Dear fairlife, We Need to Talk

After sharing our frustration at the New York Governor's announcement last week that a new fairlife dairy production facility is planned for Monroe County, we got this DM from a fairlife-affiliated brand, letting us know that they have a “zero tolerance policy toward abuse of any kind.” We had mentioned a past settlement that the fairlife corporation (owned by CocaCola) had made after an undercover video emerged of some awful abuse.

We wanted to respond publicly as the dairy industry thrives in the dark and clarify that the addressing of specific abuse or industry led "welfare reforms" will never address the inherent violence and abuse of the dairy industry—the fact that mother cows are forcibly impregnated and have their babies stolen from them so that farmers and corporations can make a profit. The scale on which that is done amplifies that abuse. Anyone who truly has zero tolerance for abuse of cows would not be involved in the dairy industry at all.

Photo taken from fairlife website.

Fairlife’s welfare-focused website paints a nice picture. But, like all “humane” dairy brands, it erases the exploitation that the industry relies on and uses misleading imagery to fool the consumer. This is an example of “humane-washing,” a term for deceptive marketing around animal products. Fairlife wants you to see photos of green space and make a positive assumption—notice that they don’t say anything too specific about where cows are actually living. In reality, cows on large dairy farms are kept in close confinement, and many live their whole lives indoors. These facilities are also huge polluters and cause major environmental harm in the communities they are in.

Rescued cows Max and Judy, safe in sanctuary and enjoying their large pasture.

Corporations like fairlife put a tremendous amount of effort into concealing the basic realities of animal agriculture in order to make a profit. Let’s think critically, examine the source, and refuse to fund the exploitation of other animals, no matter how good their marketing campaign is. 

The only way to eliminate animal abuse and exploitation on dairy farms is to ditch dairy altogether.