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The Cows' MovementJanuary 6, 1992 - English class |
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This summer, I was fortunate enough to be able to go to England, Scotland , Ireland, and Wales. Not only was the trip fun; it was educational as well. I learnt that cows are extremely intelligent. One of the places I visited was the little town of Chirk. In it was a Cadbury chocolate factory. (Can you imagine waking up in the morning to the smell of chocolate?) As I was passing by one of its fields on my way to the town castle, I came across a herd of dairy cows. To my surprise, one of the cows greeted me and asked me how the movement was doing. In a daze, partially because I didn't know what she meant by movement and partially because I had never before been spoken to by a Bos taurus, I asked what she meant by "movement". She thoughtfully chewed her cud and answered that it was the female equality in the workplace and in the home movement. It seemed they had been watching it closely hoping it would aid them in their worldwide effort. After careful questioning, I found that these gentle bovines have been discriminated upon by dairy farmers for many years. It has been hushed up by the farmers so that no one would force them to do anything about it. These farmers consider cows too dainty and too weak to have the same privileges as the bulls. Now the cows are speaking against this discrimination. At work, dairy cows receive less pay than the average bull, yet they must do thrice the work. These poor cows must eat, and gobble, and munch, and chew, and literally stuff themselves until they split to produce milk for the farmers. How can a lady keep a figure having to eat like that? All bulls must do is have fun once a year and then they go on holidays to Spain until they are needed at the very same time the very next year. Have you looked the price of two litres of milk lately? It sells for only $1.90: 24% which goes to the supplier, 36% which goes to the farmer, 29% which goes to the bull, and only 11% which goes to the cow. Job security is lousy: cows that are sick too much of the time or do not produce enough milk will either be sold or be shot. Bulls are considered to be too precious and too valuable to be shot or be sold. Although maternity leave is granted with no questions asked, these gentle bovines are expected to be at work three days later. The cows must then leave their calves in daycare which is getting very expensive. Bulls of course do not have this problem. Dairy farmers do not believe in the benefits of dental care for their employees either. Have you seen the state of cattle teeth or smelt their breath? At home, their stalls are terribly small and undecorated. These gentle bovines have no privacy and their food is unvaried and bland. They get no respect from the bulls who get bigger compartments and better food. Would you be willing to live in a place like that? As you can see, a dairy cow's life is not an easy one. There is no equality and no respect, just discrimination. What can you do about this? Write your local dairy producer. Write your local member of parliament. Speak out against this repulsive behaviour and get the farmers to change their attitudes. When you do this, the world will become a better place for everyone, humans and cows alike.
Last modified: Thursday, 26-Jul-2001 12:58:19 MDT Broken links, suggestions, problems: gen@intranet.org
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