there are plenty of other ways to get protien, but i don't think there is anything wrong with eating animals either. as i said before, my issue is with the conditions the animals are kept in and the suffering they endure.
and johnson, a cow wouldn't need to be milked if she wasn't pregnant or nursing. they keep the animals constantly pregnant to keep them producing, and their udders become infected, enlarged and sore.
from here:
http://www.factoryfarming.com/dairy.htm"Regardless of where they live, however, all dairy cows must give birth in order to begin producing milk. Today, dairy cows are forced to have a calf every year. Like human beings, the cow's gestation period is nine months long, and so giving birth every twelve months is physically demanding. The cows are also forced to give milk during seven months of their nine month pregnancy.
In a healthy environment, cows would live in excess of 25 years, but on modern dairies, they are slaughtered after just 3 or 4 years and then used for ground beef.
With genetic manipulation and intensive production technologies, it is common for modern dairy cows to produce 100 pounds of milk a day -- ten times more than they would produce in nature. The cows' bodies are under constant stress and they are at risk for numerous health problems."
