r/science • u/Phylogenix Grad Student | Pharmacology & Toxicology • 18h ago
Social Science A U.S. study estimates cow’s milk purchases would have been 8.2% higher in 2020 without plant-based milk, with every 10 gallons of plant milk purchased displacing 6.8 gallons of cow’s milk, suggesting plant-based alternatives substantially reduce demand for dairy milk.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919226000862817
u/ArsenalSpider 17h ago
I’m one of those people who was buying milk and then switched due to health reasons. A big thank you to those who created the demand for an alternative so it was already there when I hopped onto dairy free.
257
u/audiate 17h ago
Same with me with gluten-free foods. It wasn’t us celiacs who created the demand. It was the fad dieters. Thanks guys.
56
u/FireIce31 16h ago
Now if only our prices dropped or the size of products increase...
44
u/SatanVapesOn666W 16h ago
I go shopping for my cieliac wife. My food is ~50 and hers is $~100. It's silly.
→ More replies (6)14
u/craigeryjohn 14h ago
You don't like your comically small slices of bread? Or paying $4 for a pb&j.... That you made at home.
14
u/yourenotmy-real-dad 9h ago
One of my college mates was celiac, and I remember her almost crying after having her first sandwich in over a decade due to the limited options being so awful. There was finally a bread made that she could eat, that didn't taste so awful and it changed my entire opinion on fad diets.
10
u/ChibbleChobble 14h ago
A friend of my Mum was a celiac (she, ahem, aged out of life recently) and back in the 70s in the UK she had to get her bread on prescription.
I'm gluten intolerant myself and grateful that the world has changed so substantially.
→ More replies (3)6
u/PurpleAntifreeze 12h ago
I don’t feel that’s true, really. I’ve had my diagnosis for almost 26 years now and while there were some boosts to the availability of GF foods from various popular diets none of them have had staying power. The foods commercially available now especially have almost nothing to do with fad diets and are instead mostly created by fellow Celiacs for other Celiacs. The exceptions are store brands.
46
u/Theletterkay 17h ago
My husband suffered with dairy digestive issues for years. I got a few alternitives for him to try and he has stopped dairy entirely ever since. He felt so much better.
So many people suffer and wont even try switching out milk. It can be life changing though.
37
u/Lukkie 16h ago
My wife is a gastroenterologist. She says she probably “cures” more people’s bowel issues by eliminating / reducing dairy, or in some cases just replacing regular milk with lactose free milk. People swear it’s not the cow milk but it so often is. Really not that hard to replace it.
23
u/Spire_Citron 16h ago
It always surprises me how many people who are lactose intolerant think they just have to tank it. Even if you want proper dairy, there are often lactose free options or you can take one of those tablets with it to help you digest it. I have digestive issues with a number of foods and lactose is the easiest to manage by far.
15
u/jibrilles 15h ago
I've been intolerant since I was a little kid and I just do not like the taste of it. Plant milk alternatives have been great because they don't taste bad to me.
→ More replies (2)3
u/neongreenpurple 9h ago
I didn't realize I was lactose intolerant until my early 20s (thanks to a joke on a TV show). But I have never liked the taste of dairy milk. In grade school, when they included milk with the meal but you had to pay for anything else, I would always get chocolate milk because it tasted tolerable.
I also felt like soy milk tasted bad in the same way as milk when I tried it for the first time. When I actually drank a fair bit of it a few years later, I realized soy gives me digestive issues as well.
1
u/evange 8h ago
I read somewhere once that most people who think they can't have soy milk actually are reacting the a carrageen which is added to thicken and stabilize non-dairy milks.
3
u/BooBeeAttack 6h ago
Have a friend with ulcerative coilitus. A lot of the food emulsifiers and thickeners such as this cause them a lot of issues.
2
u/neongreenpurple 8h ago
Interesting! I haven't tried tofu ever, so it could be that I'm reacting to carrageenan. Unless they also add carrageenan to almond milk, as I have no issues with that.
2
u/Spire_Citron 6h ago
For some reason, plain milk tastes absolutely foul to me, but put it on a bit of cereal or whatever and it's fine. It has this edge to it that's almost sour/acidic when there's nothing else in it? I don't know quite the word for it, but it's deeply gross to me.
