Michael Girdley does a fascinating deep dive into the history of milk consumption in the U.S. and along the way we learn that the USDA is little more than the marketing department for big agricultural and food manufacturing interests.
While he does not go into this – the USDA is the agency that puts out the USDA Dietary Guidelines – which are largely controlled by the food industry and have little do with health but a lot to do with business interests.
Globally, almost everyone is lactose intolerant and cannot consume milk. Even in the U.S. a very large part of the population is lactose intolerant – but the USDA ran programs encouraging everyone to consume more milk products.
Despite this post’s title, I do drink milk and have no problems with it. My ancestry is northern European (about half Scandinavian) which puts me in a population group where lactose intolerance is uncommon.
I cannot drink milk substitutes like almond “milk” because I am allergic to almonds. I’m not a fan of soy milk (it needsflavoring and sugar to be palatable), but oak “milk” can okay in some usage scenarios.
Thus, many people cannot drink dairy milk – and some of us cannot drink allegedly “better” alternatives. Perhaps it would be best to let each individual consume what works best for them?
Oat milk is the 2nd most popular after almond “milk”. Oat milk is also known as “starch juice” due to its glycemic index – in a world where the food manufacturers are pushing “protein” on everyone. Consequently, oat milk is no longer as popular as it once was.
Just eat food. Real food.
Related: Vegan and vegetarianism are not very popular: The rise and fall of oat milk: Has the trendiest dairy alternative finally fallen from grace? | The Independent. In the U.S., about 1% are vegan and 4% vegetarian, down from 2% and 6% twenty years ago. The media gave disproportionate coverage to vegan/vegetarianism leading people to think they were bigger movements than they are – and today, fewer people are pursuing the “plant-based” meme. Ever notice how these cycles come and go as we are manipulated by propaganda messaging?
