National Dairy and Dairy Alternative Month: The gap between vegetarian and vegan

[Guest guest]

June is National Dairy Month, but to a vegan, dairy as a food is not always

something to celebrate.

 

Some people say that milk is a completely natural food for humans, and that it

is a natural by-product that comes from cows. Some people even think that cows

need to be milked for their own health. Something about " milk poisoning " , among

other silly reasons I've heard. However, cow's milk is not natural for humans to

drink, nor for any other animal aside from its own offspring, and it is usually

not a natural process when the cows produce it for us.

 

The fact is that the dairy industry is a business, as is any other farm. In

order to supply the milk, farmers impregnate cows so they lactate. Just like

humans, cows need to be pregnant to produce milk. With billions of `farmed' cows

in the world, there is no way those cows can be impregnated naturally by a bull

at the same time and ready to produce milk. From this you can surmise for

yourself that farmers must artificially inseminate cows so they can secrete that

creamy fluid you use for your coffee and cereal. The thing that got me was when

someone called it " pus " and I could never envision myself drinking it again.

Even organic and family farmed milk has this downside.

 

These facts are necessary to know for those vegetarians who say they " could not

live without cheese " , or people like me, who used to have a long-term

relationship with ice cream. There are so many options available, it is hard to

remember what my life was like when I was eating dairy. Soy milk, rice milk and

almond milk satisfy my cookies and milk cravings and go great in cereal. There

are many soy cheeses, rice cheeses and almond cheese options that melt and taste

just like cow's milk cheese. There is even margarine, cream cheese and ice cream

that is non-dairy!

 

My favorite non-dairy milks:

 

Kikkoman Pearl (even available in green tea flavor!)

 

 

 

Westsoy (creamy like real milk)

 

My favorite non-dairy cheeses:

 

nutritional yeast (tastes like cheese, strangely enough)

 

Tofutti for cream cheese

 

Rice slices

 

My favorite non-dairy yogurt:

 

Whole Soy & Co.

 

My favorite non-dairy ice cream:

 

Soy delicious- fruit-sweetened and a lot less calories than regular ice cream.

 

 

 

 

 

As for the calcium, amino acids and vitamins A and D found in milk, you can get

all of them from plant sources. Fact.

 

My personal dairy story: I was vegetarian for about two years before becoming

vegan, only giving up meat because of the literal connection to animal flesh and

because I wanted to lose weight. When I went on a diet, it was because I felt

unhealthy on my omnivorous diet. I never expected to be launched into the

super-health-food land of veganism. I still ate yogurt, cheese and ice cream. Oh

man, do I love ice cream!

 

Then I became lactose intolerant, and the condition got steadily worse over the

next year. Little did I know that at the time my yearning for ice cream would

fade, to be replaced with alternatives made from plants that tasted even better

than the original! I think I was cosmically inclined to become vegan. It is not

just the fact that I get nauseous when eating dairy. If I were completely

tolerant of lactose I now realize that dairy is just as unnecessary and as

harmful as meat.

 

What vegans are asking: that you consider the possibility of including less

animal products in the average American diet and remain open to change. Even if

you accuse these facts of being wrong, it is always necessary to question your

surroundings and follow your heart when it comes to what you put in your belly.

 

 

 

For more info: The IFDA (International Dairy Foods Association) for one side...

on the importance of milk.

The um, extreme, other side, Notmilk.com

Non-dairy substitutes

 

Author: Sara Jelley