Food - Dairy products

The consumption of dairy products is very widespread in our society. Liquid or powdered milk, cream, yogurt and butter are just a few of the products that are consumed in the West.

Spain is the 7^th biggest producer of cow’s milk in the European Union, 1^st producer of sheep’s milk and 2^nd producer of goat’s milk.

Around the world there are about 370 million cows and buffalos being exploited for their milk. It’s the same for sheep and goats, gregarious animals that need to live in a herd, creating strong links with others and recognising all the members of the group. In livestock farms insemination of female goats is artificial, and they have approximately one birth a year. Their offspring barely live 45 days in order to produce the coveted meat of the suckling kid.

In Spanish livestock farms cows, which are highly sensitive animals, are kept alive for 6-7 years and made to have 4-5 pregnancies, each lasting 9 months. In most cases the calf is separated from the mother 24 hours after birth (this time period varies from 6 hours to 21 days depending on the farm), the milk is destined for sale and to have the calf feeding its mother’s milk is not economically viable. Contrary to what many people think there are no “milking cows”, just mothers who produce milk after having given birth to their calves.

• We co-produced the documentary EMPATÍA (EMPATHY), released in 2017 and shown in the main Spanish cinemas.
• We promoted “Meat-free Monday” as a first step to adopting a 100% vegetable diet.
• We offer courses on vegan nutrition and give out information about food and diet.
• We belong to Eurogroup for Animals and we share in European campaigns for the toughening and improvement of laws which regulate the wellbeing of animals used for consumption.
• We offer support to vegetarian and vegan restaurants and initiatives.

• Find out about the choices which don’t have products of animal origin.
• Find out about the different production systems, read the label and choose to remove animals from your shopping trolley.
• Tell your friends and family about the impact that their diet has on the world.
• Empathise with animal suffering and think about making a change, however small it may be, in your day to day life.
• Pay a qualified nutritionist/dietitian to plan a specialised diet which is adapted to your exact needs if necessary.
• Ask for help with adjusting to a vegan diet in specialist online blogs or forums.
• Ask your favourite restaurant, or school or work canteen, to offer a decent vegetarian and/or vegan option every day.
• Help us to share the documentary EMPATÍA (EMPATHY) and the rest of the informative material on our website.