All you need to know about dairy and going dairy-free.
Dairy – Corporate Cruelty
There is no such thing as ethical dairy. Standard dairy farms are horrifying places, filled with heart-breaking cruelty. Calves torn and isolated from their mothers, cows with udders so large their spines ‘bend’, shackled back legs, painful infections such as mastitis – this is the truth of dairy.
Dairy is Scary Cinema Advert
Almost every dairy calf is taken from their mother shortly after birth so her milk can be sold to us. And the fate of thousands of male calves? Heartbreaking. In 2024 alone, 81,744 male dairy calves under eight months old were killed – 49,204 in slaughterhouses and 32,540 on farms before they reached two months old, simply because they can’t produce milk. These males are called by the industry the ‘trash’ or ‘unwanted by-products’ of dairy.
Viva!’s powerful cinema ad, Dairy is Scary, exposes this hidden cruelty. Now showing nationwide, it reveals the suffering behind every glass of milk – from grieving mothers to the ruthless killing of male calves. This is what the dairy industry doesn’t want you to see.
Ditching dairy is one of the best things you can do for your health. Why? Because drinking milk past infancy isn’t natural.
Around two-thirds of the world’s adults are lactose intolerant – clear proof that breast milk is for babies. Yet, the dairy industry plays on our emotional attachment to milk, using clever marketing to convince us it’s essential for strong bones and daily health. But it’s not!
Don’t be fooled – dairy companies are selling a product, not health advice. Remember, there was a time when even doctors promoted cigarettes. Industry-backed marketing can be powerful, but the truth is clear: we don’t need dairy.
Going dairy-free is a smarter choice for your health and kinder for the animals. Here are some easy swaps to get started:
- Alpro Soya Milk
- Oatly Oat Milk
- Oato Oat Milk
- Minor Figures Barista Oat Milk
- And more
- Oatly Strawberry
- Ben & Jerry’s Cookies on Cookie Dough Non-Dairy
- Magnum Vegan Classic
- Cornetto
- And more
- Applewood Creamy and Smoky
- Cathedral City Plant-Based Mature
- Violife Greek White
- Plant-Based Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- And more
- Lurpak Plant-Based
- Flora Original
- I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
- Vitalite Dairy-Free
- And more
- Galaxy Vegan Salted Caramel
- Cadbury Plant Bar
- Lindt Vegan Smooth
- KitKat Vegan
- And more
- Müller Corner Plant Based Crunch Chocolate Balls
- Koko Plant Based Green Style Yogrt
- Oatly Oatgurt Strawberry
- Alpro Green Style Flavoured Yoghurts
- And more
Viva!’s campaigns and investigations reveal the shocking reality of British factory dairy farms. Click below to uncover the truth behind ‘standard practices’ and see the positive impact of our outreach.
Campaigns
Dairy – Corporate Cruelty
Join our nationwide Day of Action against dairy on 27 January 2024. Order your free stall pack now.
The True Costa Dairy
Viva! found shocking cruelty at a Kent dairy farm that supplies Freshways, Costa’s milk provider. We need your help to make a difference.
Müller Killer
Zero grazing is taking over the UK – and the change is spearheaded by the dairy giant Müller.
YogHURTS tour
This summer, we will be going on tour with our biggest anti-dairy campaign yet: Muller Killer.
Britain’s Hardest Working Mother
We’re asking you to help us educate people and spread awareness about the plight of dairy cows, the hardest working mothers, in the days leading up to Mother’s day.
Viva!shake
Viva! took an all-vegan milkshake bar across the country, giving out free vegan milkshakes at university fresher fairs!
Viva!ccino
Viva! took an all-vegan coffee bike to British shopping centres to hand out free vegan cappuccinos to the public!
The Dairy Industry’s TRASH
On 1 October our new campaign, TRASH, launched to raise awareness of the forgotten victims of the dairy industry – male calves!
Viva!licious
In July and August 2018 Viva! brought the UK’s first ever vegan ice cream van tour to seven British towns!
Face Off: Dairy
You won’t believe what is going on in our country’s factory farms! Will you take this challenge too? Can you face off against the British dairy industry?
Investigations
Investigation: Tafarn Y Bugail
An undercover investigation by Viva! Campaigns uncovers violent assaults on cows at a dairy farm in west Wales.
Investigation: Zero Grazing
Callous conditions documented at three of the largest zero grazing dairy farms in the UK expose the reality of intensive mega-farms.
Investigation: Home Farm
An undercover investigation by Viva! Campaigns has exposed multiple incidents of animal cruelty at a dairy farm in Kent supplying Freshways.
Investigation: Cadbury Milk
Our undercover investigators have been inside numerous dairy farms that supply Cadbury with milk. Here we expose the bloody secrets of one of the nation’s favourite confectionery brands.
Investigation: Biosecurity
At three Welsh markets we covertly filmed an appalling disregard for biosecurity – one of the many failings in modern animal husbandry that could be to blame for the spread of bovine TB.
We offer a wide range of resources, most of which are free to download or available to order online.
Everyone’s Going Dairy-Free
Everyone’s Going Dairy-free gives a stylish shake-up to one of Viva!’s most popular guides, the old ‘How to Be Dairy Free’.
Why You Don’t Need Dairy
All you need to know about milk – and why you’re better off without it.
