A vegan charity has launched a major anti-milk campaign across Los Angeles – putting up 60 billboards across the city in a bid to educate people about the cruelty of the dairy industry.
In Defense of Animals teamed up with vegan YouTuber Erin Janus, who is best known for her viral video ‘Dairy is Scary’ for the initiative.
According to the charity: “In both English and Spanish, the billboards invite onlookers to watch Erin’s video exposing common dairy industry practices of forcibly impregnating cows, stealing their babies, and turning them into veal and hamburgers long before their 25-year natural lifespan.”
Erin Janus’ video ‘Dairy is Scary’
Dairy month
June is National Dairy Month across the US – an industry initiative aimed at promoting cow’s milk-based products. In Defense of Animals said: “Since 1937, the dairy industry has…used [the scheme] as a marketing tool to promote the consumption of dairy products. But consumers are getting wiser, and thanks to recent studies by the Harvard School of Public Health and many others, we now know that dairy is not necessary or even beneficial to our health.”
The billboards want to battle this pro-milk message by sharing Erin Janus’ video, which calls on viewers to take a 21-day dairy-free challenge and try some of the plant-based milks available.
“In our fight for animal welfare, the environment, and our own personal health; making the decision to go dairy-free is one of the most impactful steps that we as individuals can take,” says the charity.
‘Full of cruelty’
Speaking about the video, Erin Janus told Plant Based News: “Most people still have no idea that modern dairy farming is full of cruelty, and is at large – scary. The suffering that millions of dairy cows endure at the hands of the profit-driven corporations and businesses that breed and exploit them is not okay.
“I created this video quite simply because the public absolutely has to know. We have all seen dairy advertisements which depict happy, healthy cows alongside doting guardian-like farmers, but that is not the reality of the industry. When an animal’s bodily function, fluid and reproductive system is the direct supply of a product in demand… that is an ethical recipe for disaster.
“For a society that claims to love animals, the commonplace practices of the dairy industry—are just that—scary.”
You canfind out more about how to take the charity’s 21-Day Dairy-Free challenge here