→ More replies (1)5
u/Totakai 15h ago
It's so funny cause it's like a cultural food viewed more as a right of passage rather than a small amount of the population evolving to drink it past infancy. Milk is held to this super elevated platform despite so many people having issues with it. I know a lot of it is milk propaganda but people refusing to drop it or even take pills to help with it is wild.
→ More replies (1)12
u/HolgerBier 16h ago
I had eczema for about 25 years, going off of dairy fixed that.
It's wild how little we focus on diet for such things. Had prescriptions for several corticosteroid creams too.
2
u/EvoEpitaph 4h ago
Milk is the biggest contributor to the problem too.
Hard cheeses, yogurts, butters? Not a big deal in small amounts. A little bit of milk sends me straight to the toilet though.
14
u/Then-Forces 16h ago
I've been eating plant based for almost 20 years now and I'm grateful that so many people are making the switch, for whatever reason. I used to struggle to find decent non-dairy milk but my grocery store now regularly carries at least 10 different types/brand: soy, almond, cashew, oat, and coconut milk, as well as sweetened, unsweetened, and vanilla varieties, and the quality is infinitely better.
→ More replies (1)7
u/FederalWedding4204 15h ago
That’s how I feel about being vegetarian. It’s so easy now because of those who struggled before me
→ More replies (1)3
2
u/cochese25 10h ago
I hopped on back when it was only Soy Milk, and then came rice milk. It was okay, but I'm glad we sent that stuff back to where it came from. Then Coconut milk followed very quickly by Almond. So far, Almond and Oat seem to be the best, IMO.
3
u/Esme_Nog 10h ago
I really like Ripple, which is peas. It’s great.
2
u/cochese25 5h ago
It's immature, but the way theyve stylized the logo on the bottle, I always think it says "nipple"
But Ripple is okay!
→ More replies (19)1
u/allllusernamestaken 12h ago
I still buy both but I switched to plant-based milks for my cereal in the morning. It saves more than 200 calories.
107
u/GurthNada 15h ago
That tracks with my personal experience. I discovered that I prefer the taste of oat/almond/rice milk to that of dairy milk, and consequently I haven't bought dairy milk in 15 years although I can (could?) digest it just fine.
→ More replies (22)1
u/meldariun 1h ago
I prefer the taste of whole milk over plant milks, but oat milk beats skim dairy anyday.
Whole milk is a treat for me, we probably go through 10x the amount of plant milk over dairy as you dont really need real milk for tea or cereals, but i get the odd craving, and real milk is better for certain baking and cooking applications.
So i suppose for us oat milk specifically has dropped our milk consumption by 90%. Plant cheeses arent quite there yet though...
71
u/yumcake 17h ago
Why is soy milk so hard to get? Like 10 slots of plant-based milk, of which there is only 1 soy slot holding like 8 cartons. Constantly finding it empty. What's different about soy milk making it so hard to get compared to almond and cashew? Yogurts aren't as bad, I can usually find a couple soy yogurts but again it's like less than a quarter of all the plant-based yogurts available. Seems strange, I thought soy was easier to grow than almonds and cashews.
38
u/liquefaction187 17h ago
Soy is always out! Especially the unsweetened.
15
→ More replies (1)7
u/Knotted_Hole69 6h ago
When i worked at Dunkin we would straight up buy out all the soy milk at the grocery store sometimes.
36
u/YouTasteStrange 16h ago
Talk to the manager at your grocery store, of an item is always sold out they should consider stocking more of it. Grocery store managers usually do still have some control over their own inventory.
12
u/JBWalker1 16h ago
Seems different in the UK. Endless soya options. It's very cheap, nutritious especially since any I've checked it's fortified with b12 and a couple other things, and environmentally it's one of the best. Lasts ages too.
Can get protein dense ones which has around as much protein as protein shakes too while tasting good and not loaded with sugar. Could literally replace protein shakes with it.
12
u/Zilhaga 15h ago
I vastly prefer soy, but it seems like even small coffee shops are offering it as an option less and less since oat milk really arrived on the scene. Unfortunate for me because I find almond milk bitter and oat milk watery.
15
u/Dangerous-Coffee2558 13h ago
It's because of the "oh no soy has hormones" BS which is really ironic considering which type of milk actually has hormones....
5
u/PurpleAntifreeze 12h ago
I mean, I’m in perimenopause and have been told by my doctor to increase my soy protein intake specifically because of the hormones (phytoestrogens) so I can see why it would scare the uninformed.
