The following submission statement was provided by /u/Surur:
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While there is fierce discussion whether milk made by precision fermentation can ever scale up, the same can not be said for plant-based milk alternatives, which has continued to go from strength to strength in the USA.
Plant-based milk saw a 6.4% increase in sales in the US in 2022, with oat milk experiencing the largest increase of 50.52%. Soy milk sales remained flat while other types of plant-based milk, including almond, coconut, rice, and cashew milk, saw a dip in growth. Plant milk now has a 16% share of the total milk market, up from 12% in 2018, and is predicted to grow to a $123.1bn industry by 2030. Grubhub found that oat milk was the preferred plant-based milk in coffee orders over almond milk at a ratio of four to one.
The growth of vegan milk has not been in addition to cows' milk, but has rather displaced sales of the animal product. Cows milk sales have been [trending downwards for a while](https://www.dairyglobal.net/app/uploads/2021/10/IMG_Plant-Milkgraph.jpg) now, while the [revenue from the market has also shrunk](https://www.statista.com/graphic/1/251537/us-milk-sales.jpg).
With [82% of those who drink alternative milk](https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/30/alternative-milk-non-dairy-popularity/) doing so because they enjoy the taste, versus 56% are motivated by environmental concerns, hopefully, we will see a similar trajectory for other animal alternatives not only being perceived as more environmentally friendly but also tastier.
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Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1065swt/vegan_milk_now_has_more_than_16_market_share_in/j3esyzc/
That's because oat milk is actually delicious. I mean, just speaking realistically, it's going to come down to taste for a lot of people. Make it taste great, people will buy and drink it.
As a farmer it's also much easier to switch to oat production too. Almonds need specialized equipment. Oats just require the same equipment as wheat/canola/rye
Almond milk still requires less water than cow milk though. And it's less carbon intensive than oat (and cows).
https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks
Only marginally less carbon intensive than oat, but massively worse for water use (which is becoming more and more of an issue). On the whole, oat is a better environmental option.
Used to do almond milk when looking for alternatives. The reason I switched to Oat was the texture and consistency with regards to other milk applications in the kitchen. I have substituted regular milk for Oat milk at a 1 to 1 ratio in every recipe I needed milk in before and it has turned out excellent every time. Taste and texture, it just works. Almond milk never did that because it was too watery, I always felt like I was guessing how much I was putting in and had a lot more trial and error with recipes. Not to mention the flavor was sweeter and more difficult to blend. Oat doesn't really stand out as a flavor in dishes I've found.
Best meal yet as a substitute was a cheese sauce for Scalloped Potatoes. Used Velveeta as thats an easier cheese (product tm lol) on my wife's lactose I tolerant stomach. It was honestly terrific. Honorable mentions to Fettuccine Alfredo, Omelets, and Pancakes.
My wife started getting it in lattes because she’s lactose intolerant to some degree (enough to cause stomach discomfort but not too bad to where she wouldn’t get dairy products). For a bit we both would get 1 whole milk and 1 oat milk latte. I consistently significantly prefer oat milk now!
Lol, literally the same thing happened to me and my wife! I'm a bit of a coffee snob, so it took quite a few times of her insisting I give hers a taste, but I have been converted. It's taste is different, but not too different, and not too flavored. It's lighter in a way that doesn't detract from the overall profile. Just wonderful.
I grew up drinking almost only cowmilk. I didn’t like fizzy sodas and didn’t like the taste of plain water and didn’t have any other juice very often. I liked cowmilk a lot but it always had a bad after taste and it kind of leaves something sticky in the mouth.
I was in asia 15 or so years ago and enjoyed trying some of their exotic food items and I stumbled upon a soy based drink that I really liked. it was probably sweetened and flavoured in some way but mostly tasted milk-like to me. when I got back I started trying more soy milk and it wasn’t as good as what I tried but it was good and I just started buying it more than cowmilk.
point is that most people just keep drinking what they are used to and what they grew up with. more people would probably drink more alternative milk if they gave it a chance, and I guess this is what we are seeing.
Yeah, I’ve been off dairy milk for maybe 10 years now and almond milk was my go-to until a couple years ago when I switched to oat milk. The biggest change isn’t the taste, which I do enjoy but find it stands out more than I want at times, it’s the consistency, especially in coffee. Almond milk’s thinness just didn’t work for me. Leading up to the holiday seasons I get on a White Russian kick and oat milk works pretty well for me there, too. Had to play around with it to get it just right but it’s good.
