Sustainability Conversations

 

Friend: Nice to see you after a long time my friend

Me: Same here, good to catch up!

Friend: You seem to reduce a lot of weight, are you in some crazy diet or something?

Me: No buddy, I eat more to reduce weight or keep it in check!

Friend: Wait a second, did I hear that right, eat more to reduce weight, how is that even possible?

Me: What we eat, how we eat, what time we eat and in what format matters a lot to keep weight in check.

Friend: Let me make some tea before we discuss this further, same old Ginger, Cardamom Tea?

Me: No, Black tea with 1 tea-spoon sugar, you can add ginger and cardamom though!

Friend: I see a lot of changes in first few minutes of conversation, Am I talking to same old buddy drinking tea 2-3 times a day with creamy milk? What’s more in store for me pal!

Me: As the times changes it demands a lot from each one of us, we must change and act accordingly.

Friend: That is loaded statement sounded like saint, why no milk though?

Me: If you have a plant-based milk, I am okay but not for dairy milk.

Friend: What is the difference, back in India you used to drink cows or buffalo’s milk?

Me: Those days, Cows used to arrive at our home and after giving milk to their calves we used to take for us to consume, but in the industrialized dairy milk system especially where I live in UK now, this is much more different.

Friend: Where are your daughters, I have seen elder one when she was a baby, they must have grown big now?

Me: They went to play with their friends, should be back in a while. You surely notice a big difference in them.

Friend: Do they also not drink milk and their favourite ice creams? Are you being a restrictive father?

Me: Well, I told them the facts about dairy milk for them to decide and the little one became an advocate among their friends and family persuading people not to drink dairy milk. And of course, I don’t want to be restrictive but protective and concerned father for their natural growth!

Friend: We see happy cows when visiting farms, television ads and all over and dietary guidelines recommend drinking milk?

Me: Well, that’s the lobbying and lies industries have been telling us for years, danger of single story! If you don’t think that I am boring you, I can tell you other side of the story, actual one, in my view at least!

Friend: Go on mate, whether I agree with all of it right now or not, If I learn something new that is useful & informative, why not?

Me: When I researched on how I am getting my milk from Dairy farms, I was left in shock & terror on how these sentient beings are treated with the abuse and cruelty. Cows in normal lifetime lives for around 25 years but for the greed of the industry they were artificially inseminated to get pregnant year after year so that they can produce more milk. Calves are separated from their mothers with in first 24 to 72 hours, Male calves are sent to slaughterhouses for veal, and female calves are kept in solitary confinements up to 6 months where they are given same treatment as their mothers. With this vicious cycle continuing she will give up in 4 to 6 years and sent to slaughterhouse just living quarter of her life span. I felt the pain and suffering she has undergone, and I decided I won’t support this industry anymore. Besides 50% of dairy cows are going into meat industry which I don’t want to support either.

Friend: So, they are hiding the truth from us, many of us don’t even see what happens behind scenes!

Me: There is a lot of propaganda from big businesses with happy cows on their products, and white moustache ads from celebrities with marketing to push messages for consumption. If slaughterhouses had glass walls everyone would be vegetarian!

Friend: I get the point on animal cruelty, but how do we get calcium if not drinking dairy milk?

Me: That’s the biggest myth dairy milk = calcium. In fact, calcium is available in plants, cows eat plants, and we eat the medium not the direct source of calcium, the plants! In fact, Nurse study from Harvard and researchers following 100s of thousands of men and women in Sweden for 22 years found that more consumption of milk leads or high mortality rate in men and women, more hip fractures in women. Besides this, natural hormones found in cows like estrogen and casein is linked to increasing risks of cancer, asthma, Parkinson’s disease, acne, male reproductive potential, premature puberty, heart disease and elevated blood pressures.

Friend: Okay if not for ethical and animal cruelty reasons and not for calcium for which dairy milk is touted for and various other health reasons, what about taste, we love Choco bars and ice creams?

Me: Yeah, it all ends up at taste and convenience in the end. We should ask the question what is more important: taste or life of animal, taste, or our health. In fact, our taste buds just need 20 days to adjust to new kind of food. When I moved to plant-based diet 3 years ago, all the dairy products taste completely different and recently when one of our friends offered a dairy milk ice cream, I ate it not to disrespect her offer, but my taste buds didn’t really like it!

Friend: Taking about ice creams, here comes your daughters, they have grown big and elder one is taller. Hello Kaivalya, how are you? I have seen your elder sister Moukthika, at the age of 1, seeing you for the first time, how old are you now?

Kaivalya: I am good, thank you! I am 7 years old now. Should I call you uncle?

Friend: Of course, dear! I heard it was hottest here in UK last week, have you got your ice cream these days, let me know I will twist your father’s ear to buy you one!

Kaivalya: Oh yeah, we get our almond milk Magnum ice creams, every other week and we love it.

Friend: Did you miss any of your chocolates?

Kaivalya: I kind of miss out on some options now, but we get Vegan chocolates regularly and I miss my favourite Nomo Vegan chocolate which my father used to bring earlier but stopped now as he says it comes with single use plastic and he has posted it to Nomo brand to change their wrap, so I will wait for it.

Friend: That’s very good, Your father tells me that you advocate a lot on not drinking cow’s milk is it so?

Kaivalya: Yeah, my father has shown some videos of how the little babies are taken away from their mothers so that we can get milk for us to drink. This is horrible and they are tortured until they get killed for meat, so I tell my friend and family about it although don’t force them. And yes, we get almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk etc., of all these I like my Oats chocolate milk a lot!

Friend: You seem to have a lot of information and started to convince me already! Moukthika how are you doing, which year are you in?

Moukthika: I am good, thanks, I will be going to Year 7 this summer and new school, so excited.

Kaivalya & Moukthika: My father talks a lot and gives a lot of information and connect everything to global warming and saving planet. Sometimes it is boring, but it makes sense as we all sing like a song fish dies, ocean dies, human dies, plant die etc., (Moukthika) I made a save planet canvas paint for my dad recently of course with his new borne favourite green colour!

Friend: Buddy, it is nice to that you are giving all the information and letting them decide, lets have tea and talk about your weight, what did you say eat more to reduce weight?

Me: Yeah, that’s right, calorie is not a calorie!

(------ to be continued)