No more almond milk!

[CTyankee]

https://pawszilla.com/lifestyle/food-and-drink/almond-milk-impact-environment/31/?l=a&utm_source=AOL.com&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Direct

I was considering switching to almond milk but just saw this article. It is serious stuff. I am mindful of what it costs us environmentally.

No to almond milk, I guess.

[KPN]

1. Good call -- imo. Here's a substitute that I've found to be even better: Oat Milk.

Try it, read up on it's history. Maybe there's a downside, but I haven't found it yet. Not that I'm looking.

PS -- Silk makes the best one. They call it "Oat Yeah". I really like the plain one -- no added flavor like vanilla. But all that I've tried have been good.

[jcgoldie]

2. try goat milk

I have 30 milking does and they are some of the most environmentally friendly livestock eating mostly weeds and leaving a very small footprint ...plus usually raised on small farms like mine humanely and ethically not in factory or feedlot conditions. Oh and its DELICIOUS!

[CTyankee]

4. Um, what becomes of their male calves?

I ask because I knew two women, very environmentally conscious, who became farmers and raised sheep and when they calved their milk was prized. However, their male calves became..."delicious" as they put it. Some folks were horrified...

[jcgoldie]

6. goats have kids not calves

I sell as many as I can as registered breeding bucks. The rest I sell after they are weaned. Yes most of them probably end up as meat, but people eat meat and they are raised and killed humanely and nt until they are probably at least a year old.

[CTyankee]

7. Of course! My bad! Kids (how did I not know that?)

I don't know these two women any more but my guess is that they did what you do with the males. I don't eat lamb but if I did I would certainly prefer the ones you raise.

[jcgoldie]

10. Well lambs are also not goats they are sheep lol

... but a lot of the goat meat market in the US is from people of various international ethnicities. I sell a lot to people of Mexican descent and to Muslims if I can't sell them as breeders. But just like the milk is much more environmentally friendly than cow milk so too is the meat than beef. I used to have cows... you can run 20 goats with less footprint on your land than a cow or 2.

[MoonRiver]

13. Ugh to everything you just posted.

I haven't eaten meat for 25 years.

[jcgoldie]

15. I guess you are aware that other people do

[MoonRiver]

17. Of course. Just speaking for myself. I am repulsed by the murder of animals.

[Doremus]

34. .

Me too.

[MoonRiver]

38. ...

[CTyankee]

16. I see that I must move to less agricultural subjects...

I beg your indulgence, jc. You have an entire world of knowledge here. My knowledge is informed by reading the back of a Ben and Jerry's ice cream carton.

I do, however, have a few ideas about art (which my head has been deeply in for the past several days -- that is, when it is not up my butt when I try to talk about something I know nothing about!)...right now, trying to delve into the interesting Renaissance art style of sacra conversazione...

[totodeinhere]

32. When I was a kid I lived in a semi-rural area and we kept a female goat for milk and

her mate was a pet. We would never think of slaughtering him. If you have room for them and have the ability to properly care for them goats make great pets. I don't remember how many offspring she had but we made sure to find good homes for them.

[procon]

9. I'll second that. I raised Nubians and La Mancha

dairy goats for over 30 years. Their milk is rich and creamy sweet. I kept a herd of 10-12 and showed at livestock fairs around Southern California. They are so smart and they all knew their names. Lots of work though, not just in the routine animal husbandry, but the milking and the by products I made like heavy cream, butter, and fresh cheese.

I had a small customer base that wanted organic milk. They wanted to see how my goats were raised, it was important to those families that the animals were kindly treated and cared for. Some had children, like my own nephew, who could not tolerate any other milk, but the small protein molecules in goats milk made them thrive.

Monday, Wednesday and Fridays they came with their mason jars to buy fresh milk, and egg cartons for my free range eggs. They always wanted to visit the goats and brought them treats and took pictures with their kids playing with my kids.

I still miss my goats and their funny personalities, the work... not so much.

[jcgoldie]

12. great!

My wife sells soap and I know the mason jar routine well since I cant bottle it or take it off the farm per Illinois law. Mostly though like you said you gotta love the little goatee personalities because you will never make much for all the labor involved trimming hooves, worming, milking, making hay, fencing and on and on... I have nubis also.

[H2O Man]

31. +1

[wcmagumba]

3. I always wonder how they find those...

tiny little almond teats...

[PCIntern]

23. Almond juice...

A la Lewis Black.

Funny.

[HAB911]

5. lots of alternatives out there

I just tried coconut milk, really liked it, similar to almond and I saw last time I went shopping, banana milk which I will try as soon as I am out

tried oat, seemed like muddy water, no taste to me, but I'm a non-taster chilehead

[Igel]

24. Keep on looking.

Oats, at least, produce a lot of stuff per acre. And if demand changes, it's a staple that can be rolled, ground, or cut. And it's animal food.

