Is Dairy The Problem Or The Solution?

When did milk consumption begin? Evidence of human milk consumption has been found in both the continents of Europe and Africa. While estimates vary, it's clear that people have been drinking milk for at least a few thousand years. It’s been suggested that people in Kenya and Sudan were consuming milk at least 6,000 years ago.¹ Meanwhile, Smithsonian journalist Danny Lewis explains Europeans' ability to digest milk only began around 4,000 years ago.²

Over in Egypt, there's artwork on the tomb walls of Methethi that depicts an ancient Egyptian milking a cow, estimated around 2350 BC. Some research has led scientists to believe that humans were drinking milk long before their bodies could properly digest it, and there’s one common denominator that could be a determining factor–animal domestication. People who domesticated milk-producing animals were the groups who first began drinking animal milk. Still, there are a handful of theories that attempt to explain why humans started consuming cow milk in the first place.

With the domestication of livestock, farmers had a reliable source of food as opposed to hunting. Milk became a readily available ingredient, and more than likely naturally progressed into a common food item. Cow milk may have also been used when water wasn't clean enough to drink or to feed babies in the event the mother passed away. While there isn't one pinnacle explanation that exists, it's clear that milk has been a part of our history for generations.

Our Bodies And Lactose

The decline in dairy consumption can be attributed to factors like the popularity of veganism and the recognition that most humans are lactose intolerant. Lactose is a type of sugar, and dairy milk contains a lot of it. It is also the only carbohydrate found in milk.

When babies are born, they have the ability to make an enzyme called lactase, and this helps them digest the lactose found in their mother's milk. In most cases, once a child is weaned from breast milk, lactase is no longer produced. This also happens to many people, and it's why so many people have a hard time consuming milk or dairy products. Without active lactase, no living thing, animal or human, can drink milk. No other adult mammal species continues to produce lactase; humans are the only ones who have evolved to do so. Additionally, only about a third of the human population has the phenotype known as lactase persistence, meaning they have the enzymes to break down lactose. Even so, milk products are prevalent nearly everywhere.

‍

How The Industrial Revolution Transformed Milk

The milk sector experienced a significant shift as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Between the years of 1760 and 1840, the Industrial Revolution began in Britain and slowly made its way around the world. Several pivotal advancements in technology characterized this period, such as new inventions, sourcing power from coal and steam, and a move towards machine manufacturing. Cities grew significantly, factories developed, and workers' rights movements sprouted as more and more people went to work in those unregulated factories.

Before pasteurization, milk spoiled quickly and presented a certain level of danger when consumed, especially during the growth of populated cities, cows within city limits typically lived in unhealthy conditions. In the United States, without the clean water found in more rural areas, cows in cities were fed byproducts that caused illness.

Thomas Moore's invention of the first refrigeration device offered a way to solve milk's spoiling problem. He constructed the device in the early 1800s, just towards the close of the Industrial Revolution, and even invited Thomas Jefferson to see how his invention operated. Just sixty years later, pasteurization entered into the conversation and further changed the dairy industry.

The Non-Dairy Milk Boom

The trend of milk alternatives may feel new, but some non-dairy milks have been around for centuries. Almond milk, for example, first appeared in The Forme of Cury, a recipe book from the 14th century. Soy milk originated in China and is estimated to have been around since the beginning of the Qing dynasty in the mid-1600s.

Other non-dairy beverages are much more recent, like oat milk, which was invented in 1994 by Swedish brothers Rickard and Bjorn Oeste. Despite the fact that these alternative options have existed for decades, there has been a substantial spike in their popularity in recent years. The market intelligence agency, Mintel, found that non-dairy sales grew 61% between 2012 and 2017. At the time of the report, almond milk made up 64% of the market share, soy milk made up 13%, and coconut milk followed with 12%. There's also rice, hemp, banana, and cashew milk—to name a few more.

Non-dairy beverages give lactose intolerant and vegan consumers more options for their diet, and many of these milks are often incorporated into recipes where dairy milk is traditionally used. While some may opt for these alternatives because they're easier to digest, other consumers choose non-dairy milks because they believe them to be a healthier option overall.

However, there is still no definitive answer on whether cow milk or a milk alternative is the better choice for health. This is why it's important to pay attention to nutrition labels. They will often differ from brand to brand. When comparing the substitute milks against themselves, they do have varying levels of different nutrients. Soy milk has the most protein, coconut milk has the highest amount of fat, and oat milk is rich in carbohydrates. Cashew milk gets points for being one of the creamiest, which is why it's often used for non-dairy ice cream.

‍

The Downfalls Of Milk Alternatives

Because these milks are usually made by blending the main ingredient with water, there is concern about how much water is used in production. Almond milk, in particular, has the worst reputation when it comes to its water requirements. It's reported that it takes 1.1 gallons of water to grow a single almond. This is quite a contrast from the 144 gallons of water needed to produce a gallon of milk. Per liter, almond milk needs 17 times the amount of water in comparison to cow milk.

Nut milks and other substitutes appear to be a trend that's here to stay, and many companies have jumped on board. Profits are the main priority, and it comes at the expense of the environment. The demand for coconut milk has led to the expansion of palm forests, causing deforestation of the naturally growing trees and plants in Indonesia, India, and the Philippines. Because palm trees grow best in tropical locations, coconuts are mainly produced in these three countries and shipped across the world, and carbon emissions from these exports are unsurprisingly high.

Then there is rice milk, which produces the most greenhouse gasses of any non-dairy milk. Almond milk production also requires the work of bees to pollinate almond trees. Most almonds are grown in California, an already drought-ridden state and the need for pollination led to the death of 50 billion bees in just one winter alone. With that said, the most eco-friendly non-dairy milks are hazelnut, hemp, oat, and soy milk. Hazelnut trees can thrive off rainfall alone, hemp isolates carbon, and both soybeans and oats use little water.