Want more milk? Create Cow Spas…
Farmer Bill Timmins may sound over–the–top when it comes to caring for his dairy cows, but he says he’s just doing good business. Timmins invested $800,000 in revamping his dairy farm, and spent $70,000 on installing waterbeds for his cows…yes, waterbeds. The reason? Happy cows produce more milk. In fact since making these cushy improvements, his cows have gained 10 lbs of milk per cow per day. According to Donald Sanders, DVM at Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, happy cows live longer, produce the most milk, and are healthier than other cows.
Perhaps this could be a great alternative to let’s say…rBGH or bovine growth hormone. This hormone, manufactured by Monsanto, causes health problems in cows and increases antibiotic use on dairies. While the effect on humans consuming rBGH milk is not clear, studies suggest that rBGH increases another chemical that is linked to increased cancer risk. As a result, most industrialized countries in the world have banned the hormone, including Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and all 27 countries in the European Union.
Consumers are becoming more aware of the potential health risks of rBGH and are demanding clear labeling of milk that is rBGH–free. Monsanto is catching on, and is now behind a series of state–by–state legislative disputes and is pushing to make this labeling illegal (you can fight this in your state by writing a letter to your governor here).
If only they would switch to waterbeds…then, the only label we would have to look for on our milk is King, Queen, or Twin. Now that’s a milk worth every cent.
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