Prof Miller called my attention to this not-so-recent, but still very relevant video recording of a Digambar ascetic discussing the himsa in milk. This was posted by Fauna Police, (a group conducting animal rescue and raising awareness about animal abuse) after showing watching videos and pictures of dairies, live transport and slaughter of cattle in India to Aryika Shree Chaitanyamati Mataji (Chelna didi). Now we see ascetics of both genders in many Jain sects calling for us to renounce dairy products.
English translation (courtesy of Fauna Police): You people say that milk that we are consuming is very beneficial to our body but how is it appropriate that a calf is separated from cow immediately as soon as (s)he is born? With the help of different kinds of injections, milk is extracted from the cows. Such milk cannot be considered drinkable. A child must not be snatched away from the mother as this is also violence. I have seen this with my own eyes how the mother cow suffers when that happens. She also suffers when milk is forcefully extracted from her body and even some blood leaks at that time. Thus, such milk amounts to meat consumption. We have several options for food for our survival so we should not consume such things that give pain to somebody. Milk is not vegetarian but it is non-vegetarian and this is why we have renounced it as well. Acharya also did the same. Earlier, people used to feed milk to the calves but today they are separated from the mother immediately after their birth. Moreover, the milk is extracted violently using injections. Within a few years, after milking the cow to the extreme, she is sent away to the slaughterhouse. The calves also die a painful death. Such milk cannot be vegetarian. We are humans and should have compassion. I urge you to watch some videos of such activities in the media and decide for yourselves. Recently I watched a small truck loaded with a large number of cattle that was stopped by an organization and rescued the cattle. We should support such organizations with all our time and money. It was very painful to watch how animals are loaded and unloaded in such trucks. We should all stop such cruelty and this is what the dharma of nonviolence teaches us.
Vegan Jains 