Cows Want a Name For Themselves

If you’ve ever doubted the importance of a name, consider this: a study conducted by Anthrozoos showed that cows that are given names produce more milk. The Scientific American suggests that cows must experience anxiety when being led into the milking parlor. Fear is not conducive to productivity and therefore the cows can’t perform at their best. Having once been a lactating mammal myself, I certainly understand this concept. In fact, when I was first trying to get the hang of nursing my daughter, I was incredibly frustrated because, believe it or not, it’s not always an easy thing for mother and newborn to figure out. My lactation consultant suggested I have a glass of wine to calm me down. It worked! Yes, calming those nerves can be a beautiful thing.

They think this is the theory behind why cows that have names produce more milk. Catherine Douglas of Newcastle University explained it this way, “Farmers who name their cows, “probably have a better relationship with them. They’re less fearful, more relaxed and less stressed, so that could have an effect on milk yield.”

The US doesn’t worry about things like names for increasing milk production in their cattle because they rely instead on recombinant bovine growth hormones (rGBH). The reason a study like this was conducted in the UK is because they don’t allow their cows to be given the rGBH hormone that results in increased milk yields, but comes with a nasty price tag. Cows given rGBH experience increased milk gland infections, called mastitis (I’ve had that too…very painful!). It’s a slippery slope because cows who get mastitis have to be given antibiotics which can make their way through to the milk. And to make matters worse, cows given rGBH produce elevated levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) which may be linked in humans to cause cancer.

I personally don’t consume dairy products, but if I did, I would prefer getting it from cows who had a name.