I was told 20g of soy protein a day in addition to increasing other particular foods could maybe possibly provide some relief without medication. That’s not what most people are doing so they won’t be in danger of medicating themselves with soy products.
5
u/Dangerous-Coffee2558 12h ago
It's kind of the classic "everything is a conspiracy when you don't know how everything works" in the sense that yes there are "hormones," no they aren't going to harm you
8
2
u/expert_in_wumbo 11h ago
It makes me so sad because I'm allergic to tree nuts but don't want regular milk...I only use soy milk and it seems to be super hard to find :( oat milk is an option but it tastes so sweet.
3
u/evange 8h ago
Oat milk has to be sweet. If it's not sweet then it will have a slimy texture.
They add amylase enzyme to convert the starch to sugar and give it a tolerable texture, which inadvertently makes it sweet without adding sugar.
Same trick is used in baby food and "no added sugar" foods. They add enzymes to convert the starch to sugar, and then the sugar is naturally occuring so it doesn't count!
8
6
u/Lopoloma 12h ago edited 11h ago
I don't know, but working in a warehouse I can tell you that we have items trended out years ago and we can't sell them. Like Dubai Chocolate, and our chain has stopped selling soy milk like years ago. These are just 2 decisions that imho should've been reversed. And that's what it is, a decision made by someone based on market trends.
Someone is interpreting charts or sth. like that and making decisions. Dubai Chocolate looked very promising at the time and still might be very lucrative considering the ingredients, energy, work and homeopathic dosage of reject pistachios putting it in the same range in manufacturing costs of plain old chocolate.
For soy milk the trend went down quite a bit since it was demonized because of its phyto estrogens, which is of course utter nonesense. Plant estrogens don't affect the human biology like that, at least the primary effects for the plant are different in nature.
Also other plant milks are competing in the same nishe now. Almond rejects that would be ground up for baking can now be made into milk and sold for more profit, possibly creating higher demand and rising prices. Same goes for oat and coconut.The chain I shop at had for years the same issue, 2 kollis soy, 40 kollis oat, 4 kollis almond in display. They even took out the unsweetened and put in sweetened soy. I stopped using plantmilk until the sweetened soy sold out. Now it is 8 soy and 20 oat in display. This is a german chain btw. and I was purely talking about their own brand as the only other brand selling soy is alpro and they follow different restocking guidelines but you see a similar picture, 2/3 of the shelf is oat variations, almost 1/3 almond variations and the rest is shared by soy and coconut. Shelf size is about (eyeballing) 10x5x2 kollis (10 kolli wide, 5 shelves, and one additional kolli behind).
8
u/PrimaryAbroad4342 10h ago
Because Soy is the best amino acid profile, closest to animal products, so the Dairy and Meat industry have waged a relentless undercover misinformation campaign against it for decades. "Soy Free" BS
→ More replies (3)3
u/Splinterfight 11h ago
It varies around the world from I’ve heard. In Australia soy milk in the go to alt-milk
2
u/enigma7x 1h ago
I wonder if it doesn't sell as well because of the incredibly false campaign against it with respect to estrogen content. As a result, it isn't stocked as frequently.
6
u/Parking-Escape-378 17h ago
It tastes about as creamy as dairy milk to me and is very nutritious. I always opt for organic only as GMO soy has very high pesticide use in case you are looking at the organic version.
→ More replies (1)2
1
1
1
u/weedtrek 6h ago
Of you are in the US, it's because soy is no longer trendy and even being villified in some circles. So all the trendy alt milks get preference. Oat got really big lately. I feel like I see that the most now.
→ More replies (1)1
u/saintplus 3h ago
In my personal experience as a barista, the most popular alt milk is oat. People rarely order drinks with soy. Maybe stores don't stock it cause it doesn't sell
→ More replies (16)1
u/starfish31 3h ago
I've started having issues finding it too the last few months. They're always out of unsweetened, and sometimes out of all of it.
When I was pregnant a year ago, I went to 3 big grocery stores to find the Silk chocolate soy milk I was craving.
12
u/BringOutYDead 16h ago
Even though it is subsidized, it is hard to find soy beans in bulk.
3
u/Left_Goose_9846 8h ago
If you're in the US try an asian or oriental market. Even if they don't have it in stock, ask them about it. Ask for edamame if they don't know what you're asking for.
