Edyta Mucha, 38, is a veterinary inspector training to become an English teacher. She lives in New Warsaw, Poland.

I read Chas Newkey-Burden’s opinion piece Dairy is scary: the public are waking up to the darkest part of farming last month and was immediately struck by how candid it was. It describes in detail the whole process of dairy production, and the practices occurring at a huge number of farms: calves separated from their mothers, huge numbers of animals kept in tiny pens close together, female calves brutally inseminated. It was quite shocking.

Edyta Mucha

I am a vegetarian and a veterinary inspector by profession, so issues around food production and the environment really resonate with me. Finding informed articles in the mainstream media can be tricky, not least because the topic is so divisive. It’s not going to be economically beneficial for a lot of individuals and businesses if the truth gets out about how some farms treat their livestock.



I decided to become a vegetarian for humanitarian reasons – I never understood how people could love their pets but still eat meat – but also because of the environmental impact of keeping livestock. So I was shocked to discover that the dairy practices of most farms are more distressing than those of meat production.

The article made me decide to replace some of the cheese and milk I consume with non-dairy alternatives – and it also made me want to share what I had learned and be part of the movement to improve the production process. It’s one thing to know about something, but quite another to act on it. But after reading this article I just couldn’t “un-read” it. When a piece like this is published, people need to listen, act and discuss.

I have been reading the Guardian online for a long time and was aware of the requests for support, but I live in Poland where wages tend to be very low, and wasn’t sure I could afford to give. But I felt so grateful to you for bringing that topic into a broader light that I made up my mind there and then to contribute.

Now I read the Guardian every day, even more than Polish publications. I find the topics it covers more interesting and urgent, and I appreciate the focus on global politics and “the bigger picture”. It’s a great resource for readers like me who want to know the facts that others won’t disclose.

We would love to hear from members about the article that changed their view on a subject. If you would like to feature in this series, please send an email to sophie.zeldin-oneill@theguardian.com, including your name and phone number.