Basics
Do vegans eat dairy?
Short answer
No. Milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter and cream come from animals, so they are not vegan. Plant milks and cheeses — oat, soy, nut-based — are.
A cow, like other mammals, produces milk after pregnancy, for a calf — not spontaneously. Dairy farming repeats pregnancies and usually separates calves soon after birth. Male calves do not give milk, so they often enter the meat chain. That is why dairy falls outside veganism just like meat.
The myth that “cows would explode if we did not milk them” reverses cause and effect: lactation follows pregnancy and industrial milking, not a nature that requires humans.
Lactose, casein and whey are still dairy even when a product does not taste milky. Check bread, chocolate and sauces.