November is Vegan Month – an annual initiative that encourages people to think about their food choices and question why some animals are loved and taken into our homes, whilst others are farmed and exploited for their flesh, milk and eggs.

Animal Aid’s new four-minute web-based film – Where Does My Milk Come From? – describes the life of the dairy cow and her ‘waste by-product’ – calves.

It traces the history of modern dairy farming from the quest for self-sufficiency at the end of the Second World War to the emergence of massive mega-dairies.

It looks at milk-related health issues and sets out a range of attractive dairy-free alternatives readily available from high street shops and supermarkets.

Animal products are not essential for a healthy diet.

In fact, a large number of studies show that a balanced and varied 100 per cent plant-based diet is ideal for optimum health and lowers the risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and other diet-related illnesses.

To view the film and to order a free guide to going vegan, visit govegan.org.uk or call 01732 364546.

Kelly Slade, Vegan Month Co-ordinator, Animal Aid