Journal 13: The Dairy Industry and Pollution

What's the carbon footprint for your midnight snack? News just recently broke exposing the harmful effects on the environment caused by Vermont's dairy industry. One of the most well-known companies involved is the oh-so politically charged Ben and Jerry's. As a vegan, this is close to my heart because I already know about how the cows causing the pollution are treated. FOr example, mother cows and their calves are separated just one day after birth. A rep from Ben & Jerry's did however state in an interview with Veganise.Me that calves have "free access" to milk at all hours of the day. I'm so glad to hear the calves don't have to pay out of their little cow pockets for milk. Seriously?

In Franklin County, VT alone, over 36,000 cows are confined and creating a waste stream. This in turn pollutes Lake Carmi as well as polluting the water supply for county residents, making beaches impossible to maintain, the death of wildlife relying on Lake Carmi. Just to put the harm done by the dairy industry in perspective, over 85% of Vermont's water contamination is caused by their dairy industry. This has also caused economic downfall as residents of Franklin County move away now that the smell from the pollution perpetrated by Ben & Jerry's is intolerable. I can't imagine living in Vermont, rated by Forbes as one of the most environmentally conscious states in America, only to have your water contaminated and the air you breathe full of pollution.

Other driving forces for Vermont's pollution woes are an increase in GMO use, pesticide nitrates and and residues, and other types of animal agriculture. These things have also caused cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin growth credited for a multitude of health problems as well as a housing market decline, especially at Lake Champlain's coastline. If that's not bad enough, male smallmouth bass are literally turning into female fish. If you don't care about the fish, think about your pet breathing in that polluted air or drinking contaminated water. If you don't have a pet, think about yourself, your kids, your significant other, your parents.

Vermont can turn this around. If the myriad, but meaningless laws and regulations they pass like machine work aren't effective, they should take the bodies with wallets at the forefront of making decisions for companies like Ben & Jerry's to places like Lake Carmi and Lake Champlain. Show them what they have done to make a quick profit. Is a full wallet worth starving, dying wildlife? I can only hope they answer that the right way.