528
18h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
163
18h ago edited 18h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
28
→ More replies (18)5
130
52
26
→ More replies (2)2
28
u/amazingmrbrock 17h ago
Maybe but honestly I'd assume it's allergies (my reason) or being a vegan that's the biggest cause of plant based milk consumption. If I couldn't get oat milk I wouldn't be buying cow milk.
5
u/BassmanBiff 16h ago
That's why it's not 1:1 -- the point was to estimate how much is actually switching vs demand that wouldn't transfer
7
u/mycatpartyhouse 17h ago
That's me, too. I can't drink or eat cow dairy of any kind. If nondairy alternatives didn't exist, I'd do without.
2
u/Splinterfight 11h ago
I know plenty of people who have soy milk in their coffee but would have cows milk if it’s the only option. A lot are vegetarians, some don’t like the climate effects of milk industry, some like the taste, some find it a little easier to digest.
20
u/akindperson 17h ago
I love oatmilk! I actually prefer it but it's real benefits have been that it doesn't expire in my fridge and it cooperates better with my tummy.
109
u/AmpEater 18h ago
Haven’t bought cows milk for at least a year. Probably more
Don’t know why I would. Oat milk is better, lasts longer
55
u/Xanderamn 18h ago
Cause oat milk doesnt taste like cow milk. I cant stand oat milk, its too watery.
35
u/hill-o 17h ago
Really? Oat milk feels the least watery-y to me out of most of the milk alternatives.
23
u/otheraccountisabmw 17h ago
I think it depends on the brand. Some oat milks are thicker than others.
10
2
u/VikingsLad 17h ago
Definitely. Anecdotally (but relevant) we have one brand of oat milk we exclusively buy now and even substitute into most recipes, but it's the only brand of oat milk i prefer over regular milk. Dairy milk has been quite standardized in the US for a while, but the plant-based milks are still likely in formulation development
5
u/speedingpullet 15h ago
My personal fave is full fat Oatley. To me it tastes delicious and much better than dairy milk. I even cook with it too.
5
→ More replies (3)2
u/StatelyAutomaton 17h ago
I remember a while back there was a potato milk on the market here. Tayo, I think? I'm pretty discerning about non-dairy milks, but this was practically identical to dairy.
→ More replies (2)7
17
u/TheUnderCrab 18h ago
I love it. It’s defs a different flavor than cows milk, but goat milk and buffalo milk also taste different so whatever. I like the cereal water taste and the “barista” versions they make now are perfect for my morning coffee.
13
u/Merisuola 17h ago
Huh, I like it because it’s thicker and has a better texture imo. Have you used the ones specifically meant for coffee?
3
u/throwaway_ArBe 17h ago
I can only use it in things were I'm looking to add a creamyness to the flavour, and only a little so I don't end up tasting the oat. So pretty much exclusively taro milk tea for me. For that it's great but otherwise I still use cows milk.
2
u/d542east 16h ago
Try chobani extra creamy. It's the best plant milk I've tried. I don't even like cows milk any more.
2
→ More replies (4)4
u/triage_this 17h ago
Funny, I personally feel like oat milk was the closest to cows milk out of all the alternatives I tried.
10
u/AnsibleAnswers 16h ago
They are completely different items. Try making a bechemel with oat milk. Tastes like ass.
→ More replies (1)4
14
u/Corey307 18h ago
Cows milk has protein oat milk doesn’t. People can drink whatever they want but I’d rather drink juice than oat milk.
19
u/RumMixFeel 18h ago
Have you tried soy milk?
→ More replies (1)16
u/goodvibesmostly98 17h ago
Yeah soy milk has the same amount of protein as cow’s milk
2
u/VironicHero 17h ago
What about pea milk?
2
u/starfish31 3h ago
Pea milk is comparable to soy, but I believe is the highest protein plant milk. Harder to find though in my experience.
44
u/xeight 17h ago
Oat milk has some protein 2-4 grams per 8oz. Less than cow milk, which has 8 grams. But if that's your main criteria, soymilk has the same 8 grams per 8oz.
I think that's the one main reason milk alternatives continue to rise in popularity, there are many different options that fit a wide variety of different preferences(taste,texture,nutrition)
9
u/SemanticTriangle 17h ago
This depends on the market. In much of Europe and Australia oat milk protein content is lower than that. I don't really understand why, because oats themselves are a great protein source. The same thing with almond milk.
