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French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

theguardian.com

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Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#51

Post by watwut »

jiofih wrote: post #46
DanBC wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As for what happens to the calves, they can't drink all the milk modern cows produce. Also they become big cows. Half of them do not become big cows because male cows don't produce milk. We kill the male calves. > Afaik we don't usually eat dairy cows Of course we eat them. They get turned into ground and minced beef.

> We kill the male calves May have been true a few decades ago, but currently the farmers will buy “sexed” sperm (selected for females). I’ve never seen a male calf being killed for that reason.

All the meat we eat are female cows?

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#53

Post by ajdude »

watwut wrote: post #51
jiofih wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We kill the male calves May have been true a few decades ago, but currently the farmers will buy “sexed” sperm (selected for females). I’ve never seen a male calf being killed for that reason.

All the meat we eat are female cows?

No, but they’re probably not from male “dairy cows.”

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#54

Post by mgarfias »

watwut wrote: post #51
jiofih wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We kill the male calves May have been true a few decades ago, but currently the farmers will buy “sexed” sperm (selected for females). I’ve never seen a male calf being killed for that reason.

All the meat we eat are female cows?

No, beef cows make calves. The heifers are kept to make more calves. The males are castrated and get turned into beef.

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#55

Post by seanwilson »

jiofih wrote: post #46
DanBC wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As for what happens to the calves, they can't drink all the milk modern cows produce. Also they become big cows. Half of them do not become big cows because male cows don't produce milk. We kill the male calves. > Afaik we don't usually eat dairy cows Of course we eat them. They get turned into ground and minced beef.

> We kill the male calves May have been true a few decades ago, but currently the farmers will buy “sexed” sperm (selected for females). I’ve never seen a male calf being killed for that reason.

Either way, a typical female dairy cow during its lifetime is made to give birth about 4 times (they don't give milk otherwise), each time its baby is taken away so maximum milk can be harvested and then the mother is killed about 5 years into its 20 year lifespan when it stops producing as much milk. This is the reality of profitable dairy farming and people don't like to be told about it or think about it.

If you think it's wrong that some countries kill dolphins, dogs, whales, cats, sharks, horses etc. for food or use foxes, minks, rabbits etc. for fur, you should ask yourself why cheese, milk and leather are okay.

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#56

Post by ben_w »

bobthechef wrote: post #47
ben_w wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sounds like torture and slavery to me. To me as well, and yet you and I are in a small minority. Also: farming involves actions up to a year in advance of consequences, so change is slow and rare.

You can't enslave an animal that lacks free will and intellect by nature. Whether such farming practices are cruel is dependent on the particular practices. Obviously, one ought not be cruel to animals whether they lack free will and intellect or not. However, much of the woolly and sentimental "animal rights" polemic is grounded in gross misapprehension and anthropomorphization of animals other than us. It is terrib…

> You can't enslave an animal that lacks free will and intellect by nature.

I challenge you to define “free will” in a way which is simultaneously testable, and also something humans have and other animals lack. I have yet to hear a single definition which is all three at the same time, despite my A-level in philosophy — every testable definition I’ve encountered has either been something animals and humans both have, or both lack; and more commonly the attempted definition turns out to be internally incoherent.

(Intellect is also notoriously difficult to define, but at least in this case humans and cows are obviously dissimilar).

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#57

Post by dylan604 »

cptskippy wrote: post #43
iends wrote: post #5

I assume I can’t buy this from the USA because customs rules...?

Yeah we can't get anything good here. I went down that rabbit hole one Christmas and it's a lost cause. Unless you're willing to fly to Europe or Singapore (Cheese Ark) you're not getting the good stuff.

At least it's not the maggot cheese from the islands of Italy.

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#58

Post by frob »

TimTheTinker wrote: post #39
COGlory wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any personal experience working with dairy cows?

My father worked with dairy cows as a side job during college. He said they were often very friendly (except for Holsteins, they can be mean). They get used to and expect the daily routine - milking in the morning, pasture for the day, milking in the evening, pasture for the night. When milking time came, they'd all be crowded up near the gate waiting for him to open it so they could walk to the milking building. The…

I raise goats and I get my kids disbudded every year when they're under a week old. They scream for about 5 seconds, and it breaks my heart, but then they almost immediately go back to their old selves like nothing happened and are back playing with us. In my case, I choose to do it to prevent the chance of future injuries for the goat, other goats, and humans.

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#59

Post by Qworg »

TimTheTinker wrote: post #39
COGlory wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have any personal experience working with dairy cows?

My father worked with dairy cows as a side job during college. He said they were often very friendly (except for Holsteins, they can be mean). They get used to and expect the daily routine - milking in the morning, pasture for the day, milking in the evening, pasture for the night. When milking time came, they'd all be crowded up near the gate waiting for him to open it so they could walk to the milking building. The…

There are polled stock you can use - no need for dehorning.

Re: French monks locked down with 2.8 tonnes of cheese pray for buyers

#60

Post by watwut »

smoe wrote: post #32
richk449 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m also curious. Lots of other countries they ship to. With the US has some weird import laws, or they just figure Americans aren’t interested in these products.

As I understand it, the issue is that many European cheeses are made of unpasteurized milk which is illegal in the US. And many small cheese makers are not willing to break practices going hundreds of years back just to get into another market. Don’t know if this applies to the cheese in this article.

Pretty often they are not that old nor are they using all traditional techniques. It is more about product.
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