How The Movie MILKED Exposes Harsh Practices In The Dairy Industry

A large part of the world’s population depends on milk and dairy products as a food source on a daily basis. While efforts have been made by people transitioning to veganism and embracing plant-based milks such as soy milk, almond milk and oat milk, the majority of people still rely on cow's milk with has overburdened the dairy industry. To increase awareness about the harsh realities of dairy farming and the cruel practices within the industry, a New Zealand-based filmmaker, Chris Huriwai made a film to bring forth the inner workings of the dairy industry. 

The documentary follows activist Chris Huriwai who tours the country to unearth truths and industry secrets by conversing with dairy farmers. Sadly, the movie unveils how the system ‘milks’ animals, consumers and even farmers, while taxing the rivers and deteriorating the climate.

ATROCITIES ON LAND

Chris Huriwai interviews medical experts, and experts in economy, ecology, and politics to take a comprehensive look at New Zealand’s industrial dairy farming. The movie also highlights how massive amounts of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer used on the land has an overall detrimental effect.  Imported animal feed such as palm kernel expeller (PKE) that is sourced from Indonesia’s rainforests is wreaking havoc on the rainforests there.

WHY THEY CHOSE THE DAIRY INDUSTRY AS THEIR THEME

“We originally planned to investigate the environmental and health impacts of all animal agriculture. But once we got further into researching, it was obvious that dairy was the story to tell,” MILKED director and producer Amy Taylor said.

The system may seem broken, but we can change for the better before it is too late by converting to plant-based food production and banishing the norm of using synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. Moreover, cow stocking numbers can be reduced and farmers can look toward plant-based organic farming which is more sustainable. After all, the main purpose of agriculture is food production, but we can let the land heal and purify our rivers to slowly reverse climate change.

She added, “We’re so grateful for the incredible support we’ve already received from around the world having only just launched our crowdfunding campaign. It shows how many people are passionate about exposing the truth about the dairy industry, and looking at a better way forward.”

THE INHUMANE TREATMENT OF CATTLE

The movie showed how over two million baby bobby calves were pulled away from their moms and slaughtered each year in New Zealand alone. It went on to detail the human and animal influence of ailments that swiftly grew due to rigorous animal agriculture such as mastitis and mycoplasma bovis. Furthermore, in sheer torture, over 171,000 cows were massacred to curb the spread of the disease.

THE CROWDFUNDING GOAL

MILKED sought to unveil the true environmental consequences of the dairy industry and how it impacts animal welfare. The team had a crowdfunding goal of $NZD100,000, which they were able to raise in only 12 days. They then wished to source $20,000 to further broadcast their message.

THE HOPE THAT MILKED PAVES FOR THE FUTURE

One of the outcomes that you can hope for after watching the documentary is that people gravitate more toward plant-based alternatives as a food source. After all, plant-based food production can be the saving grace for farmers who seem to be stuck in a faulty system.

Heartening instances of ex-dairy farmers who have transitioned to growing greens and vegetables including oats for oat-milk, and hemp make for a hopeful future. Furthermore, the documentary also outlines how lab-grown milk produced with animal proteins can generate similar animal milks minus the animal. This can truly change the brutalities witnessed in the current commercial dairy production. 

All that needs to be done is that we need to get together and exert our collective influence in demanding change. The documentary makers hope that our pleas would not go unheard by governments of every country and that the industry would bring about a positive change to eventually fix farming.

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Read More: Keegan Kuhn, Co-director of Cowspiracy, What The Health Talks About His Vegan Journey