Day 1 of Veganuary: Milk Alternatives, Essential Reading For Anyone Interested in Veganism
Let’s discuss the variety of milk alternatives available
“The best part of being a vegan is the purity and peace of mind one experiences and the strong connection I feel to the animal kingdom” — Uri Geller
Welcome to Day 1, You Beautiful Human
Welcome to day 1 of veganuary. I feel like an excited puppy. Before I get caught up in all my emotions, I want to say thank YOU for showing an interest in this compassionate way of life.
Before we continue, I urge you to check out the official Veganuary website and sign-up for their newsletter. They are the gurus here and I am simply hoping to help share their message and come at things from a slightly different angle. But there is room for all of us.
Throughout January, we are going to bounce along the vegan pastures together. I will steer you over the treacherous and sometimes bumpy ground of veganism. If you ever feel lost, stuck or confused, I am only a comment or private message away. We have each other. Let’s build a community here and help each other change our habits.
No judgment
I promise never to judge or shame you. Your choices past, present, and future are unique to you. The pace of your vegan journey is dictated solely by you. Please feel supported and encouraged. I have your back.
Digestible information
I will do my best to provide easy-to-understand education in these daily stories. A one-stop shop for snippets of information, tips and tricks, and links to other useful resources. I may not always get it right, so please feel free to add to the conversation in the comments section. This is a 2-way discussion.
We can’t hide from the animal cruelty
There will be times I refer to some of the cruel aspects of the meat and dairy industry. I will not dwell on this, nor focus on it, but I can’t brush it under the carpet. I will not go into graphic detail. But this is part of the education process, we need to face up to our cognitive dissonance.
Upcoming Topics
We have a bounty of topics to look forward to:
- meat alternatives
- protein
- cheese alternatives
- legumes
- B12
- nuts
- vegan toiletries
- wool and clothing
- all things hummus
- factory farming
- bees and their honey
- sweets
- why red meat is the new smoking
- eggs
- fish and the depleted oceans
- chocolate
- sprucing up salads
- animals in entertainment
- vegan influences
- parenthood and veganism
- iron
- vegan athletes
- omega 3
- dealing with criticism
- vegan on a shoestring
- tofu
- how to maintain a vegan lifestyle
Milk Alternatives
Today is all about milk alternatives.
Before we consider the variety of milk alternatives available, let’s briefly discuss the ethical issues with dairy.
Only yesterday, I had a, hmmm, let’s just say “interesting” conversation with a highly educated health professional. Incredulous I didn’t accept a chocolate.
Firstly he was surprised to learn milk chocolate contained milk! Challenging me with a “ahh, but how do you know it has milk in it?”
Secondly, he was unaware vegans forgo all dairy. He questioned this, in a let’s just say obnoxious manner. I advised him to google the cruelty of the dairy industry. He kept pressing me. So I turned the questions on him as nicely as I could and asked him how he believed we obtained milk from cows.
He hadn’t a clue.
He said the cow eats grass and we get milk! This man has a Ph.D.!
I asked him what he thought had to happen for the cow to produce milk — you know what he said? “She has to drink milk”.
No, you dumb ass! For a cow to produce milk, she has to be pregnant!
Again and again and again and again — her whole life, until she is no longer of service to the farmer, so she is killed! That’s how we get milk.
He triggered me. To be fair, I only learned of the extent of the dairy cow exploitation in my 30s, but I’m not a genius. He is — kind of. Or maybe not.
When the cow gives birth, her calf is taken from her, often within a few days. This causes the cow psychological trauma, as she calls out for her calf and is visibly distressed at its absence. I am not going to address the fate of the calf here, but it isn’t pretty. Then the cycle repeats itself, the cow is impregnated, the calf is taken, milk is produced. The cow is impregnated, the calf is taken, milk is produced. Humans put cows through immeasurable physical and mental trauma.
But it’s ok, because, we humans then benefit from the milk, which is meant for the stolen calf. So happy days right 😡
Did you know, we are the only species on the planet to consume the milk of another species. And in actual fact, according to this piece not only is dairy linked to a number of serious diseases, but a large proportion of us are lactose intolerant. Our propensity for being lactose intolerant is linked with our ethnicity. In short, we are not designed to consume dairy.
It doesn’t have to be like this.
Milk alternatives
- soy milk
- oat milk
- almond milk
- coconut milk
- hazelnut milk
- rice milk
- cashew milk
Personally, I like barista roasted almond milk in my morning coffee and oat milk in my cereal. For cooking, I usually use oat milk (have I mentioned my banana and chia seed pancakes yet? Oh you just wait! They are amazing!).
Your use of non-dairy milk is really based on preference.
Alpro is one of the largest milk alternative companies, check out all their options here.
The nutrient content varies between these options, this may be something you want to consider alongside the taste and consistency factor.
A comparison of the unsweetened versions of the 3 most popular non-dairy milk; almond, soy, and oat can be found below. Cow milk is included in this table for context.
So, go out and be a daredevil. Switch out your old dairy milk and try a selection of different non-dairy milk. Please be sure to let us know which is your favorite.
Homework
Your homework today is to watch Cowspiracy.
To read a more comprehensive and detailed account of the dairy industry see this excellent story by Susie Pinon
My veganuary 2022 daily posts can be found in this list.
🙏Thank you for reading my story Ali Hall
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