Newsflash: Cows on dairy farms aren't happy. In fact, they are quite the opposite.

So how is it that the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) can continue to claim that the "best" cheese comes from California's supposedly ecstatic cows?

You know the ads—the one with a handful of free-roaming, robust cows cavorting sassily under a cheerful California sky? Apparently we're expected to believe that all cows used on dairy farms in California look like this …

theinspirationroom / CC

… as opposed to this:

In the past, we've had some choice words on the subject of California's supposedly happy cows. In 2002, PETA filed suit against the CMAB for false advertising—but the California Supreme Court refused to hear the case on the grounds that as a government agency, the CMAB can’t be sued for violating California state advertising laws.*

But we kept fighting the good fight against the CMAB's false advertising with a series of "Unhappy Cow" demonstrations and public service announcements, including a few starring the man himself, animal crusader James Cromwell. And now, on the heels of our most recent undercover investigation inside a dairy farm, the time has come to return to the trenches.

We're filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, calling on it to make the CMAB stop lying to consumers about the way cows on dairy farms are treated. "Happy cow" ads mislead consumers into believing that California dairy cows are pasture raised, free roaming, and grass fed and live in conditions that make them "happy" (i.e., that they are well cared for, content, comfortable, and healthy). In reality, these cows are drugged up, over-milked, and denied even the most basic care. Doesn't sound like a "happy cow" to me.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

*Let's put aside how alarming one might find the idea of a government not subject to regulation.

For a minute there, we thought Jeremy "Mercury Poisoning" Piven was serious when he said that he gave up soy milk for fear that it would give him "moobs."

I mean, come on, everybody knows that cow's milk—not soy milk—is the real culprit behind man boobs, right? According to Harvard scientist Ganmaa Davaasambuu, cow's milk "contains considerable amounts of female sex hormones"—especially milk from factory-farmed cows who are kept almost constantly pregnant. She estimates that dairy products account for 60 to 80 percent of the estrogens consumed by the average person.

But wait—there's more! Factory-farmed cows are commonly fed bovine growth hormone in order to stimulate their bodies to produce more milk. Hormone-treated cow's milk contains high levels of Insulin Growth Factor (IGF-1), which studies show can cause the dreaded gynecomastia (moobs). Milk consumption, with all its accompanying hormones, has also been linked to prostate cancer and breast cancer.

So, boys, if you're worried about maintaining your manly physique, pour some soy (or rice or almond) milk on your cereal—and pour the moob juice down the drain.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

This week, PETA's cavorting cow has been urging people in cities across the U.S. to dump dairy from their diets with a not-so-subtle hint.

Why's this heifer in a huff?

Last week, PETA released undercover footage of cows who were kept on a Land O'Lakes supplier's factory farm in pens covered with feces. They were denied veterinary care and even kicked or stabbed with pocket knives when they were too weak to stand.

If dairy foods were deadly for your relatives, you'd want people to ditch it, too, right? Well, dairy foods have been linked to a slew of human health issues, including allergies, obesity, prostate cancer, heart disease, and autism.

Posted by Heather Drennan

On Monday, the journal Pediatrics published a study that showed a significant increase in the number of children who are diagnosed with autism or a similar disorder.

To educate the parents of autistic children about a possibility for improvement in their child's condition, we are relaunching our autism billboard:

Studies have shown that many autistic kids improve dramatically when put on a diet free of dairy foods. One study of 20 children found a major reduction in autistic behavior in kids who were put on a casein-free diet (casein is a component of cow's milk). Another study conducted by researchers at the University of Rome showed a "marked improvement" in the behavior of autistic children who were taken off dairy products. There are also countless heart-wrenching stories from parents of kids who had suffered the worst effects of autism for years before dairy foods were eliminated from their diets. Here is one mother's story:

There was nothing to lose, so I decided to eliminate all the dairy products from his diet. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. Miles stopped screaming, he didn't spend as much time repeating actions, and by the end of the first week, he pulled on my hand when he wanted to go downstairs. For the first time in months, he let his sister hold his hands to sing "Ring Around a Rosy."

Please, if you know someone with an autistic child, ask them to give this treatment a chance. There's no guarantee of success, but it's worth a try.

