Mothers Lead March and Rally Against Fairlife and Dairy Industry During Cows on Parade

Moms to Dairy Industry: Motherhood Is Not a Commodity.

For Immediate Release: July 18, 2019
Contact: Robert Grillo, Free From Harm, [email protected], (773) 329-7977

When: Saturday July 27th, 2019 1p – 3pm CST
Where: Jane Byrne Plaza, site of Chicago’s Old Water Tower, Chicago, IL
Timing: Rally and March take place during COWS ON PARADE exhibit
Organizers: Free From Harm and Mothers Against Dairy

FB Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/931347733870995/ 

Chicago, IL – Free From Harm, in cooperation with Mothers Against Dairy, organizes the third in a series of rallies in response to the animal abuse cases at Fair Oaks Farms, supplier to Chicago’s Fairlife milk, distributed and co-owned by Coca-Cola, as documented by the June Animal Recovery Mission undercover videos.

On July 27th, moms from the Midwest will speak on why they reject the dairy industry, call out its cruel and routine abuse of mothers and babies, and denounce it for the commodification of motherhood.  They stand together in affirmation that motherhood is not a commodity for corporations to buy and sell and exploit for profit; creating pain, suffering and environmental damage along the way. Further, these mothers and their children are living proof that dairy is not necessary for healthy babies and that, in fact, milk does not do a body good.

Switch4Good, Chicago Alliance for Animals, and the Center for Ethical Science support these Mothers Against Dairy. 

Ashley Capps, the founder and director of Mothers Against Dairy, states, “At its core, dairy IS the exploitation of motherhood. The farming of mothers for their breast milk: just think about that. The very idea of breeding animals into existence in order to force them to become mothers so we can then invade and parasitize their mothering relationships, abduct their children, and steal their maternal lactations in order to turn them into non-essential items like ice cream and cheese is so violently entitled, so deeply offensive, and fundamentally anti-mother. We shouldn’t exploit the motherhood of anyone. It really is that simple.” Capps has written here about her tour of Fair Oaks Farms and the abuses “hidden in plain sight.”

Chicago vegan mother and rally speaker, Linzi, adds: “Some see dairy as lesser harm than the meat industry. The reality is that dairy is the separation of mothers and their newborn babies. Just like all mammals, including humans, cows only lactate because they have just given birth. Their baby is taken away, thrown in a wheelbarrow and carted away from their mother so that humans can hook the mother to machines to produce unnatural amounts of milk until she is depleted. The cow mothers and babies cry out for each other for weeks.

“As a working and breastfeeding mom, I can tell you how precious milk truly is. Any mom who has spilled their pumped milk will tell you what a heartbreaking moment that is; any mother who has lost an infant can tell you the heartbreak of feeling a milk let down when their baby is not there to receive it. The dairy industry is designed to exploit that breastfeeding relationship while forcing unwanted pregnancy after pregnancy on the mother until her body is so spent that she is slaughtered for hamburger meat. Corporations exploit workers to then exploit animals. It is a system designed to entangle all in violence. By not purchasing or buying milk, we align our actions with our values. We can be morally consistent as we fight for the rights of women, babies, and females everywhere.”

In the wake of the largest dairy abuse case in history in June, 2019 documented by Animal Recovery Mission and drawing stark contrast between the bucolic cow statues on Michigan Avenue and the abused cows on dairy farms, Free from Harm and Mothers Against Dairy are organizing a rally against Chicago-based Fairlife milk and the dairy industry at the Jane Bryne Plaza during Chicago’s famous ‘Cows on Parade’ exhibit. The rally will feature vegan pediatrician Dr. Natalie Santiago as the keynote speaker, as well as up to 12 vegan moms who will speak out about why they oppose the dairy industry from the perspective of a mother.  The rally will be followed by a short march up Michigan Avenue to Wacker Drive and the riverfront park.

Free From Harm and Mothers Against Dairy call for Fairlife milk and Fair Oaks Farms to be held accountable for humane fraud in their longstanding and routine abuse of animals, and in deliberately deceiving consumers for profit. They also call on Coca-Cola to remove dairy from its beverage lines, and to discontinue its partnership with an industry that preys on mothers and babies.

Additionally, they call on consumers to learn more about the ways all dairy farming is abusive, and to choose delicious plant-based products instead. 

This is Free From Harm’s third in a series of rallies against the dairy industry, Fairlife milk and the abuse at Fair Oaks Farms.