Photo Gallery

While cows in the “Happy Cows” ads roam in grassy, idyllic pastures (above), California’s actual dairy cows typically stand in urine- and feces-saturated dirt and mud (below).
Cows in the “Happy Cows” ads are visions of good health (above), while California’s actual dairy cows often have uncomfortably distended udders and other painful maladies (below).
While calves in the “Happy Cows” ads share a field with their grandmother (above), many of California’s actual calves are confined to crates too small to allow them even to turn around (below left). Sick, emaciated calves, such as the one pictured here (below right), are often abandoned and left to languish until they finally die.
While cows in the “Happy Cows” ads graze in sparsely populated, lush fields (above), California’s actual dairy cows are commonly fed in barren, dirt lots among hundreds or even thousands of others (below).
While cows in the “Happy Cows” ads lie on straw bedding inside the shelter of a barn (above), California’s actual dairy cows are routinely kept on dirt or mud (below).