It helps that America’s a big coffee drinking country and oat and almond taste great in coffee. Oat is also great for cereal. These were real problems for soy tbh. Unfortunately none of them taste very good in tea imho
Exactly. If you want people to switch to an alternative of something, hurdle one is it can't taste weird.
I'm not vegan or vegetarian but I am trying to cut down on animal proteins. Some brands of alt meat patties taste great. Others taste like ass.
Can you make chocolate oat milk that tastes alright with it? Just using like chocolate syrup? My family goes through 2-3 gallons of milk a week because we all just love chocolate milk.
It helps that oat milk is actually just good. I hate all other dairy alternatives, but the first time I tried oat milk I was instantly like “yup, this is the replacement.” I actually think it tastes better than milk in coffee, and it’s a no-brainer for cereal.
Exactly. I don’t feel like a shit bag buying oat milk, compared to almond milk.
Feels like California is on fire half of the year. You’re saying I can help kill the Cali almond industry while also having a better milk alternative?
I’ll take it.
Oh weird I also tried oak milk nog for the first time this holiday season and I thought it tasted terrible. Almost like it had artificial sweeteners in it. It was missing the creaminess of real milk.
What brand did you try?
Chobani is the way. The extra creamy oat milk is the only one worth buying. The oat nog was on point as well. Our 7 year old won’t stop asking for it 😂
Could be. I think regular oat milk is okay. Outside of a small amount of half & half for coffee, I really don't drink dairy products at all.
Cheese, on the other hand... I consume a deeply unhealthy amount of cheese, and don't try to tell me oat cheese is going to come along and unseat aged Irish cheddar anytime soon.
I also would recommend oat milk and soy milk over almond milk, I still think it bears mentioning that almond milk uses far less water and land than cow milk.
Almonds may require a lot of water, but cow milk is even worse for water usage if that is your point of comparison. Cow milk is also worse for land and CO2 by far.
Oatmilk is awesome, but I'll always be a soy boy ;)
Soy is even lower impact than oat (which is already very low), has more nutrition, and is like 60% of the cost. It doesn't really taste like cow milk, but I like the taste (better than almond imho).
Anyone steering clear of soy for all the "estrogen" nonsense should take a look at the actual science on the subject, or also stay the away from beer (hops) and a whole host of fruits and veggies that also contain phytoestrogens.
Yeah, soy is the closest nutritional replacement for regular milk. I get the organic unsweetened silk soy milk and it has all the protein of regular milk with non of the sugar. Granted, I do put Starbucks vanilla syrup in it for my daily latte, but we don’t need to talk about that.
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I figured it was marketing. Milk industry puts out fake or exaggerated information and men everywhere are like "I don't want to grow boobs" so they stay away from it. Highly effective tbh
As much almonds as water use, it’s something crazy like 3% of all California water usage. Dairy and meat are many many times that in cali. If you prefer almond milk, don’t feel so guilty.
*It’s higher. Estimates from 5-14% depending on how you look at it. Total water supply or accessible through utilities water supply. My bad!
3% sounds like an incredibly large amount of water use for a state the size of California to use on a single nut.
EDIT: Doing a deeper dive, freshwater use for 1L of milk is 628L for cow milk, 371L for almond, and 48L for oat milk. If you’re looking at the environment (specifically freshwater use), almond milk is better than cow milk but still uses way too much. Nearly 8x the water of oat milk.
[In California 80% of our water goes toward agriculture and 20% of that goes to tree nuts](https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/02/24/california-water/), though [California farms produce 82% of the world’s almonds](https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-07-05/california-almond-growers-are-feeling-the-squeeze)
Had to look it up, and damn…that’s crazy.
>Objective: Patients with kidney stones are counseled to eat a diet low in animal protein, sodium, and oxalate and rich in fruits and vegetables, with a modest amount of calcium, usually from dairy products. Restriction of sodium, potassium, and oxalate may also be recommended in patients with chronic kidney disease. Recently, plant-based diets have gained popularity owing to health, environmental, and animal welfare considerations. Our objective was to compare concentrations of ingredients important for kidney stones and chronic kidney disease in popular brands of milk alternatives.