Coconuts ... https://news.stanford.edu/news/2010/january18/birddrop-palm-trees-012110.html Coconut palms and the palms for palm oil both have similar kinds of growing conditions and jungle's giving way to monoculture. (Oh--and often indigenous tribes or clans have dibs on the jungle, it's where they live and their governments have okayed it, but the monoculturalists move in and by the time the indigenous can get noticed their territory's cleared. Hmmm ... "monoculturalist.&quot

As for bananas, the Cavendish (which is big and starchy and the standard) is under threat from a blight.

[Tom Rinaldo]

8. Not much good to say here about regular milk

"Well, you can rest assured that despite the negative impact the (almond) farming is having on bees, buying the product is still better for the planet than purchasing regular milk."

[NightWatcher]

11. God approves your post

[Goodheart]

14. Will you summarize, please? That website is shit.

[CTyankee]

19. Bottom line: there are environmental problems you may find objectionable and a reason not to

buy it.

[ananda]

18. I like almond milk yogurt.

I need to avoid dairy and soy doesn't agree with me

I looked up oat milk yogurt, and they all have corn
starch in them, which I must also avoid.

So... sorry, I will have to continue with the almond.

[CTyankee]

20. Oh, don't be sorry There are trade offs with just about everything...

[Demsrule86]

26. If it is the lactose you can't have, I love Siggi...I buy the plain and vanilla lactose free yogurt

(no sugar) and have it with fruit or plain... make dips and salad dressings with it also.

[ananda]

36. No, it's not the lactose exactly.

Dairy just clogs my system some and affects my
upper respiratory system.

Also, I don't tolerate coconut milk either.

I know, I'm so screwed; but if I stick to my diet,
I am good; so I do.

I could eat the oat milk yogurt if they'd just use
tapioca starch and not corn starch.

Kite Hill and Whole Foods both make good almond
milk yogurt.

They are running a bit scarce right now, though.
Sprouts still has some Kite Hill, or did through last
week. I have a few containers left.

[Doremus]

35. Make your own oat milk.

https://minimalistbaker.com/make-oat-milk/

How to Make Oat Milk

To make oat milk simply add 1 cup rolled oats + 4 cups water to a high-speed blender and blend on high for 30-45 seconds. Then strain through a clean t-shirt or towel for best results.

We found nut milk bags let too much pulp through. Fine mesh strainers also let too much pulp through, so we don’t recommend using them.

This method yields creamy oat milk every time that’s perfect for adding to coffee, matcha, cereal, oats, baked goods, granola, and more!

[Demsrule86]

21. You can make oat milk you know.

[CTyankee]

22. thank you. But if I consume it, I will probably just buy some at the supermarket.

I hardly cook any more. And I am consumed with two things right now: politics and the book I am writing. I'm struggling with the latter and DU is a nice break for me!

[Demsrule86]

25. Writing a book ...how interesting!

[CTyankee]

28. Thanks! It's another book about art...duh...

[Demsrule86]

33. Well when you publish save my info and message me...I would love to buy your book.

[CTyankee]

37. PM me your address and I'll send you the first one, Immutable Truth. I give it away .

The second one is The Gladdened Heart and at the rate I'm going it won't be done til January!

[FreeState]

27. Talk about advertising hell

I gave up reading that two pages in - each paragraph is on a page contains how many adds?!?!

[BGBD]

29. Almonds are fine

If you are worried about the use of pesticides, you can buy organic. There is no shortage of organic almonds and almond milk.

The impact of almond farming is small compared to the clusterfuck caused by massive corn and soy farming, of which there is essentially no organic option. All of it is GMO and uses massive amounts of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. So, if you are worried about almonds you need to be sure that you are also avoiding the bigger problems of corn and soy.

Good luck as you start reading your labels.

[Mendocino]

39. I drink non-GMO organic

soy and oat milk. I can get sources easily from Kroger.

[BGBD]

40. soy farming in the US

is something like 90-95% GMO. So there is some organic production, but it pales in comparison to what isn't. Most of that going into oils or meal that go into everything, including animals. If we are talking about environmental impacts from agriculture, there's nothing that compares to corn and soy and their direct and downstream impacts.

So, yeah you can probably go find some organic SILK at the grocery store, but it's going to be a lot harder to find organic options used throughout.

[totodeinhere]

30. On a brighter note, I noticed yesterday that a lot of bees were swarming around my ornamental

fruit tree that is in bloom right now. I am happy to be of service to my neighborhood bees.

[Midnight Writer]

41. I like milk. Cow's milk. Skim milk is low calorie and a great source of protein.

The milk I drink is locally sourced from farmers in my area.

I am also a big fan of cheese, which is also produced locally.