves” people get their wish and no person/other animal drinks cow’s milk anymore. So what happens to the millions of dairy cows who are producing milk but don’t have calves (I know a cow has to have a calf to produce milk, but then the calf is taken and raised seperately and the cow goes back into the herd of milk cows.) Farmers aren’t going to feed millions of animals who are producing an unwanted product. Domestic cattle aren’t adapted to survive in the wild. Dairy cattle aren’t prime meat animals and if people are anti-milk I’m sure they don’t want people eating beef either. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/25 "2021-07-21T15:34:46Z")
Thank you for the compliment. Mostly I’m a generalist, with a few things I have some real expertise in, like lactose intolerance. Being able to pick and choose which threads I post in is a wonderful cheat to hide my ignorance of all the rest of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/26 "2021-07-21T15:43:07Z")
> [@tricoteuse](#): > > Magically, the “cow’s milk is for calves” people get their wish and no person/other animal drinks cow’s milk anymore. So what happens to the millions of dairy cows who are producing milk but don’t have calves I think the “magically” is the whole point. That is to say, it’s not as though everyone is suddenly going to become vegetarian or vegan. A plausible scenario is that demand for meat and dairy goes down as the _proportion_ of vegetarians and vegans gradually goes up and meat substitutes like beyond beef become more popular. These things are already happening but AIUI are still largely cancelled out by increasing meat consumption by the rest of us. However, eventually we’d expect that the demand for meat and dairy may go down. And in such a scenario, farmers would just breed fewer meat and/or dairy cows. Since it _won’t_ happen overnight, it’s not a huge problem. ---
**Author:** ![PozhanPop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pozhanpop/32/8022_2.png) [@PozhanPop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PozhanPop)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/27 "2021-07-21T18:23:18Z")
🙂 I was wondering about the whole one animal drinking the milk of another animal thing while nature probably intended that milk for its offspring only. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/28 "2021-07-21T19:33:08Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I agree that cow milk is for calves. And that veal is for me. Industrial milk production is cruel to the cows but it has nothing on veal calf production for cruelty. Home or small-herd dairying is, as far as I have experienced, fairly pleasant as livestock lives go. The cows lead pampered lives by and large, and instead of being turned into burger after two or three years of maximally-induced production, they are more like 10 to 12 years when they are culled. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/29 "2021-07-21T19:35:27Z")
> [@PozhanPop](#): > > I was wondering about the whole one animal drinking the milk of another animal thing while nature probably intended that milk for its offspring only. 🙂 I think you should re-examine that “nature intended” thing. Like other animals but much much more so, we manipulate our environment for our own ends. Nature intended this too. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/30 "2021-07-21T19:43:48Z")
My calves are about average size for someone with my fitness level. I drink about 8 ounces of lactose-free milk/day. If I exercise too hard, sometimes my calves will spasm – maybe I should drink more? Or, maybe it’s the lactose-free version that’s not helping my calves. In any case, I would say that cow milk doesn’t seem to do anything special for my calves. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/31 "2021-07-21T20:02:30Z")
> [@TheCuse](#): > > I still drink a gallon of milk a week. > > My doctor says I’m not a child anymore and there is no reason I need to drink it, but I said I like milk. And cheese. And sour cream. Not such a big fan of yogurt. Oh and let’s don’t forget ice cream!! ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/32 "2021-07-21T20:04:59Z")
> [@PozhanPop](#): > > I was wondering about the whole one animal drinking the milk of another animal thing while nature probably intended that milk for its offspring only. 🙂 I dunno. Luke Skywalker drank that blue milk and green milk from other animals and he seemed to do alright. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/33 "2021-07-21T20:07:39Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > In any case, I would say that cow milk doesn’t seem to do anything special for my calves. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/9CdVTCDdEwI/hqdefault.jpg "Comic Rimshot!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CdVTCDdEwI) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/34 "2021-07-21T20:17:03Z")