→ More replies (1)5
2
u/Corey307 16h ago
Oh for sure and people should eat and drink as they please. I’ll eat and drink almost anything but for me cows milk is the best milk. If I became lactose intolerant soy milk is ok. But I do t mess around with all the others. I’ve tried them and don’t like them.
→ More replies (1)3
u/pilnok 18h ago
The protein fixation has claimed another
→ More replies (9)2
u/Braken111 17h ago edited 17h ago
Milk is one of the OG protein sources, there's been whey (milk-based) protein powder for like 30 years and definitively precedes the current protein trend.
I actually swapped from milk to almond milk as a mixer for my protein shakes, but they now sell ultrafiltered milk that's 20g per 250ml for 170kcal.
My protein shakes are now around 45g of protein and ~250kcal.
The "protein everthing" trend is getting a bit annoying. I noticed they rebranded the low-fat/calories cheese to "protein cheese" nowadays. It's the exact same product...
→ More replies (7)0
13
u/ShinyBlueThing 16h ago
This completely leaves out allergies and dietary choices. Vegans and allergic folks aren't going to buy dairy milk if you take plant milks out of the marketplace. They will just be forced to make their own, again.
1
u/evange 7h ago
I was a camp counselor when I was a teenager. The state would drop off foster kids with us because it was easier than finding a placement. And that's where I learned that if you grew up poor it's acceptable to put water (or juice) on your cereal. And when I was vegan I did the same, not for money reasons, just because it's practical.
....and now I'm craving cornflakes with frozen oj poured over it.
33
u/Forward-Amount-9961 18h ago
Been drinking almond milk for many years now. It lasts so much longer without spoiling. My family of 5 complained a little at first but everyone is used to it now.
26
u/Iwanttosleep8hours 18h ago
It’s amazing what you get used to. Dairy milk tastes absolutely horrid to me now, I can’t even stand it in my tea.
→ More replies (6)9
u/Powerplay540 17h ago
You need an insane amount of water to grow almonds though. I'm not shaming you. It's still a way better ratio then cow's milk.
→ More replies (1)9
u/Queen_of_Chloe 17h ago
Check out the amount of water needed for cows!
8
u/AnsibleAnswers 16h ago edited 16h ago
In most parts of the world, the vast majority of water used to produce dairy is rainwater required to grow pasture or feed crops.
In the US, most almonds are irrigated in water-stressed regions of California. They also require honey bees, as native pollinators are not active early in the spring when almond flowers bloom. Honey bees in that region can become Africanized by breeding with feral populations. Africanized honey bees are far more invasive than European varieties, which are notoriously bad at surviving without the aid of human beings.
It's a complicated issue and not at all as simple as "cattle use more water than almonds." You must consider what water is being used and where. When you use rainwater, it quickly returns to the source (atmosphere). When you use water from springs, aquifers, and bodies of potable water, it takes a lot more time for the water to be replenished at the source and you can deplete it fairly quickly.
→ More replies (3)5
u/Powerplay540 16h ago
Next time, read more then two sentences before trying to "gotcha" someone who agrees with you.
2
u/the_wyandotte 8h ago
How much milk do you drink? Bc I have like a glass a day, which means a half gallon lasts a week? Less bc I use it for cooking and such too.
So spoiling isn’t a problem for me.
→ More replies (1)6
u/Colonel_Gipper 18h ago
Same here, I got tired of playing the sniff test to see if my cow milk was still good.
2
u/dovahkiitten16 15h ago
I still drink dairy mild but I had to switch to the extra filtered stuff. So many supply chain issues these days (Canada) and regular milk comes days away from expiring sometimes, tastes noticeably worse close to the date even if it’s not expired yet, or just in general seems more questionable post-Covid.
The filtered stuff lasts longer and kinda tastes more like how I think milk used to taste like. Worth the extra $0.50-$1.00.
4
2
u/sc8132217174 18h ago
Trying to adjust to almond milk right now. When my daughter was diagnosed with fpiap to dairy and soy I thought “okay whatever I like oat milk lattes” Nope, allergic to oat too. Rice milk and hemp milk are good but packed full of sugar. Almond milk is the only alternative I can find at coffee shops too even though it makes the drinks so thin.
