But don’t cows need to be milked?

Cows—like all mammals—need to become pregnant in order to produce milk. “Dairy” cows are impregnated every year so that they will produce a steady supply of milk. Whereas in nature, the baby drinks the milk that the mother produces, humans take the calf away from the mother cow and drink the milk intended for her baby. Cows wouldn’t need to be milked if we didn’t take their calves away from them or impregnate them in the first place.