Down with Dairy!

Dairy is Dead! Well not yet anyway. The word is out about dairy, its unhealthy and more people are realizing they are lactose intolerant. Consumers are looking for alternatives and this brings many to plant based milk products and other non dairy food alternatives.

The most popular are soya and almond milk but there is a wide range of other plant based milks available based in rice, oat, coconut and more. The rise in popularity of these plant based alternatives is taking up a portion of the dairy industry and many traditional dairy farmers are up in arms about it. dairy farmers are fearful of the competition as they have become accustomed to managing this sector of the food industry. So what have the dairy farmers decided to do about it? They are lobbying to maintain full control of all marketable terms relating to dairy such as milk, butter, cream, etc. Dairy farmers are demanding the FDA reaffirm their definition of dairy products and enforce it. Dairy farmers claim that the use of these terms when marketing plant based dairy alternatives amounts to false advertising. They claim that consumers are being deceived into purchasing products that they are not aware of.

In defense of their product plant based dairy producers claim that they make no use of false advertising in marketing their products. They clearly mark their products with images of almonds, soya beans etc. Even writing on the packages what these products are made from. What is more there are many other products that make use of these dairy names without incident. Will items like milk of magnesia, cocoa butter, cream of wheat and peanut butter have to change their names as well? Despite this conflict plant based dairy alternatives continue to grow in popularity and are still using the dairy names. Though this argument is ongoing.

What's more, profits from dairy farms are starting to fall. This is due in part to a negative health perception about traditional dairy. As stated before more people are having digestive distress caused by dairy. Now people who are more health conscious are realizing that milk contains saturated fat and has been linked to cardiovascular disease, and cancer risk.

In another fascinating case long time dairy farm Elmhurst Dairy has struggled in recent years to maintain their business producing milk. The expense of dairy can be quite high and costs continue to rise considering economic issues and the cost of fuel. Elmhurst was on the verge of shutting down all together but then they decided to change their business model and reemerged as a plant based dairy company. Now their business is thriving. After 92 years of traditional dairy production, Elmhurst Dairy CEO Henry Schwartz felt this new model was looking toward the future. They now have a wide range of different plant milks made from nuts and grains some varieties in chocolate. In fact the people at Elmhurst have fully embraced the plant milks by creating a patented technology. They claim this process they have created will allow them to fully harness the nutrition and flavor of nuts without the need for stabilizers or additives.

Consumer habits, the concerns of dairy farmers and the huge transformation of Elmhurst as a company are a testament to the rise of these non dairy alternatives and by extension vegan nutrition as a whole. Remember you can also make plant based milks yourself from scratch easily. Read all about it >>Here.

http://bit.ly/down-dairy1