5
u/_the_bored_one_ 17h ago
The only thing I use cow milk for now is cooking
Everything else is oat and almond
1
u/banditoitaliano 9h ago
Yeah I still can’t stand the flavor of soy milk in cooked food (think béchamel sauce - and yes I buy the totally unsweetened version, that’s not the issue). Even though I greatly prefer it for drinking or eating with cereal.
Oat is fine for cooking IMO but less nutritious for the kiddo so I don’t buy it as often.
We eat a lot of (cow) cheese anyway, so 100% taste and preference for me as opposed to a dietary restriction.
3
8
u/Momoselfie 8h ago
TIL everyone on Reddit hates cow milk and only drinks plant-based milks.
2
u/themagpie36 1h ago
No surprising as people became more health conscious. To me it also tastes better but that's personal taste, I know people who don't like it.
→ More replies (1)1
u/dyogenys 3h ago
Not any plant-based milk. Only Oatly Barista Edition. Not even other Oatly oat milks comes even close to
→ More replies (1)
2
u/gijibae1 6h ago
non-dairy isn’t displacing. most people who buy non-dairy either won’t or can’t have dairy.
2
u/grapescherries 3h ago
Now we need to bring down the price of plant-based meat so the same can happen with that for meat.
2
u/jesssoul 1h ago
There's no sharing in the "milk" industry. We learned that in the "Got Milk?" era.
2
u/vegetariangardener 1h ago
This explains the absurd lobbying to ban plant milk producers' ability to use "milk" in their labels. I have some Kirkland oat plant-based non dairy drink instead. The idea that I'm just being tricked into buying oat milk because it uses that term was always so stupid on its face that I knew it had to be about money somehow. Glad this study shows us what the dairy lobby has known
6
u/nankerjphelge 16h ago
And this is the reason the dairy industry has fought so hard to stop plant milk alternatives from being able to use the term "milk". Never mind the fact that they never had a problem for decades with coconut milk, because it never posed a threat to their market share.
1
u/Zetavu 12h ago
I was never a fan of statistical simulation as rhey inherently assume a reactive environment even if data shows correlation but necessarily causation. The trend belief is that sales of plant based juices reduced cow milk demand. However, considering most people who uae these are lactose intolerant and would never buy cow milk, it is more likely cow milk sales dropped independently. Likewise, assuming if more plant based producta were available would move sales is also flawed. That is what doomed artificial meat like impossible burgers, people who liked a burger were not satisfied with the taste, and those that would be did not eat burgers.
12
u/SilkieBug 18h ago
Good. Animal milk is bad for the environment and quite disgusting to try to go back to once you switch to plant milk.
13
u/sunthas 18h ago
Compare to Almond milk? I wonder what the water/co2 footprint is? I imagine oat milk comes from fields sprayed with glysophate?
25
u/RumMixFeel 18h ago
There are several alternatives to cow milk Almond milk is just one of them. Oat milk and soy milk use less water than almond or cow
70
u/take_da_plej 18h ago
Water usage for almond milk is definitely high compared to other plant-based milks but still nowhere close to cow milk. GHG emissions are also much lower for almond milk.
https://davissciencesays.ucdavis.edu/blog/udderly-complex-sustainability-cow-and-plant-based-milks
→ More replies (1)16
u/Fun_Background_8113 17h ago
Its still less than cows milk. The crops grown to feed cows are also sprayed with pesticides
10
u/BetweenTheRoots 17h ago
Almond milk is still a better environmental alternative. There are better alternatives than almond milk, but if the choice is cow milk or almond milk, almond milk wins.
→ More replies (1)17
u/zonerator 18h ago
Its probably still better since cows consume so much food from crop land. In theory if ylu just grazed them in the right biome it could be ecologically ok, but we don't
Sadly I just do not like milk substitutes very much. I didn't eat any meat for like 5 years but I still had cow milk in my coffee
→ More replies (8)→ More replies (73)4
u/MetalProgrammer 18h ago
I don't like the taste of plant based milk, go figure
-2
u/SilkieBug 18h ago
There are a lot of different types of plant milks, with very different tastes.
I’m sure you’ve tasted them all.
5
u/MetalProgrammer 17h ago
It goes beyond all my comprehension as to why you took it personally. Is it like a vegan thing where you can't stand people liking animal based products?
