Today many people are celebrating World Milk Day sponsored by United Nations.
Paradoxically, it's also Global Day of Parents today marked by the United Nations as an appreciation for the commitment of parents towards their children.
Did you get the paradox?
Paradox-1:
Well, World Milk Day was first designated by the FAO in 2001 to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the dairy sector.
So it's not about mother's milk but dairy i.e. animal milk ...i.e. someone else's mother's milk.
So when you consume dairy, you are snatching away the right of a parent and a baby to consume that milk. Cow mother won't be able to nurse her baby calf for whom the Nature intended that milk for. So actually, you are denying a parent from the basic right to feed their own baby and that too on the occasion of World Parent Day.
Paradox-2:
United Nations and World Health Organization have themselves recommended whole food plant-based diet on several occasions.
Some quotes from a landmark FAO report:
Households should select predominantly plant-based diets rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits, pulses or legumes, and minimally processed starchy staple foods. The evidence that such diets will prevent or delay a significant proportion of non-communicable chronic diseases is consistent. A predominantly plant-based diet has a low energy density, which may protect against obesity.
Although two-thirds of the world's population depends on cereal or tuber-based diets, the other one-third consumes significant amounts of animal food products. The latter group places an undue demand on land, water, and other resources required for intensive food production, which makes the typical Western diet not only undesirable from the standpoint of health but also environmentally unsustainable.
Here's a link to UNEP report that says about the adverse environmental impact of animal agriculture::
A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change
It also put a picture of suffering dairy cows with following words:
Animal products, both meat and dairy, in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives.
It further says:
Food production is the most significant influence on land use and therefore habitat change, water use, overexploitation of fisheries and pollution with nitrogen and phosphorus. In poorer countries, it is also the most important cause of emissions of greenhouse gases (CH4 and N2O). Both emissions and land use depend strongly on diets. Animal products, both meat and dairy, in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives.
A report by the American Dietetic Association also states:
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.
There is no denying the fact that dairy products are unnecessary for human consumption.
Paradox-3:
Milk is defined as an infant-meal and should be nursed by infant's mother. Unfortunately, mothers today are not nursing their babies for sufficient duration and are looking for substitutes in dairy ...a milk from a mother of another (entirely different) species!
Does a mother's milk has a better substitute?
No. Nothing can provide the baby what her mother's milk can. So why not take pride in nursing your own baby when you can?
Controversy
Controversy surrounding UN's World Milk Day isn't very new. It is very much an established fact that such a day is unnecessary and should be banned.
In response to this event, a World Plant Milk Day was created in 2017 and since then it's being celebrated every 22nd August.