> [@tricoteuse](#): > > Something I don’t get. Magically, the “cow’s milk is for calves” people get their wish and no person/other animal drinks cow’s milk anymore. So what happens to the millions of dairy cows who are producing milk but don’t have calves (I know a cow has to have a calf to produce milk, but then the calf is taken and raised seperately and the cow goes back into the herd of milk cows.) Er… no, usually that calf ends up as veal. Certainly nearly all the male calves do (you only need a very small number of bulls) and probably some of the female ones if the dairy herd doesn’t need to be enlarged. > [@tricoteuse](#): > > Farmers aren’t going to feed millions of animals who are producing an unwanted product. Domestic cattle aren’t adapted to survive in the wild. Dairy cattle aren’t prime meat animals and if people are anti-milk I’m sure they don’t want people eating beef either. Exactly - no one is going to support a herd of dairy cattle if no one is eating/drinking dairy. The variety dies out, because they aren’t suited to living in the wild, either, or being eaten as meat (and as you point out, the anti-dairy crowd are often anti-meat so there goes the beef cattle, too). The unspoken end point here is the extinction of cattle. ---
**Author:** ![TheCuse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thecuse/32/2854_2.png) [@TheCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheCuse)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/35 "2021-07-21T21:17:41Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > And cheese. And sour cream. Not such a big fan of yogurt. Oh and let’s don’t forget ice cream!! Oh, yeah! Agreed on cheese and ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/36 "2021-07-21T22:31:01Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Industrial milk production is cruel to the cows but it has nothing on veal calf production for cruelty. My gf will allow veal in our house and bellies so long as it comes from one local source. It’s expensive, but it’s delicious. My gf took a tour of the farm. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/37 "2021-07-21T22:48:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > majority of humanity as a whole loses the ability to digest lactose That’s a pretty broad statement. Care to cite your sources? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/38 "2021-07-21T22:51:21Z")
> [@Ranch\_Dip](#): > > That’s a pretty broad statement. Care to cite your sources? I’m not Broomstick, but [the Wikipedia entry on lactose intolerance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance) notes: > [@](#): > > Most adults (around 65–70% of the world’s population) are lactose intolerant. If accurate, that definitely counts as “majority of humanity as a whole.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/39 "2021-07-21T22:55:21Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Re: animal rights activists – that milk has been derived from a cow is in no way conclusive that the cow is being abused. I understand their opposition to factory cow-farming and the abuse that often goes with that, but they should narrow their brush to the actual issue. Yeah. Some factory farms are, well… but our milk cows on the farm were almost part of the family. My uncle cried when one had to be put down. > [@Ulfreida](#): > > Home or small-herd dairying is, as far as I have experienced, fairly pleasant as livestock lives go. The cows lead pampered lives by and large, and instead of being turned into burger after two or three years of maximally-induced production, they are more like 10 to 12 years when they are culled. Yep. As for milk consumption… let us just say I am a cheesy guy… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/40 "2021-07-21T23:15:11Z")
> [@Ranch\_Dip](#): > > > [@Broomstick](#): > > > > majority of humanity as a whole loses the ability to digest lactose > > That’s a pretty broad statement. Care to cite your sources? Seriously, you’re unaware that lactose tolerance into adulthood is the exception and not the rule for humans at large? [Wikipedia has already been cited.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactose_intolerance) [National Institues of Health](https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/lactose-intolerance/definition-facts) [MedlinePlus](https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/lactose-intolerance/#frequency) [The Lancet](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(17)30154-1/fulltext) Google gives over 5,700,000 hits for this. Somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 of the world population can’t digest milk well or at all past weaning age. The people who retain this ability are pretty much European (particularly Northern European) or cattle-keeping cultures in Africa. It’s not impossible to find tolerance elsewhere, but it’s not common, either. Some cultures get around this by using mostly/only fermented/cultured dairy products where the lactose is broken down during aging. Others get around it by simply not using diary products other than human breast milk for infants. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910/41 "2021-07-21T23:51:25Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My gf will allow veal in our house and bellies so long as it comes from one local source. It’s expensive, but it’s delicious. My gf took a tour of the farm. good for her! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cow-milk-is-for-calves/946910.md?page=3)