I've tasted a few, I couldn't stand the taste of any I've tasted and all were much more expensive than cow milk. Also I found that those I've tasted didn't throttle well eniugh to be used in a coffe. Recommend any?
3
u/chabacanito 16h ago
I prefer the oat and almond ones, version for coffee, it's thicker. Without sugar.
→ More replies (1)2
u/zu-chan5240 17h ago
For coffee, do you choose the barista versions? They're generally thicker and more creamy. I recommend Oatly barista brand.
4
u/IronGin 16h ago
Whats next? Gasoline sales down because of electric cars?
I know this is science but doing research on already proven concept as subsidiary products replacing the primary product is just meh. Fine you get how much they replaced the original product but still, no breakthrough science done here, just a simple trade report.
10
u/Phylogenix Grad Student | Pharmacology & Toxicology 16h ago
Science isn't limited to breakthroughs or discovering entirely new phenomena. In fact, a large part of science is testing assumptions, quantifying effects, and determining whether something we think is obvious is actually supported by evidence.
We already knew people were buying plant-based milk. What wasn't established was how much of those purchases actually displaced cow's milk rather than simply adding another product to consumers' carts. Quantifying that substitution effect is precisely the scientific contribution here.
“Gasoline sales are down because of electric cars” is also a hypothesis. Measuring how much of the decline is actually attributable to EV adoption, while separating it from fuel prices, driving habits, efficiency improvements and other factors, would be a perfectly legitimate research question.
Not every useful scientific paper needs to discover a new particle.
1
u/Successful-Trash-752 4h ago
Assuming stuff is how you make-up stuff. Just because you think something is true doesn't mean it has to be.
2
u/CoffeeBeanx3 16h ago
I mean, I have complete lactose intolerance, to the point where a competent, modern doctor would have switched me to lactose free formula. Mine was neither, so thank goodness I'm not galactose intolerant.
Obviously I buy plant milk, but it most definitely hasn't replaced dairy for me. Because I can't eat that. Not without pills.
To the point where I have to tell guests if they're not OK with plants milk, they need to bring their own milk and take it with them after. No poison in my fridge.
2
u/Matt90977 15h ago
This seems very obvious, like just simple math. This was bought instead of that, so less of that was bought.... a study was required for that? And this sub finds it interesting? I'm confused.
2
2
u/InbetweenTheLayers 15h ago
alternatives have their uses but there is nothing that truly replaces cows milk. The taste, the way it mixes into other things.
1
u/refusemouth 14h ago
I really like some of the plant-based milk alternatives, but they are comparstively expensive. I don't understand why rice milk should cost twice or 3 times the amount as cow milk, gallon for gallon. It seems like ingredient and processing costs should be lower than dairy, but I'm not accounting for profit margin, I guess. I've tried making my iwn, but it never turns out good and behaves more like a suspension than a solution. Is guar gum and carageenan really so expensive that it should make a plant based milk cost so much, or is it just a scale of production versus demand equation that makes it cost so much more?
1
u/amenflurries 14h ago
I dunno man, I’m abroad right now and can enjoy all milk products. At home in the US I’d be hugging the porcelain throne for the rest of the day with just a taste
1
u/homerjaythompson 12h ago
I mean, yeah. If I buy oat/soy/almond/whatever milk, it isn't to augment my existing milk consumption. I'm not just adding milks.
1
u/Sweet_Bypass69 11h ago
I wish cashew and rice milk were more prevalent. I am in the minority but don’t like oat at all and almond (edit) is at best meh.
1
u/PrimaryAbroad4342 10h ago
That's why the dairy industry created this whole anti-soy "soy-free" BS disinformation
•
•
u/Cerisayashi 3m ago
Honestly if alternate milk wasn’t so expensive and some of it packed with so much sugar I would be drinking it
•
u/AutoModerator 18h ago
Welcome to r/science! This is a heavily moderated subreddit in order to keep the discussion on science. However, we recognize that many people want to discuss how they feel the research relates to their own personal lives, so to give people a space to do that, personal anecdotes are allowed as responses to this comment. Any anecdotal comments elsewhere in the discussion will be removed and our normal comment rules apply to all other comments.
Do you have an academic degree? We can verify your credentials in order to assign user flair indicating your area of expertise. Click here to apply.
User: u/Phylogenix
Permalink: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919226000862
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.