For Immediate Release:
06 August 2024
Contact:
Atharva Deshmukh; AtharvaD@petaindia.org
Hiraj Laljani; HirajL@petaindia.org
Bengaluru – During World Breastfeeding Week (1 to 7 August), a pair of supporters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India and Aashray Foundation wearing 2.5-metre-tall inflatable infant costumes will gather in Bengaluru to hand out packets of ice-cold mylk (milk made from nuts or other plants) from Nourish You while holding signs reading, “Milk Is for Babies! Dump Dairy.” The event aims to remind the public that the mothers of all mammal species – cows and humans included – produce milk for their own babies and that nobody requires any milk after the age of weaning.
Where: World War Memorial, 5 Brigade Road, Shanthala Nagar,
Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025
When: Wednesday, 7 August, 12 noon sharp
“Just like human mothers, cows produce milk only to feed their young, but their beloved calves are torn away from them so that the nourishment meant for them can be stolen and sold to humans,” says PETA India Nutritionist and Manager of Vegan Projects Dr Kiran Ahuja. “PETA India encourages everyone who values the bond between a mother and her baby to ditch dairy and indulge in the many delicious vegan milks, yogurts, and cheeses that can be made at home from nuts or other plants or that are available to buy.”
In the dairy sector, cows and buffaloes are forcibly inseminated (that is, raped, as workers insert an arm into the cow’s rectum and a metal rod carrying bull semen into her vagina) and their newborn calves are stolen from them shortly after birth. Males are typically cast out on the roads, starved, or sold to be killed for their flesh and skin, while females are sentenced to the same fate as their mothers: they’re used as milk machines until their bodies give out, at which point, many are abandoned or slaughtered.
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world’s largest organisation of food and nutrition professionals, vegans are at reduced risk of certain health conditions, including ischemic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, certain types of cancer, and obesity. And University of Oxford researchers state that going meat- and dairy-free can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73%.
For those who enjoy the creamy taste, mylk made from a variety of nuts, oats, seeds, millet, soya, rice, or other plants is a nutritious and tasty option.
PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
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