I visited Hansen's a couple of weeks ago with my boyfriend and his family. His parents said that we…read morewere going to a farm to milk a cow, so I decided to join them.
When we got there, I wasn't sure what to expect. Everything looked okay, and we were lured by all the ice cream flavors, so I was not prepared for what was to come.
We jumped on an open air vehicle to begin our tour. We stopped at the place where they have the cows all separated by age: calves, younger ones, and adults.
We were first given the opportunity to feed the babies, which is when my horror began. I had the chance to feed a five-day old calf that was HORRIFIED. I didn't want to play into this game at first, but I overheard that the calf was being a brat; rather than allowing others to make it more scared, I decided to step in to bottle feed it. I learned that the cows are taken from their mothers at birth so they don't attach, and the tour guide had the nerve to tell is that their moms don't care. I get that this is standard practice at milk factories, but please don't insult our intelligence.
Then we move on to the factory part, where we see the cows lined up and attached to the devices that are milking them. My horror grew. We learned there about the artificial insemination, got to see some cows not wanting to be herded in, and our tour guide saying they "should get over it," as it will be over in a few minutes. And of course, this is where the tour group is invited to milk one of the cows. I couldn't do it, but the rest of my group was happy to do so. I know that what I saw isn't likely even close to the horrors of the milking practices of most milk factories, but this was enough to make me want to cry.
Then we moved on to another part of the farm, where the cows are kept in filthy and crowded conditions. We were told that they prefer to be in there and not roam because they don't feel safe roaming in pastures... what?! I couldn't do it anymore; I had to step away.
Then they showed us their kangaroo collection. I don't know much about kangaroos, so nothing to say here about whether or not this was a happy situation. The kangaroos were just lying there looking bored or hot.
The tour ended by us trying their ice cream, cheese curds, and butter (which they had us make). This part would have been fun, had I not been traumatized already. Again, I can imagine that this is the "nice" version of what happens in most milk factories, so thank you, Hansen's for giving me a glimpse.
