The issue is high milk production and its effect on cow well-
being. The question is, can we have our cake and eat it, too?
With a projected nine billion human mouths to feed by 2050,
farmers are using breeding and technologies to enhance the
productivity of their enterprises to feed the growing
population, and in the dairy industry we have seen an
astonishing increase in milk production per cow over the last
few decades. However, with increasing productivity and
intensification of our farms comes increased skepticism from
consumers and those that act on their behalf. In particular, the
welfare of the animals on our farms is coming under increasing
scrutiny, and we increasingly find ourselves in a position where
we must justify the management practices we implement. “Having
your cake and eating it, too” is an old English proverb, which
asks the question whether or not we can have the best of both
worlds — in this case, high production and healthy cows. On the
face of it, the notion that a high-producing dairy