After a slew of book events on the east coast, I flew to Chicago, Illinois to speak at DePaul University.  Many in the audience were active in efforts to combat abusive agricultural systems, and I was certainly happy to see members of the crowd wearing Farm Sanctuary t-shirts. 

A discussion came up about a proposal to build a massive dairy operation slated to house more than 10,000 cows a few hours drive outside of Chicago. Citizens concerned about pollution and other problems associated with such an operation are fighting its construction.  The community has banded together, but they face an uphill battle and are worried that the Illinois Department of Agriculture will ignore their concerns, and approve the dairy’s construction.  It was good to see citizens working together to protect their community, and I hope they are successful.

After my talk at DePaul, I took a bus from Chicago to Madison, Wisconsin to participate in a panel discussion at a dairy industry conference.  The event opened with individuals of the University of Wisconsin marching band, and the school’s mascot, Bucky the Badger. Although dairy producers and Farm Sanctuary come from fundamentally different perspectives, I welcome the opportunity for dialogue and greatly appreciated an invitation to speak before more than 1,000 dairy industry members.  We listened to each other and agreed to respectfully disagree on a number of topics.

Thinking of the bigger picture and looking to the future, I urged the assembly to consider alternatives to milking cows, such as producing milk from plants like soy beans, nuts and grains, rather than from animals.  And, in light of the recent, widely publicized exposé of the inhumane treatment of downed dairy cows at a Chino, Calif. slaughterhouse, I challenged the group to adopt an industry-wide position condemning the marketing and slaughter of downed cattle.

Another challenge I posed to this captive audience was the widely held assumption that drinking cows’ milk helps provide dietary calcium to ward off osteoporosis (also known as ‘brittle bone disease’).  I pointed out that although a large quantity of cows’ milk is consumed in the U.S., we still manage to have higher incidences of osteoporosis than those countries that consume far less cows’ milk.

After the dairy conference, I spoke at the University of Wisconsin, Madison to an audience comprised of many individuals sympathetic to the mission and vision of Farm Sanctuary, and a couple people involved in animal agriculture.  The group was highly receptive and we had an informed, respectful dialogue.  Shortly thereafter, a Farm Sanctuary member gave me a ride to the airport for a flight to Los Angeles, and set me up with a delicious tempe salad sandwich.  She brought me fruit and a homemade vegan nut and chocolate brownie-type dessert.  It was made of three kinds of nut butters mixed with powdered sugar, and had chocolate on top, and it was simply amazing.

Gene