I used to think dairy farms were bright and sunny with happy animals like in Children's books… Until I met a cat named Waffles when I was in my preteen years. My mother's ex was working at a dairy farm in a small town in Michigan, when I first went to visit the farm I was so excited to see cows up close. When we got there, I noticed a dog and a group of cats running around, a rabbit in a cage, and the stench of manure. My mother took me inside to the milking chamber where her ex was loading the cows and hooking the pumps to their udders. As I went to pet one of the cows, my mother's ex warned me to be careful, saying that they tend to be stressed during the milking. I wondered why and thought petting them would help relax. As time passed, visit after visit I noticed some strange things, animals were disappearing, dying, and becoming more aggressive and fearful. That dog wasn't getting enough food and resorted to trying to eat the other animals, even breaking into the cowpens and attacking the cows. The rabbit had died, laying there motionless, one of the cats went missing while the rest were feasting on garbage, a clear sign they weren't getting fed either. One time my mother made me sit in the car when she wanted to talk to her ex in private, I had anxiety from being in the car for so long that I began to cry. My mother heard me and came out of the barn, her first instinct being to grab one of the nearby barn cats and give them to me. I was instantly attached to the cat and soothed afterwards. More days passed as I bonded more with that cat and I discovered more gnarly sights, the workers including my mother's ex were getting more aggressive with forcing the cows into the milking chamber, pulling on their tails, hitting them and poking them with rods.. At one point, one worker got so frustrated he kicked a cow in the udders so hard that when she was milked, blood mixed in with her milk. One night when I visited the farm with my mother, I heard coyotes howling. My mother's ex told me they were feasting on the pile of dead cows in the back, those bodies were left out like garbage for many animals to pick at, including the cats, even my cat… The last time I saw that farm, something inside of me realized the animals were not happy here, but I couldn't save them all. My mother realized it too, which is when we both looked at that cat, that cat that comforted me when I was sad, that cat I held as I watched the other animals suffer. My mother opened the car door and let the cat hop in, we then drove off with her, never to see that barn again. As we were driving away from the farm, I decided to name her… Waffles. Year after year with Waffles in my care, as I've learned more about the big dairy industry, realizing that farm was only a small part of it. I think back to when I saw that farm.. I wished I could have saved them… the other cats eating from the trash and dead cow pile, the rabbit that perished slowly in that tiny cage, the dog that was so desperate to fill their empty stomach, and the cows.. The cows that are forced to give up their milk and babies for humans, even though most humans are lactose normal and cannot consume dairy, they're still forced to give up their milk from them, the cows that are forced to contribute to a dangerous climate change by merely existing.. I am amazed at all the things the industry tries to do in order to get us to consume dairy products, while yet they're exploiting animals, and not just cows.. Dairy doesn't just hurt cows.. It hurts the dogs and cats forced to guard those barns, it hurts the small animals that are supposed to make the barns more “cute”, it hurts the wildlife that is killed to guard the food for the cows. Dairy really is liquid oppression.. If you truly love animals like cats and dogs and the others that are considered “pets”. My advice: Ditch the dairy, compassion for one animal can be compassion for all animals.