7 ms·
America has been "souring" on dairy milk, but it took us three tries to find some at the store last week. I think what is also happening is that milk substitut
by scythe 7y ago
America has been "souring" on dairy milk, but it took us three tries to find some at the store last week.
I think what is also happening is that milk substitutes are being consumed more often by people who otherwise would not have drank milk, or not as much. People don't have to switch to drink oat milk. They just have to buy it and pour it in a glass. The dairy industry may be targeting these people.
Another thing that is happening is that the United States is becoming less white. Europeans have the highest incidence of lactase persistence; Africans and South Asians have somewhat less (with high regional variance); and people originating from other regions have almost none. The culture surrounding products like e.g. ice cream is not the same for lactose-intolerant people, who are limited to a few flavors.
- MuffinFlavored 7y agoWhy do people still drink dairy milk? I watched a video on factory farming and switched to almond milk ever since. What's the big deal?
- lazzlazzlazz 7y agoI like some almond milks quite a lot. But how can you possibly think it's the same as dairy milk — they're almost incomparable. Dairy milk is rich, delicious, less "candy" tasting. It's full of wonderful fat, whereas most alternative milks are thin and sweet (or bitter and chalky). It's strange when people forget how important taste is.
- Marsymars 7y agoYeah, I stopped buying dairy milk, but I never drink non-dairy milk on its own, I exclusively use it in muesli, oatmeal, smoothies, etc. The taste and mouthfeel is just not very good as a drink.
- jandrese 7y agoAlmond Milk is really egregious in this regard. It's either unsweetened in which case it tastes like a thin earthy mud, or its sweetened more than cotton candy. I've never found one that has a good balance, and maybe a good balance is impossible since the base product is borderline unpalatable.
- pm90 7y agoI think almond milk/ oat milk can be made to taste better with emulsifiers and such to give them a better texture and taste. The brand of Oatmilk that I currently like is “Califia Farms Barista Blend”. I use oat milk for my coffees as well. I’m guessing that this is a competitive space and there will be better and better options in the future. Personally I switched over because I’m mildly lactose intolerant but also, I really don’t like the aftertaste of real milk... subjective opinion, of course : )
- vinay427 7y agoThis is why I love soy milk without additives. It fills all of these criteria plus my additional criteria of being infinitely more ethical to sentient beings.
- silveroriole 7y agoSoy milk is the only replacement I found that still has a fatty feel and taste to it. And it doesn’t taste disgusting like most supermarket milk. I think some people find the fatty film of milk/soy to actually be a downside, so they like the thinner replacement milks.
- GordonS 7y agoHmm, I guess it depends on individual taste. I've tried several nut milks, oat milk and soy milk. The nut and oat milks tasted good, with the oat milk in particular bring surprisingly close to dairy milk. But the soy milk I found absolutely disgusting - it didn't taste anything like dairy milk. I do wish nut milks weren't so "thin" tho - if you look at the ingredients, there aren't actually very much nuts in them; they are mostly water. I'd gladly pay a bit more for a higher nut (and, ergo, fat and protein) content.
- coldcode 7y agoEvery kind of food has a drawback, almond milk for example uses enormous amounts of fresh water. But you can then argue that almonds use less water per calorie than other foods. But then you can argue the water has to be moved large distances to get to the almond tree so a lot is lost in transit. Etc. I drink Lactose free milk (basically regular milk with lactase) after drinking all the various non dairy milks, but only in my breakfast smoothie. Everything is a balance.
- chrisco255 7y agoWatch this video as an alternative perspective: A day on my family dairy farm https://youtu.be/Lm95bVL0iwU https://youtu.be/Lm95bVL0iwU
- tlarkworthy 7y agoIt doesn't provide young children / babies with enough nutrition. Cow's milk is stupidly simple https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/vegetarian-vegan-children/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/vegetarian-...
- dueueydhsh 7y agoWhat's your agenda? You've posted this link with the same sound bite multiple times already.
- tlarkworthy 7y agoMy personal agenda is dislike of the the environmental effects of milk, but also have children and find most vegan conversations by childless adults are oblivious to the short comings of milk substitutes, so I bring it up to see if someone can help my family get off milk (we removed red meat already, and the adults drink oat milk). I am rather hoping lab made milk will be thing
- jandrese 7y agoAlmond milk turns out to be not good for the environment as well. The problem is that Almond trees are water intensive but we grow in the desert.
- cageface 7y agoDairy milk requires vastly more water per glass then any plant milk. There aren't very many almonds in a jug of almond milk. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042 https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042
- nate_meurer 7y agoCommercial almond milk has very little actual almond in it. It's basically water thickened with gum. For example, I have in front of me a box of Kirkland brand almond milk. It provides just 1g protein and 2.5g fat per 8oz serving. Compare that to whole dairy milk, with 8g protein and 8g fat. IMO it would more accurate to call it almond flavored water.
- austhrow743 7y agoIt costs like $3k to save a human life and we still go on vacations to exotic locations and drive $50k cars. It's not that dairy milk is so very good, it's that we care about suffering so very little. You're the minority with a disproportionately sized well of empathy is what's going on. Any attempt to understand it beyond realising that when you go out and about every day you're largely surrounded by monsters is just going to lead to confusion.
- MuffinFlavored 7y ago> It costs like $3k to save a human life Source?
- austhrow743 7y agohttps://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-best-charity-can-save-a-life-for-333706-and-thats-a-steal-2015-7?IR=T https://www.businessinsider.com/the-worlds-best-charity-can-... GiveWell, their source, actually has a spreadsheet which if I'm reading correctly says it's $1690 to save someone under 5. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zLmPuddUmKsy3v55AfG_e1Quk-ngDdNzW-FDx0T-Y94/edit#gid=1377543212 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zLmPuddUmKsy3v55AfG_...
- dehrmann 7y agoA lot of milk alternatives aren't great nutritionally. They tend to have added sugar and less protein, maybe more sodium than you'd like.
- loeg 7y agoI have soy milk with coffee because I'm lactose intolerant and drinking black coffee on an empty stomach makes me nauseated. I'd never drink soymilk straight.