Today, PETA unveiled footage from our five-month undercover investigation of a filthy factory dairy farm in Pennsylvania that supplies milk to St. Paul–based Land O'Lakes, the largest seller of branded butter in the U.S.

Other Viewing Options

Our investigator documented abuse and neglect of cows and calves at the facility, including that cows who were in terrible pain and resisted standing were electro-shocked and jabbed with the blade of a pocket knife in an effort to force them to move and that sick and injured cows were left to languish—often so weak that they couldn't even get out of their own waste—for days and even weeks without veterinary care. In one case, workers were told to wrap an elastic band around a cow's gangrenous, infected teat in order to "amputate" it. The cow's condition deteriorated for 11 days before she finally died.

It is a violation of Pennsylvania law to neglect animals, deprive sick and injured animals of veterinary care, and deny animals clean and sanitary shelter. Charges against the farm's owners have been approved and filed by a local magisterial district judge. The factory farmers are innocent until proven guilty, of course, but they would face up to 90 days in jail and $750 in fines if convicted.

We have also called on Land O'Lakes to buy milk only from farms that meet our 12-point animal welfare plan, which would prevent much of the suffering we documented at this farm.

For those of you who can't stomach the thought of eating butter after watching that video, take a minute to tell Land O'Lakes to implement our 12-point animal welfare plan. Then check out one of the many vegan butter alternatives that are widely available. My personal favorite is Earth Balance margarine. It's 100 percent vegan and free of trans fat (and pus), and it tastes even better than butter. Best of all, it's also 100 percent free of cruelty to cows and calves.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

nfb.org / CC

A recent article in USA Today reveals why so many dairy-lovin' adults spend too much time in the loo, cutting the cheese.

According to the article, titled "Sixty Percent of Adults Can't Digest Milk,"

"[P]eople who are lactose intolerant can't digest the main sugar—lactose—found in milk. In normal humans, the enzyme that does so—lactase—stops being produced when the person is between two and five years old. The undigested sugars end up in the colon, where they begin to ferment, producing gas that can cause cramping, bloating, nausea, flatulence and diarrhea."

In other words, Gouda is no good for you and Swiss is a digestive miss.

The article continues,

"Being able to digest milk is so strange that scientists say we shouldn't really call lactose intolerance a disease, because that presumes it's abnormal. Instead, they call it lactase persistence, indicating what's really weird is the ability to continue to drink milk."

It's time for milk-drinking "weirdos" to get off the can and discover the delicious world of dairy alternatives. They are better than cheddar and nicer than ice cream—for human health and for cows and their calves.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Years later, studies are still proving what the masterminds behind PETA's "Got Beer?" campaign knew all along: Beer is better than milk.

While that pus-filled glass of milk actually depletes your bone mass, a new study shows that beer just might be the key to keeping your bones from going brittle.

So crack open a cold one while we contemplate pulling an oldie but goodie out of the PETA vault.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

It seems that menfolk in Montana have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the country. We suspect that this may be due in part to the link between chowing down on animal products and the increased risk of developing this deadly disease. According to a recent study, some smarties at Oxford University think so too.

Since hearing about Montana's prostate problem, PETA has sprung into action with this snazzy new billboard:

In addition to prostate cancer, slurpin' dairy products has been linked to a whole lotta no good, like an increased risk of heart disease and obesity in adults as well as allergies, ear infections, and juvenile-onset diabetes in children. Equally disturbing is the trauma that cows endure on dairy farms—and the fate of their babies (i.e., veal) is nothing short of horrific.

Now that I've depressed you all with the horrors of dairy, you can brighten your day by reading here about how easy it is to ditch dairy and meat. Then, once you're all pumped up, click here to explore the deliciousness of vegan cooking.

Come on, Montana—dump the dairy. You have nothing to lose but scary doctor's appointments.

Posted by Missy Lane

A milk processing plant in California exploded on Monday. Seriously—it seems that a spark landed in some powdered milk, and the whole shebang went up like a powder keg—or perhaps we should say carton. Tee hee.

Injuries were kept to a minimum, thank goodness. Only one brave employee was wounded—he was helping firefighters navigate the plant, and he had to be treated for heat exhaustion. He's fine now, though!

