Plant-Based Alternatives to Animal Products / Transition to a Plant-Based Diet

Plant-Based Milk Alternatives

by Jennie Richards · Published December 20, 2018 · Updated July 7, 2021

Plant-Based Milk Alternatives

Today there are many healthy plant-based milk alternatives to cows’ milk including nut, seed, grain, soy, hemp and rice milk. These milk alternatives offer a much healthier, environmentally sustainable option without hurting animals. There are also many important reasons to consider not drinking conventional cows’ milk, including:

Antibiotics and painkillers routinely fed to cows, causing antibiotic resistance in humans.
Cows’ milk is high in saturated fat and cholesterol, two major contributors to heart disease and chronic diseases.
Environmental externalities of water, waste and air pollution and animal agriculture is now considered one of the largest contributors to climate change.
Significant, sustained cruelty and the inhumane treatment of cows on industrial factory farms (85% of all milk produced in U.S.).
Cows being forced to be chronically pregnant their entire lives to produce milk for humans.
Baby calves are taken from their mothers almost immediately after they are born, causing extreme grief, depression and enormous suffering for the mother and calf for days.
Male calves are either slaughtered at birth or forced into becoming a calf for veal meat, and confined to living in a tiny crate where they are chained and cannot move; are fed a drug-laced liquid diet unnatural to them (are never allowed their mother’s milk); and have chronic diarrhea from eating a liquid diet through their 7-8 month lifespan until they are slaughtered.
Numerous scientific research studies prove a strong link between consuming cows’ milk and dairy products and several reproductive cancers including breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, as well as colon cancer (linked to casein protein from cows’ milk).
Scientific research proving the link between dairy consumption and higher bone fractures; the higher the rate of animal protein/dairy the higher the risk of bone fractures.
Scientific research proving the link between higher calcium intake through dairy consumption and a higher rate of osteoporosis (exactly the opposite of what the dairy industry states).
Scientific research linking dairy consumption and Type 2 Diabetes.
Scientific research linking dairy milk consumption with prostate cancer (The China Study).
Scientific research linking dairy protein as the #1 cause of autoimmune disorders (rheumatoid arthritis, lupis and multiple sclerosis) and the #1 cause of food allergies.
Medical and scientific research linking consumption of dairy milk and dairy products with migraines, arthritis and digestion problems.
Cows’ milk is meant only for baby calves and their development — not for humans or for any other species.

Medical health professionals tout plant milks as being much better for good heart health, plus they actually reduce the risk of heart disease, without all the cholesterol and saturated fat found in cows’ milk. Most medical professionals agree the nutrients found in plants work to actually prevent cancer and chronic diseases, and the nutrients found in animal protein work to promote cancer cell growth. A plant-based diet is lower in fat and higher in fiber and is associated with a lower risk of cancer.

Many of these plant-based milks add calcium and vitamin D, often less than or equivalent to the calcium occurring in cows’ milk. Some of the plant-based milks are lower in calories–almond milk is actually half the number of calories as in cows’ milk. Although sugar is sometimes added to these milks, you can choose the unsweetened varieties that have no sugar added. Many of the plant-based milks have less protein than cows’ milk, but both soy and hemp milks offer about the same or more protein as well as complete proteins providing all nine essential amino acids.

There are non-dairy creamers as well for coffee with significantly less fat and cholesterol. There are many great recipes for making your own plant-based milk using raw cashews, peanuts, almonds, seeds, coconut or a combination of these, a sweetener and water, in a blender.