In order for English Farmstead Cheese to have lactating mothers, cows are forcibly impregnated through artificial insemination year after year at English Farmstead Cheese, and cows as young as 2 years old are subject to having a human insert their arm into their rectum and inject sperm into their uterus.
The Once Upon a Cow Website highlights that they have "well-treated cows" and that they practice "non-violent farming." Forcing females to give birth, stealing away their babies, and slaughtering young calves in no way demonstrates a commitment to good treatment or non-violence.
The Plow & Flute, a "vedic eco-farm" and homesteading project outside of Asheville, NC, is an example of the kinds of abuse even self-professed animal lovers will inflict on animals they see as resources to be exploited.
Mills River Creamery and Dairy is a dairy farm right outside of Asheville. Because they are local to the area, people assume that no cruelty is taking place at the farm.
Maple View Dairy, located in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is a supplier to the Farm to Home Milk delivery service that delivers cow's milk to the people of Asheville. Farm to Home claims "All Milk is produced from happy cows." The reality is a far cry from happy.
Homeland Creamery is a family dairy farm in Julian, North Carolina. When you first begin their tour, they start by showing you a calf in a larger sized hutch. Although they display a clean hutch with space to move around, this is not truly how their calves live.
As on many other dairy farms, the male calves are disposable to the industry and are either slaughtered for veal, sold, or kept for breeding. The Cane Creek Creamery has been dissolved but the farm farm sells milk to Milkco who bottles it for Ingles.
After the female cows at Yellow Branch Cheese are forcibly impregnated though artificial insemination, they only get to spend 48 hours with their mothers before being taken away and separated for good. If they are female, they will endure the same traumatic cycle as their mothers and be required have a baby every 14-16 months who will also be forcibly taken away from them.
Asheville Dairy 