The milk fire did, however, get pretty big—seven fire engines had to be called in, and the explosion blew a hole in the side of the building. Goodness gracious, we already knew about some of milk's explosive effects, but this is just ridiculous!

Because it pains me to go out on a fart joke, perhaps I'll call your attention to the other dangers that are associated with milk—like breast cancer, heart disease, and prostate cancer—not to mention all the baby calves for whom the dairy industry is, quite literally, deadly.

Also, milk will blow a hole in the side of your factory. I'm just sayin'.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

Firefighters in Hammonton, New Jersey, have been fighting fires in the Wharton State Forest since last Tuesday, saving not only the trees but also the animals who make the forest their home. We at PETA wanted to thank the brave men and women who are keeping the forest fire under control, so we sent them a refreshing treat—boxes of Tofutti Cuties (soy "ice cream" sandwiches), brought by friendly PETA beauties (ladies who … deliver "ice cream" sandwiches)!

The smoke was too much of a hazard for our beauties to get too close, so the Tofutti Cuties were handed off to park officers to deliver to the firefighters (which I guess makes the park officers deputy PETA beauties!). The men who were directing traffic away from the fires also got to sample some delicious, cholesterol-free Tofutti Cuties. Judging by the pictures, it looks like the ladies brought the mint and chocolate varieties! (The chocolate just happens to be my favorite, so I'm trying to quell the feelings of jealousy here.)

Check out photos of the ladies saying, "Thank you 'soy' much!" to the firefighters below. To learn how choosing dairy-free "ice cream" over the gross-out alternative saves your health and animals, visit MilkSucks.com.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

According to Google Insights, searches for "human breast milk" skyrocketed in the last month. Searches for "breast milk recipes" have also more than doubled. (See the graphs below for more details.)

Never to miss an opportunity—especially during these tough economic times—PETA has decided to create a human-breast-milk cookbook, with all profits going directly to PETA's "Dump Dairy" campaign. In between recipes, you'll be able to read about how cow's milk has been linked to zits, mucus build-up, and flatulence. We'll also include full-color pictures of veal calves who miss their mommies. All we need now are the recipes!

Please share your human-breast-milk recipes by commenting below. (Note: Aside from the breast milk, all recipes must be strictly vegan.) We're looking for desserts, snacks, main courses, etc! Let us know how you'd like us to credit you if your recipe makes the cut.

We're planning to launch the book guerilla-marketing style. Click here if you'd like more information about our Cookbook Street Team.

Exhibit A: Graph of Searches for 'Breast Milk Recipes'

Exhibit B: Graph of Searches for 'Human Breast Milk'

Posted by Joel Bartlett

P.S. This entire post is a joke, but given our history, it's understandable if you didn't get that.

From the ever popular Milk Gone Wild 2

So, last month we sent off a letter to Ben & Jerry's to urge the ice cream giant to drop cow's milk from its menu and start churning out recipes that use the only milk intended for human consumption—breast milk. It's a pretty simple concept to grasp. I mean, you don't see doctors taking newborn babes from their mothers' arms and suckling them up to a cow in a "drinking room" next to the infants ward. C'mon! That's absurd. Really.

Our letter to the company has garnered so much attention—and by that I mean impossible-to-walk-down-the-street-without-someone-asking-questions sort of attention—that stories about breast milk have been popping up everywhere! Not that we like to brag—OK, we love it!—but I do think our buxom beaut of an idea got the ball rolling.

Whether it's Angelina Jolie breast-feeding for a W magazine cover, the illegal duplication of breastfeeding pictures of Jamie Lynn Spears (which has prompted a federal pornography investigation), or—my personal favorite—the guy-next-door who sells his wife's breast milk for money (these are hard times, folks), stories about breast milk are spreading through the newspapers like a wildfire!

Of course, one of our favorite writings about breast milk appears in PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's newest book, One Can Make a Difference. Check it out: An entire chapter in the book focuses on how human breast milk is better for babies than cow's milk is: A pediatrician in India in the 80s found that if she urged people to switch from formula and animal's milk to human breast milk (she even started a human-breast-milk bank!), she could reduce incidences of diarrhea—which were leading to deaths! Deadly diarrhea—do you really think that does a body good? Neither do we.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Say it ain't so! Last week, we told you about our brand-new 'Got Autism?' billboard, which was intended to give the drivers of Newark, New Jersey, a little food for thought. The billboard drew a connection between milk consumption and autism in children. This week, the advertising company that was hosting our billboard has pulled the plug and the billboard has been removed.

