Avoid dairy: the challenge

In a few days I am 53 years old, at 52 my father passed away and this was due to his lifestyle choices. I quit smoking 16 years ago. I don’t drink alcohol anymore other than an odd glass of beer or wine. A drop of Calvados from time to time is a delight. So my next challenge starting in 2010 is to at least reduce all dairy in my diet, but right now it would be quite a task to eliminate dairy altogether.

So what are the challenges? For starters, most large supermarkets don’t cater to dairy-free folks. Come on, they still store eggs produced by stupid and barbaric methods. Meat counters also hide unhealthy practices. Simply visit any UK chicken processing plant. 100,000 birds a day are slaughtered by a single producer in Suffolk alone. Hundreds of chickens die from broken legs and other transport-induced injuries every day. Therefore, serving a minority of supermarkets serving a small population is too great a demand for them. Therefore, we must find local alternatives or suppliers that have a genuine interest in people choosing alternative food styles or dietary needs. There are many more obstacles as well. Take a moment to think of some for yourself.

Veganism is still considered a kind of cult status for armchair anarchists and 60s hippies. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but that’s the world we’ve been raised in. In the 1960s in the UK, kids at school usually chose between the Beatles and the Rolling Stones as to who was the better group. Asking who their favorite Beatle or Rolling Stone was was a common question for many kids ages 5 and up (I always liked George and Keith as my favorites).

Vegetarianism and veganism in particular enjoy a “Celebrity” fraternity revival status and have gained some momentum recently. This is due, in part, to people like Heather Mills and others who claim the benefits of alternative eating habits. Put aside your own personal views for a moment and consider this. Heather Mills is probably the most active public activist against animal cruelty in the world of food production today. In this regard, she deserves our support, rather than considerable public vilification for perhaps some misjudgment in other areas of her personal life.

In a few days we will welcome 2010 and what a world this is. Basically the world is bankrupt and for an individual trying to make healthy choices it will add almost no benefit to those who want a world free of greed and mass produced marketing. Going dairy free is a lot of good things for a person, but consider this. I consume about 250 grams of butter every week. Multiplying that by 52 is a lot of fat produced by a cow that has been milked twice a day with an udder so distended that it is painful for the animal to walk.

Granted, I don’t really save any particular cow misery with my own sacrifice for a healthier option, but what if a million people joined me on this crusade? What about ten million or half of the UK population. Ridiculous possible goal. Now let’s add cream and ice cream to the equation, followed by cheese, yogurt, margarine spread, etc. just the basics really. My one-person effort won’t make any difference in saving anything, but using the above consideration of the power of numbers, yes, indeed, ten million households that don’t buy dairy staples would have a marked dent in the economy. I don’t give you much, but consider this.

In the UK alone, a tooth would appear in the economy and British dairy farmers, who are treated with less respect than any other industry by major supermarket buyers, will ask for handouts to subsidize their losses, or should reduce their herds dairy farmers and grow crops to sustain the need for alternative fuels? A whole new debate there to consider methinks.

There is so much more to think about and my goal of eliminating milk and cheese etc is my choice. I will only benefit, but the main point is; If I could encourage someone or so many more to this cause, so much the better. “You are what you eat.” They told us. Is veganism too big a goal to achieve? At 52, I can be forgiven for thinking like that.

As a final thought, check out this website…

http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/cows/dairy_cows/default.aspx

the New Year with a new waistline to achieve and perhaps a Cow’s worth of savings is a small step. Did I mention the mountain of butter? I don’t think I have… Who wants to climb that one?