“In the past, we have been saying that everyone needs to drink milk. Now, we are showing what milk does for you.” — Sal Taibi, president of Lowe Campbell Ewald, the advertising firm behind the new “Milk Life” ads

“Milk Life“?  I have already blogged about the “health benefits” of milk and how advertisers hide the inherent cruelty of the dairy industry. This new terrible slogan further hides the violence we inflict on animals. In the new dairy campaign, Lowe Campbell Ewald seeks to portray an inspiring and motivating message despite the heavily contested health benefits of consuming dairy and the cruel reality of the industry.

Milk consumption is on the decrease — and the dairy industry is scared.

The irony of this new campaign is that as it’s touting glasses of milk as giving humans “life,” it’s also capitalizing on a dairy cow’s ability to create life. A diary cow is sentenced to a lifetime of suffering, which includes forced impregnation and the inability to nurture her young. Forced artificial pregnancies will occur over and over again until her life ends violently at the slaughterhouse to become the beef on your plate — if she can physically stand up to make it there. The calves born from her will be taken away almost immediately, and will be sentenced to become veal (if a boy calf) or a dairy cow (if a girl).

Moreover, let’s not forget that exploited animals also suffer other forms of abuse, such as sexual violation.

Dairy milk consumption has been on the steady decline, as the graphic above shows. As I drink a glass of cruelty-free, nutrient rich hazelnut milk – more delicious than any glass of cow’s milk — I sincerely hope this new ad campaign makes no positive impact on dairy milk’s sales.