The consumption of dairy contributes to the inhumane treatment of animals. Dairy cows typically spend their lives in cramped sheds and feces caked lots, where disease runs amuck. Dairy cows usually live just a quarter of the average cow’s lifespan, their bodies so used up and ravaged from hard living that when they go to slaughter their meat is only good for soup or companion animal food.
In terms of waste, cows are king of the dunghill. According to a U.S. Senate report, 200 cows produce as much nitrogen as comparable to the sewage you would find from a community of 5,000 to 10,000 people. And according to a report from the UN, cows emit more greenhouse gases than cars, planes, and all forms of transportation combined.