Mother’s Day – Nature for my Soul

When people celebrate Mother’s Day, they rarely think about non-human Mothers. But why not? Shouldn’t we extend our circle of compassion to other Mothers on this planet with us?

People will say, “Oh no! We can’t talk about that!!” If that’s someone’s reaction, then maybe it really IS what we should be talking about. If someone’s reaction is that strong, perhaps this ISN’T a subject that should continue to be taboo. It’s 2025, not 1890. We say we are smart and civilized, but are we really? The dictionary defines civilized as “Showing evidence of moral and intellectual advancement; humane, ethical, and reasonable.” Are we humane? Do we make ethical choices?

2024 was a year of change for me after I became aware of what goes on in the dairy industry, realizing in horror that behind every glass of milk or product made with milk, is a suffering Mother, a Mother enslaved, forced for years to become pregnant, forced to have her baby stolen from her, forced to endure daily milkings and then, when she can give no more, forced to slaughter. Despite what the industry and farmers want you to think, there is no such thing as an ethical dairy farm. You know that cows only produce milk after they give birth, right, just like human Moms? Their milk is designed by Mother Nature to nourish a growing calf, adding two pounds each day– that’s 40 times the growth rate of humans! And yet, we humans–the only species on earth to do so!– consume milk from this other species, and not just as babies, but throughout our whole lives. Why do we think this is acceptable, healthy or ethical? For how can we steal the calves the Mama cow carried for 9 months and think it’s okay? How can we steal her milk multiple times each day and think it’s okay? How can we send her male baby off to slaughter, or to the veal farm where he will be slaughtered when he is less than a year old, and think it’s okay? How can we repeatedly ra@e these female cows, forcing them to become pregnant again and again until their bodies are too worn out? How can we ignore the trauma they are forced again and again to endure, their cries of anguish for their lost babies, or the babies’ cries for their Mothers? Why is this accepted and allowed, especially since science has proven that there is NOTHING in dairy milk or products humans need to thrive and survive? Dairy is made from a Mother’s pain.

I read a great quote recently by a guy named Paul Watson who said,

“If you want to know where you would have stood on slavery before the Civil War, don’t look at where you stand on slavery today. Look at where you stand on animal rights. “ –Paul Watson

On this day dedicated to honoring Mothers may I suggest that we honor ALL Mothers, not just the human ones?

I, and every vegan I know, has said in their past, “I could never be vegan!!” It’s not something any of us ever set out to be. But once you learn about the cruelty in the dairy industry, once you see the Mama Cows chasing after the truck with their stolen babies, or hear their cries of anguish, or recognize their calves’ look of bewilderment at being separated from their Mothers, it’s impossible to unsee or unknow these things. The trauma inflicted on these gentle animals is heartbreaking, and not something a truly compassionate person would not do. Being vegan is not about giving something up, it’s about stopping the practice of taking something that was never ours to begin with.

Are you against animal cruelty? Do you consider yourselves an animal lover? Do you consider yourself an intelligent, civilized human? Two years ago, I would have said yes to all three questions. If you, like me, answered yes to these questions, then I would ask you to consider the following questions. These are the questions I asked myself and wrestled with, finally making a change to align my values with my actions.

Do your values, your deeply-held beliefs, your very MORAL COMPASS– do these match your actions? Are you aware that you vote every day for the world you want with the products you buy? Are you against animal cruelty? Or only cruelty to dogs and cats? Is cruelty to pigs and cows okay? Does it make sense that you call yourself an animal lover, but regularly–in fact at least three times each day–support animal cruelty– because you consume animal flesh and dairy products? Do you think loving dogs and cats, but eating cows, pigs, chickens, goats, geese, turkeys, salmon, shrimp, lobster, octopus, and other animals we regularly eat is acceptable? Why is that? Why are these other animals exempt from protections and absence of cruelty? Why do you think a dog deserves to be treated like a member of your family, while a cow or pig receives no kindness or compassion? How do you think slaughtering any animal who does not want to die can be called humane? Why do we not have to treat cows or pigs, fish, lobsters, shrimp, octopus, and others, humanely? As an intelligent, civilized human being, do you think paying money to people to slaughter sentient animals like pigs and cows is truly something an intelligent, civilized person or society would do? How do you defend this contradiction?

Any female, whether you’ve ever given birth or not, can surely understand and appreciate the bond between a Mother and her offspring. If you’ve ever had a baby, imagine if less than 24 hours after giving birth, someone came and ripped that baby from you, taking him or her away so that you would NEVER see him/her again. Would you be outraged? Would you mourn the loss for days? Weeks? Years? Would any Human Mother ever agree to being milked multiple times per day so that her milk could be fed to other animals? Would any Human Mother ever support all of her male offspring to be slaughtered soon after birth, or sent to a farm to be raised for food (veal)–killed before he turned one year old? Would any female sign up to be artificially inseminated every year or so to ensure another pregnancy, another period of time when her body would produce milk so it could be taken? Of course the answers to all of these questions is no. Of course Human Mothers would not allow their babies to be stolen! Of course Human Mothers would not allow themselves to be milked daily! Of course Human Mothers would not support killing their male offspring! Of course Human Mothers would not allow themselves to be repeatedly ra@ed so their breasts could provide milk again! But it that’s true, then why is it acceptable that we enslave Animal Mothers? Why is it okay that we show these Animal Mothers zero compassion, zero kindness, zero empathy? Do these actions align with your moral compass?

Are you aware that animal agriculture literally banks on our ignorance and lack of compassion? Is it okay with you that these cruel practices are never discussed, never explained, never acknowledged? Have you ever taken your child or seen a child at a petting zoo? Were they gentle and loving towards the animals there? Why do we love these farm animals as children, but eat them without question? Why it is not acceptable to take children to a slaughter house to show them where their food comes from? If slaughterhouses had glass walls do you think you would still consume animal flesh? Would you be able to steal a baby cow from its Mother? Would you be able to ignore their cries of anguish? If not, why are you willing to support someone else doing this? We all call ourselves civilized, but how can civilized people continue to mistreat, torture, abuse and ultimately, slaughter sentient animals?

On this Mother’s Day, I ask you to consider the other Mothers out there. Ask yourself some of these questions and consider if we really can consider ourselves civilized. Ask yourself how it’s possible that we continue to torture and slaughter these sentient beings just so we can “enjoy” their flesh and secretions. It’s 2025, and MANY, many studies have proven that humans do not require anything from animals to live a healthy life. Thankfully, we can get all we need from plants. (Please see references below; this is NOT my opinion.)

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