There is intense pressure one on modern dairy cows in Canada to produce high volumes of milk for human consumption and they have been bred to be high-producing. To do so, cows must produce a calf annually. Following the birth, the calf – as young as a few hours old – is removed from the cow so the milk can be used by humans. This premature separation causes distress to both cow and calf.

To become pregnant, the heifer cow is artificially inseminated at age fifteen months, for a nine-month pregnancy. Following the birth, the cow is again inseminated a few months later. The cow must provide milk for use in yogurt, cheese, ice cream, butter and table milk during seven months of her next pregnancy.

Intensive milking, large udders and confinement can cause physical ailments, including swollen udders, with mastitis, a common bacterial infection of the udder, and lameness. Though cows can live to 25 years, the pressure on them to produce high volumes of milk can burn them out after as few as three lactations.

Though the number of dairy farms in Canada continues to decrease, milk production is increasing annually. The high-energy food given to cows to increase milk production can cause metabolic disorders that can cause lameness and even death.

When milk production decreases or the cow’s fertility decreases, she is referred to as a “cull cow” and is shipped to slaughter where her body is turned into hamburger.