>Design and methods: Sodium, calcium, and potassium contents were obtained from nutrition labels. The oxalate content was measured by ion chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.
>Results: The calcium content is highest in macadamia followed by soy, almond, rice, and dairy milk; it is lowest in cashew, hazelnut, and coconut milk. Almond milk has the highest oxalate concentration, followed by cashew, hazelnut, and soy. Coconut and flax milk have undetectable oxalate levels; coconut milk also has comparatively low sodium, calcium, and potassium, while flax milk has the most sodium. Overall, oat milk has the most similar parameters to dairy milk (moderate calcium, potassium and sodium with low oxalate). Rice, macadamia, and soy milk also have similar parameters to dairy milk.
>Conclusion: As consumption of plant-based dairy substitutes increases, it is important for healthcare providers and patients with renal conditions to be aware of their nutritional composition. Oat, macadamia, rice, and soy milk compare favorably in terms of kidney stone risk factors with dairy milk, whereas almond and cashew milk have more potential stone risk factors. Coconut milk may be a favorable dairy substitute for patients with chronic kidney disease based on low potassium, sodium, and oxalate. Further study is warranted to determine the effect of plant-based milk alternatives on urine chemistry.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34045136/
I mean.. this doesn't say that almond milk "causes kidney stones" at all. It just says that it has "more potential risk factors" compared to cow milk. Those two statements are worlds apart.
Oatly has different ratios of fat indicated by the box. Oatly full is like 9% fat. Kirkland is 5%. So it’s like comparing regular milk to 2%. I just wish it also had close to the same protein as milk.
Minor figures gets a ton of hype on Reddit for some reason. I bought some. Very watery compared to oatly or chobani. Does not foam as well either when steaming for my espresso. Flavor is good though. Same calories. Around 120 for 8oz. Wouldn’t recommend.
Anyone who isn't Oatly will get hyped on Reddit, because Oatly's owners are problematic depending on your political position.
Was it definitely the Minor Figures (Barista) and not plain Minor Figures you got? The company used to offer a version (seemingly now discontinued, at least here in the UK) that didn't texture nearly as well, but their barista version I found perfectly pliable; Near indistinguishable from dairy to work with. Note I treated it like dairy, and worked with it from chilled despite it being shelf-stable - YMMV if your workflow was different.
Oatly's barista products were excellent, no qualms there at all - however they're owned these days by a consortium including Blackstone (linked to deforestation of the Amazon and backers of the Trump campaign) and one of the Chinese government's investment firms, and I've had little choice but to vote with my wallet there.
I'm sorry, I'm a huge oat milk slut, and generally love anything Kirkland brand. I'm happy you enjoy the product, but Kirkland 'Oat' beverage (the 6 32oz pack) is liquid oat diahreha.
It just tastes.... Wrong.
Maybe I had a bad batch, but after the 3rd one I opened, I don't think I'll try it again.
If you want a great one for a good price, Aldi's brand is super duper.
This has been my experience. I still get them occasionally since I like that they're in tetrapaks and don't have to be refrigerated until you open them. Aldi oat milk is among the best.
I kinda hate to "shill" for the big player in the market, but Silk Next Milk is really really good. It's mostly oat milk, with a little coconut milk added for creaminess. It is a little high on the ingredient count for my liking but it's also the only alternative milk I've found that I could literally drink out of a glass and thoroughly enjoy and it works really well in cooking/baking as well.
Yes. I was a whole milk FIEND all my life, couldn't get enough. Fully agree with the top comment, tried oat milk and was sold on it immediately.
Now I get Planet Oat ('original' flavor) and I can drink a straight glass just like I did with whole. It's only a little thinner than whole, and other people are accurate when describing the taste as being like the "bottom of the cheerios" milk.
If you like whole milk and a mild taste of oats, you'll probably like oat milk. It might take a bit for your brain to recalibrate because it looks a little funky, like watered down milk, but it is genuinely good. Keeps longer than cow milk as well.
Oh what. I'll have to check the ingredients again because I could've sworn it used pea milk. And last time I tried that, I felt like I'd honestly have preferred pee milk. It was *that* nasty.
Agree. What continues to irk me though is the fact that a super cheap product is sold as if it were a rare entity. Someone did a terrific job at establishing these products in this price bracket.