It's pretty safe to assume that the ad is not being removed due to a lack of attention! Just the opposite—our message has garnered tons of feedback, including support from parents of autistic children who have seen noticeable improvements after removing dairy from their child's diet.

We wanted to share the thoughts of a few individuals regarding this campaign:

My son at the age of 2 ½ had not talked or interacted with anyone for a year…right after his MMR shots that he had at 13 months. I took him off of milk last November (when he was 2 ½) to see if it did anything, and he is now talking and playing and catching back up to where he should be (he is 3 ½ now). … It may not have been overnight, but the progress started just weeks after taking him off cows milk …. —Jaimie

I have a child with autism and I love this ad. The "got milk" ads with the disgusting white upper lip make me sick. We have been GFCF for 12 years. Milk equals sleepless nights and stomach pain. —L Land

I am not personally a vegetarian, but last year when we took my 4 year old son off of milk, casein all dairy, we started to see amazing changes in his behavior and speech. He still has Autism, but is no longer in a black hole of darkness. And we are not done fighting yet. I think people who say this does not work, well how do you know everyone is different. And as a mother of a child with Autism, I do not at all find this offensive I find it truthful, at least for us. —Danielle Manglis

Thanks for the continued support of the campaign! Even though the billboard has come down, the message is still loud and clear.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Last week, we announced our intention to help out financially struggling schools across the country by running our "Got Spew?" ad in school bathroom stalls.

Well, we're now retracting our intention to run the ad. Not everywhere—oh, not by a long shot!—but in Tempe, Arizona, where a spew-y disaster has just taken place.

Earlier this week, some brave fraternity brothers at Arizona State University—and I'm trying to type this without laughing—decided that the coolest, awesomest activity for a Tuesday night would be to go up on a footbridge … and vomit milk onto the traffic below.

My favorite quote from the article? "It is unknown why the men were drinking and vomiting the milk." Maybe it's because they had a revelation mid-chug—that drinking milk promotes the cruelty of the dairy industry and has been linked to impotence. Or maybe it's because it's rush week. One thing is clear, though: Milk and spewing are certainly linked! We hate to say "we told you so," but ….

Whatever the reason, the frat boys' antics have hurt more than the mother cows who produced the milk (and the male calves who are shipped off to veal slaughterhouses). The "joke" has also caused a woman and her daughter to be injured. Another car had stopped short to avoid the vomit (wouldn't you?), and the ladies' car wasn't able to avoid hitting the stopped vehicle. And since we'd never want to make light of their injuries, we're not going to run our ad in Tempe, Arizona.

We think folks in Tempe got the message anyhow.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

PETA has offered to pay to advertise in the bathroom stalls of several financially struggling schools across the nation. Increased gas prices have driven many schools to measures like cutting back on bus routes. But rather than forcing young students to walk to and from school (uphill both ways, I'm sure), they could generate much-needed revenue by selling us ad space.

You're welcome, schools! We're looking out for you.

Since most kids visit the restroom at some point before lunch, we thought bathroom stalls would be the perfect home for our informative spoof of the infamous "Got Milk?" campaign.

Milk spew and bathroom stalls go together like peas and carrots.

We also sent letters to the superintendents of schools to let them know that drinking cow's milk puts teens on the road to adult diseases, such as heart disease, various types of cancer, and strokes. It's also the number one source of allergies and is linked to juvenile onset diabetes, acne, and obesity.

I wonder why they don't teach that in health class!

Posted by Carrie Ann Harris

ABCNews / CC

OK, so we’re not exactly rushing to sign this guy up as the next PETA spokesperson, but he’s certainly got it right about zoos. Joe Francis — the intellectual force behind the Girls Gone Wild series — just got done serving time in prison after a contempt of court citation that occurred during a civil lawsuit brought against him by seven women who were underage when they were filmed for his videos. Apparently, being behind bars has given him a new perspective on the stress and misery of enforced confinement: In an interview with The Sports Junkies (an inexplicably popular DC radio show devoted to professional sports and bathroom humor), Joe said that he will never look at zoos in the same way again, pointing out that “the animals don’t want to be there … it’s unnatural.”

