The book runs 38 pages and is divided into 9 sections, each addressing a different aspect of the dairy industry. It includes fascinating facts about cows; an analysis of the nutritional components of milk; insight into lactose intolerance; and a view into factory farming and its effects on humans, animals and the environment. It helps to move young readers and their families in a direction that is more in alignment with their core values and the natural world by challenging prevalent assumptions.
The book is going to have perfect binding, hard cover and will be 8x10 inches landscape size. This book is aimed at an audience of children 8 and up and adult of all ages.
What I'm about
Milk and Cookie shines a light on the unique connection between female mammals, both human and non-human, and their milk. Using an approach based on common sense and healthy choices, it advocates the cow’s right to do what’s natural for her –nurture her baby-, promotes empathy, raises awareness around issues surrounding the drinking of cow milk, and emphasizes the overall benefits of a more compassionate, dairy-free lifestyle.
This book is the first of its kind: there is currently nothing available either online or in book format for children and their parents that address the atrocities of dairy production and how this affects people worldwide. The book addresses one of the understated social justice issues of the century: how humans treat the non-human animals that they share the planet with. Milk & Cookie is an important book because if we did stop to ask, how our food was produced? Or how the animals we are eating were raised? Where would we find the answers?
If we get our information from the meat and dairy producers, we will be told that the cows and calves on their “farm” are pampered and “lead such a happy life”. How are ordinary people, like me, to find out that in the U.S alone, more than 42 million cows suffer and die for the meat and dairy industries every year, and that 1.2 billion animals are slaughtered every week globally just for food?
Not until my late 30s did I finally wake up to the many deplorable facts behind dairy farming, most notably, the inherently cruel and forceful separation of a mother cow and her newborn. It is no wonder to me now why society hid and continues to hide this ugly truth behind caricatures of happy cows designed to protect children and even mature adults from the truth. This whirlwind of denial is not only a tragedy for the animals involved; it exposes a mental discomfort, and unhealthy disconnect from our most fundamental values of kindness, respect, justice and equal consideration that we hold dear.
The first step in breaking the power of this denial is to witness the truth from the animal’s point of view. The bond between a dairy cow and her newborn calf is broken every time. The psychological pain of the deepest bond imaginable in the mammalian world: the bond of a mother and child.
I want to speak to the reader like a friend who isn’t afraid to tell the truth. My arguments are backed up by studies, and there is no technical talk, as I want to make my points easily digested and heart-felt, without shaming readers. I explain in simple language how dairy cows are used for food and how that use harms cows, humans and the planet. The illustrations are a huge part of the book. They are true to life in depicting the horrors of what we do to dairy cows but also gently presented—I was careful not to make them too graphic. The text portions are bite-sized and very straightforward rather than going out of their way to entertain. While the subject matter is serious, I employ a gentle and sometimes humorous approach to convey information in a useful and palatable manner.
I created this book to help children understand critical thinking. I think it’s time we face these topics head on and in an open matter. I want everyone to be given the chance to learn that the infantile, caricature-like side of our brain talking; is the one scripted by a lifetime of marketing, manipulating us into believing that cows are happy and their milk makes us strong. Milk & Cookie provides an amazing opportunity for all parents to never underestimate the wisdom and kindness of their children.
Note: The book and illustrations are finished and all I need is funding for the printing.
Risks and challenges
As I have already completed the book minus the printing there isn’t really any risks as the company I plan to use is reputable and up to industry standards. The only thing that could be affected would be if the file sent to the printers doesn’t meet the specific requirements which result in a slight time delay of a couple of days, which I have taken into consideration and have set realistic shipping dates if this happens.
Thank you so much for taking the time to look at my project!
Maritza Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
- (35 days)