Depending on who you talk to, dairy food is a valuable source of nutrients or a cause of runny noses and bloating. But the issue that rarely gets an airing is the cost to animal welfare of all the dairy products Australians consume, including about 104 litres of milk per head each year.

In order to make milk, cows have to keep reproducing - and it's what comes next that can put you off your latte. Reproduction results in a by-product – surplus male calves that aren't much good to the industry because they can't supply milk. These newborns are killed soon after birth in huge numbers. How huge depends on who you ask. About 400,000 annually is Dairy Australia's estimate, while animal protection institute Voiceless says 800,000.

Consumers love coffee, yoghurt and cheese, but unwanted calves pay the price. Credit:Louie Douvis

It's not just the waste of life that concerns animal welfare groups but what happens to these calves in their brief lives - going for hours without food during transportation to abattoirs. While newborn calves would suckle five or 10 times a day, Voiceless says, regulations allow for calves being transported for slaughter to go up to 24 hours or more without being fed.

"Physically they're not up to the challenge of 24 to 30 hours without food," argues Elise Burgess of Voiceless which will release a report calling for better animal welfare standards in the dairy industry later this year.