Well, I guess we’ve got something in common, Joe. Actually, two things.

ThisNext/Creative Commons

This little piece of good news comes to you courtesy of my friend (and occasional PETA Files blogger) Joel Bartlett, who spends more time in our local Starbucks than some of the people who work there. (Incidentally, Joel, who is PETA’s Marketing Manager, actually seems to have something of an obsession with coffee-marketing news).

“Loyalty benefits. Starting in mid-April, customers who use registered Starbucks cards in select U.S. and Canadian stores will get several benefits: Starbucks will not charge for any syrups, milk alternatives and other extras added to drinks, no matter how numerous or complex. Senior Vice President Michelle Gass said she isn't concerned that will lead to more expensive, time-consuming orders.”
From: SeattlePI.com

Soy lattes will always be cooler, more fancy, and less pus-filled than the dairy version, but now they’re just as affordable.

And, for those of you still hankering for more good news on the soy latte front, here’s an update on the Dunkin’ situation. I’ll keep you posted.

By this point, the entire world knows that Eliot Spitzer’s call girl was on Girls Gone Wild, but I bet she never did anything quite like this. While I focus my full attention on resisting the urge to make a joke featuring the word “udderly,” please take a moment to enjoy these pictures of Cassandra—star of PETA’s Milk Gone Wild 2: at the Carwash—baring it all for the Spring Break crowd at Miami Beach. She reeled them in with the free soy ice cream and the prosthetic udders (who could possibly resist that combination?), then hit ‘em with the “Milk Sucks” information. According to Cassandra, one photographer was so moved by the Meet Your Milk video that he stuck around to help her pass out leaflets. Well played, young lady. Well played.

PETA’s original Milk Gone Wild video was one of the most successful things we’ve ever done online, reaching a completely new audience with a message about why milk is cruel and unnatural, and totally grossing out literally hundreds of thousands of people in the process.

Soooooooooo, here’s a DIY sequel that we made in the parking lot outside the office one day. It stars my friends Allie, Sarah, Cassandra, Erin, Ryan, Peggy, Joel, Tanner, Caleb, Bob, Chris, and Pulin, whom I will never look at the same way again. Please watch at your own risk.

This Christmas, please, please, please remember to leave soy milk out for Santa Claus instead of cow's milk. With that in mind, here is PETA’s world-famous “Santa’s Not Coming” PSA. Warning: It’s a little bit controversial (by which I mean “hilarious”). As usual, please direct all complaints or concerns about this ad to OMGWTF@peta.org, with the subject line “Please, think of the children!”

Because milk doesn't actually help you lose weight, which makes the ads ("Milk your diet. Lose weight!) just a teensy bit misleading. Here's how it went down, according to The New York Times: The ads, which were overseen by our old friends the USDA (whom you may remember from such hijinx as failing to enforce their animal welfare regulations and having lousy, inadequate regulations in the first place) made claims such as that three servings of dairy products a day can help people stay thin, and featured celebrities such as Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez to help promote those claims. But, two years after the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine petitioned the F.T.C. to argue that the ads were misleading (on the grounds that there's just no substantial scientific evidence for the claim), the Dairy Council has decided to withdraw the ads "until further research provides stronger, more conclusive evidence of an association between dairy consumption and weight loss." Here's what PCRM's president, Dr. Neal Barnard had to say:

“I think people will start to recognize that the dairy industry, which used to have a mom-and-pop image, is a huge commercial entity that will exaggerate to sell its products.”

This isn't the first case of misleading ads from the Dairy Industry. You may remember the "Happy Cows" ads from the California Milk Board, which had the tagline "Great cheese comes from happy cows" and the insidious implication that the living conditions for California's dairy cows made them happy—which is like saying that Abu Ghraib was a five star hotel. Though PETA sued the Milk Board in that case, it was eventually decided that the state is exempt from its own false-advertising laws, so the ads were allowed to stand. I’m not even kidding. As you can imagine, watching the Dairy Industry finally being held accountable for its misleading advertising is immensely satisfying. Let's hope this trend continues.