On the Deadliness of Specialized Dairy Production – The Case of Jersey Herds in Switzerland

Abstract The jointness of milk and beef production is still the dominant system but is challenged by the trend toward vegetarian diets that skip meat but not milk consumption. Specialized dairy production raises issues regarding the management of male animals that are better known from the case of egg production but which are yet to be explored for dairy herds. In a first step, the problem of male chicklets is presented; similarities and differences to dairy systems are highlighted. A dataset of Swiss cattle is used to show that specialized dairy production as indicated by Jersey cows leads to a shorter life expectancy of both newborn calves and dairy cows compared to the joint production of milk and meat. In a qualitative part, the unsolved problem of economic waste through all male animals and the female animals not needed for milk production is illustrated by using the method of objective hermeneutics. It can be concluded that specialized dairy production does not benefit farm animals.