(yes, it even uses less water in water-scarce places)
Not to rain on the parade, but plant milks are astronomically expensive compared to dairy milk. Plant milks need to become way cheaper than currently 5x the cost for me in India. There is only import, no local making.
What a scam. Here in Germany it’s more expensive but not by much
The one I am tasting right now, is a Thailand import. Oat milk is absolutely the closest of plant milks to replicate milk taste, and I can see why the only difference is due to lactose. Mixing a couple teaspoons of powdered sugar makes it sweet fantastic, and the only issue I see is cost.
It’s generally assumed that oat milk will easily become cheaper than cow milk when mass production takes off. It requires fewer resources (no cows consuming energy) and the process is easy to automate.
But yeah, for now, lactose-intolerant and vegan folks need to pay high prices to kickstart that…I would also argue about oat protein not being as bioavailable as 4 parts whey 1 part casein protein exists in dairy milk. Casein and whey are twice as bioavailable as plant proteins, which brings in the requirement of pairing up a protein rich meal.
Interestingly enough, there are now non-animal whey milks out there (made via fermentation). It’s worth noting that protein bioavailable numbers are pretty misleading because the way they are done overvalues the availability of animal products and undervalues it for plant-based foods
While multiple strengths characterize the DIAAS, substantial limitations remain, many of which are accentuated in the context of a plant-based dietary pattern. Some of these limitations include a failure to translate differences in nitrogen-to-protein conversion factors between plant- and animal-based foods, limited representation of commonly consumed plant-based foods within the scoring framework, inadequate recognition of the increased digestibility of commonly consumed heat-treated and processed plant-based foods, its formulation centered on fast-growing animal models rather than humans, and a focus on individual isolated foods vs the food matrix. The DIAAS is also increasingly being used out of context where its application could produce erroneous results such as exercise settings. When investigating protein quality, particularly in a plant-based dietary context, the DIAAS should ideally be avoided.
(emphasis mine)
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13668-020-00348-8.pdf
I would prefer going through the study instead of taking the summary at face value. The study is heavily paywalled, and I will retain the findings of DIAAS and PDCAAS being relevant in case of plant proteins.
To make them cheap, make it yourself.
Making oat milk is a really simple process & to make it more like commercially available products, you can add various other ingredients such as xanthan gum to bind it as well as various things for flavour such as a small amount of cinnamon.
Nobody has the time to do that. I am not going to put that much work (and that is not laziness) in manually making oat milk when I have a million other things to think, manage and do. This mindset will absolutely never help adoption of more vegan practices. I am all for inching towards less meat/animal related foods but it has to be viable, optimal and must not be a nutritional compromise (protein combining with one compact meal is fair).
Nobody has the time to do that.
Plant milks need to become way cheaper than currently 5x the cost for me in India.
So you have 3 choices there:
- Examine your time management as you will have time that youre actually just procrastinating or pursuing bullshit that doesnt really matter as much as you think. (Dont lie - Very few people actually dont).
It takes 10 minutes to make a batch. Less time than will take you to walk to a shop (see here for a simple recipe/process: https://minimalistbaker.com/make-oat-milk/ )
-
Pay 5x the cost for plant based products - is your time really worth that much in exchange for the convenience?
-
Keep drinking disgusting cows milk.
Keep drinking disgusting cows milk.
These are the kind of reasons why vegans will never be able to convince people. Go on. That advocacy is surely working.
It’s literally putting stuff in a blender and then straining. with your reasoning, why even bother baking or cooking?
Because I do not want to cook up another thing besides my meals? Because I want to put my brain towards other things?
That surprises me, since I’m told (a large part of) India deems cows holy and over here, the cheapest milk is from cows kept under inhumane conditions…
Cows are also kept under “humane” conditions. Amul is the largest dairy of Asia and the second largest behind Danone globally, and they are a socialist cooperative of women.
