Plant-based milks on the rise

I came across this article and thought some here might like to see it,

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Ive just ditched milk altogether, when i found out that in the uk a litre of milk can have up to 400,000,000 somatic cells (pus cells) before it is considered unfit for people to drink.

https://dairy.ahdb.org.uk/technical-information/animal-health-welfare/mastitis/symptoms-of-mastitis/somatic-cell-count-milk-quality-indicator/#.WS1AD8kkruQ

Hi Matt

The UK herd quality has deteriorated sharply but the research is also based on raw milk samples. In the last KPI review in 2018 - 14% of the samples were deemed to be high and 9% unfit. The median was 178,000 while the industry target is 142.

That 9% is never supposed to make it to market but you have to wonder. All that being said – this isn’t a new thing and milk has always had it in higher quantities. Somatic cells is an umbrella term than can also be many things - from bacteria to just leukocytes. There is no division of this in the testing results, so it is quite a grey area.

If you want to be really freaked out you should check out what’s in your tap water….

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The median was 178,000 while the industry target is 142.

Do you mean 142,000 - or is the industry just that far off their target?

haha, i know a lot about the water industry and i’m weirdly ok with it. I only ever had milk in coffee before so it wasn’t really a big thing to cut out. Especially since that’s where all the calories in my coffee came from,

Yes 142,000

Hardest job in the world is milking almonds though. Their teats are tiny.

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@Phil_C

Could you explain briefly whats in the tap water? I know the basic, but you both seem to know this topic

I heard that steaks have quite a lot of cow in them too, but then that is why I eat them :wink:

I wondered why my steak kept burping…

I exclusively drink Oatly now. :smiley:

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So will I once I finish off my stock of Alpro almond

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Yeah me too. I only really use plant milk for coffee or HueI and Oatly is by far the best for both those.
Very occasionally I like hot chocolate and Oatly isn’t great for that, but neither is alpro.
Alpro is great on cornflakes but now I have huel for breakfast, I’ve not bought cereal in years

and probably some horse.

For the Oatly fans.

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Surprisingly difficult to find a good comparison on the key areas like emissions and water use. This was the only one I’ve found:

It seems Alpro almond milk isn’t quite as bad as some other brands as all their almonds are sourced from the Mediterranean rather than California so not contributing to the drought problem there and lower carbon footprint as local sourcing means fewer food miles.

I’m torn to be honest. Selfishly I prefer the taste of almond milk and the fact it’s lower calorie. But the water usage is an issue. I might have to give the Alpro Oat milk a try, I think it’s lower calorie than Oatly.

You can make your own oat milk and use the oats for porridge or baking so there’s no waste. And not add oil to it (that’s where most of the calories come from in the Oatly).

I love making my own almond milk :yum:
I used to buy organic ethically sourced almonds in bulk. Not done so in years now. I used to put them in my porridge every morning. I’m now missing almonds… :roll_eyes:

Add as much cacao as you want as well, apparently…

I use Alpro almond milk mainly for the thickening effect of the extra gums. I have made my own almond milk in the past but it’s a bit of a faff.

Only reason I buy any variety of milk at all is to put in Huel. I don’t drink any hot drinks with milk - just black coffee. Don’t have breakfast so don’t use it in porridge or on cereal.
I also like the thickening effect of the gums in Alpro Almond milk. Plus the unsweetened version is ridiculously low calorie at 13 kcal per 100ml.

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