World Milk Day: Cruelty Is Part of Dairy Farming

Brussels, 29 May 2026 – On the occasion of World Milk Day on 1 June, GAIA is launching a nationwide campaign and publishing a comprehensive report exposing the violent and systemic realities of the Belgian dairy industry. Through a short movie on TV, in cinema and online advertising, as well as a nationwide billboard campaign, the animal welfare organisation is calling on consumers to open their eyes and heart to the suffering inflicted on cows and calves in the production of milk for human consumption.

29/5/26

Campaign film

“Not Your Milk”: Milk Belongs to Calves

Every year in Belgium, more than 330,000 calves are slaughtered when they are only a few months old. An additional 12% die before even reaching slaughter age. By comparison, mortality rates for other farmed animals generally range between 3% and 5%.

Behind these figures lies a reality that the dairy industry’s marketing carefully conceals: cow’s milk is produced to nourish a calf, not humans. In fact, one in three Belgians is unaware that a cow must give birth in order to produce milk.

To maintain continuous milk production, cows are repeatedly inseminated and forced to give birth again and again. In Belgium, calves are taken away from their mothers within hours of birth so that the milk can be sold for human consumption.

This separation causes profound distress. Calves are deprived of any maternal bond and confined to individual pens from their very first days of life. Female calves will eventually be exploited for milk production themselves. Male calves, considered of little value to the dairy industry, are sent to fattening facilities to be raised for veal and slaughtered between six and eight months of age.

Dairy report – GAIA (FR)

GAIA Calls on Consumers to Turn Away from Cow’s Milk

In light of this institutionalised animal suffering, GAIA is urging consumers to replace cow’s milk with plant-based alternatives.

Soy, oat, rice and almond drinks are now widely available, affordable and fully compatible with modern consumption habits. They offer a way to avoid animal suffering while significantly reducing the environmental impact of our diets.

According to data compiled by GAIA, replacing dairy products with plant-based alternatives could reduce agricultural land use associated with dairy production by as much as 70%.

A Society in Transition

Consumer habits are changing. A Dedicated survey commissioned by GAIA in June 2025 found that 55% of Belgians would be willing to reduce their consumption of animal milk once informed about dairy industry practices. Among 18–34-year-olds, that figure rises to 63%.

Furthermore, four in ten Belgians already consume plant-based alternatives at least once a week, while one in ten no longer consumes animal milk at all.

This shift reflects a broader trend: between 2016 and 2024, cow’s milk consumption in Belgium fell by nearly 12.5 million litres, representing a decline of almost 3%, despite growth in the number of potential consumers.

More info: www.notyourmilk.be