Dairy farmers don’t deserve our sympathy

Dutch farmers have been staging protests for months, snarling up traffic with convoys of tractors, said Nico Hoogland. They’re demanding the government drop a proposal that would cut the amount of protein in dairy cows’ feed, a measure intended to reduce levels of nitrous oxide—a greenhouse gas—in the animals’ manure. Farmers say removing the extra protein will reduce milk yields and even harm the animals’ health. But as a former veterinarian, I have to ask: Since when do farmers care about livestock health? Many dairy cows have to be euthanized because of infected udders and hooves, the result of being kept in filthy conditions.

And farmers know full well that feeding protein is a way of squeezing every drop of milk a cow can possibly produce. It does nothing for the animals; in fact, it harms their digestive systems. Many dairy cows have to “undergo surgery on a twisted stomach” and “suffer constant diarrhea” as a result of this diet. No wonder most Dutch people don’t support these protests. Factory farmers get huge subsidies despite the environmental damage they cause, yet now they demand the right to keep abusing their animals? Plenty of small-scale livestock holders farm responsibly. Those who choose not to do so can hardly expect to win public sympathy.