Dallas-based Daisy, a brand which makes sour cream and cottage cheese, claims to have the happiest cows on earth, and markets itself as the gold standard of dairy.
This makes the surreptitiously recorded video released last week all the more disturbing.
The pro-vegan animal rights group PETA released the video, which it says was the result of an investigation which started after a tip from a whistleblower. The 10 minutes of edited video footage shows cows and calves being kicked poked and prodded with pens, newborns being force fed milk which chokes and kills at least one in the video, and depicts sick animals in pens living in filth. It’s extremely hard to watch. The apparent mistreatment is alleged to have been taped at Daisy Farms, in Paris, Texas.
In response to the allegations, the company is planning to hire a third-party animal welfare audit firm. “This video is not a representation of who we are and does not represent how we feel animals should be treated,” says Ben Sokolsky, in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.
Dr. Ellen Jordan, professor and extension dairy specialist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, talks to the Standard about dairy farm standards in the state.
What you’ll hear in this segment:
-How widespread treatment, as depicted in the video, is in Texas
-How and why companies ear-tagging their animals
-The difference between public perception of cows and the industry view of animals