Add new comment

Just on top of my head...

#1) Animals doesn't need to be fed soy from brazil to produce milk.
The restructuring of ag in post ww2 era has reduced the numbers of animals and at the same time increased the amount of milk produced.
There are breeds of animals (landraces) adapted to foraging and roughage, which produces less milk, but with better fat and protein content (sheep, horses, goats, cows).
Oats and peas can also be grown on the farm to supplement the feed (or root vegetables) and help out with crop rotations.

#2) Animals can be reared with respect and care. They can also be kept lactating without an eternal cycle of calfing. Calves can be kept with their mothers, but restricted from drinking from the cows. Cows can be kept on pasture even in cold/freezing weather (they survived the iceage just fine) through proper pasture management.
https://modernfarmer.com/2021/02/no-milk-without-meat/

#3) Animals doesn't need to compete with humans for food, but can utilize areas we cannot. They are also great waste recyclers.

#4) Proper animal care and pasture management can increase biodiversity. Meadows are a good example, so is pastured forests and mountains and hedgerows.

#5) Milking cows who are not intensively managed will live long lives. I've milked cows who were 18 years old. In industrial ag they live around 4-5 years.

#6) Mixed farming is a good idea - it is very resilient. Remove a globalised economy and industrial farming and you will have to source a lot of your foodstuffs locally. In cold, wet years the grass still grows and you still have animal products when row crops struggle. Wool is also a very nice on cold, wet days...

We need to eat much less meat, there is no question about it. In some places you probably don't need any. So in some cases veganism makes sense. But for some people and some places meat (wild or tame), fish and milk makes sense.