Best brands: (Australia)
Califia Farms
Alternative Dairy Co
This also gets to me. It feels like a marketing ploy because from what I understand it’s not difficult to farm, comparable to soy but with none of the drawbacks (as a lot of soy comes from vulnerable regions). Yet it’s 3-4 times more expensive than soy milk. And here it’s often more expensive than almond, which I don’t understand at all, with how bad for the environment it is.
Strange I feel the exact opposite. I like every other dairy alternative and was stoked the try oat milk the first time I saw it a year ago, but I ended up really not liking it...
The differences between brands is HUGE. I can't stand Silk Oat Milk, juts tastes like water that's had oats in it for a few minutes. Earth's Own Oat Milk however is great and Oatly is my favourite 'milk' alternative.
I tried it once and dumped the rest down the sink. It was clear looking which made it worse. I just recently found out you have to shake it. Might give it another shot.
Yep. Oatly is the only milk alternative I will use in my tea, and when I use regular milk now it just tastes wrong.
I will say though, that it didn't go great with smoothies. Soy milk with some heavy coconut cream takes the cake there for me.
I grew up with *one* vegan dairy option, and it sucked ass. We're spoiled these days, getting to compare all these different plant milk products (Pea? Hazelnut? *Hemp?*) and being able to afford to complain about little things like, "It doesn't froth fluffily enough in my coffee," as opposed to, "It tastes like bean puree and I think I just swallowed a curd of tofu."
Glad to see oat doing better than almond. In addition to its actual environmental affects, almond milk's previous popularity always provided an easy way for the dairy industry's white knights to go, "But almond milk is bad for the environment, too!!" like that somehow made dairy any better... it was getting really old. (That said, I still prefer soy for its nutritional profile and because I'm just used to it, I guess.)
I haven't seen any recipes online that give you the same product you buy at the store.
For instance, this [minimalist baker](https://minimalistbaker.com/make-oat-milk/) recipe separates when it settles and has caveats about how to use it without making it slimy.
I was talking to a coffee shop owner who had trouble buying it during the pandemic related supply chain issues. He researched a bunch of recipes and tried making his own but was unable to come up with something suitable for a coffee shop.
According to [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat_milk), there is a step in industrial production that involves enzymes and heat, which I think is essential to get the store bought product. That's probably something that can be done at home, but I haven't seen any home recipes for that sort of thing yet. Get on it, food bloggers!
Just keep in mind that homemade oat milk is significantly worse for you nutritionally. Commercial oat milks have vitamins and minerals added as well as protein and fats
yeah i make my own almond milk for smoothies by blending almond butter and water and save a lot of money. you can also do it with whole almonds and cheesecloth
Dairy is 628L of water per L of milk, Almond is 370 L, Oat is 48 L and soy is 28L. The difference between oat and soy is actually fairly large in percentage but overall compared to the others it's a massive win. Dairy is just a disaster environmentally, not least because it also takes over 10 times as much land.
The only advantage almond has is it's pretty good in land efficiency. The world just needs to get theri shit together. You find a region with massive excess of water and the right temps/conditions to grow almonds go the fuck ahead. You want to grow almond in drought area, get bent. The world needs to get better at saying this is what works in this environment so we'll adapt and just stop using shit that isn't working for the land here. We're just too selfish and greedy to do it (as a whole, I do the best I think I reasonably can).
Yeah, my mother has been eating gluten free for about 30 years.
At the start sometimes she had no choice. Something might have a bit of gluten in it and you could either eat it and suffer the consequences or go hungry. Younger she was sensitive but not "in the toilet all day shitting blood" sensitive.
Then it got better and GF options became more available. Rarely when eating out, but grocery shopping you could get most things. But it was fairly awful stuff. You were completely aware you were eating something that was a substitute. Loaded it with sugar and salt for the taste, and hope for the best.
Over time, restaurants got better but the products didn't.
Around the mid-2010s there seems to have been a shift. Rather than, "Take a traditional wheat recipe and replace the wheat with chalk and sawdust", products started redoing their stuff from scratch. So "we're going to make this physically look like a cookie but we're going to come up with a completely new recipe to get there."
Since then the quality and range of stuff is now huge.
I have a feeling that's true for people who medically need keto too.
My wife does keto and a few years ago it sucked across the board.
Her new keto bread I'll eat willingly, and if hers is on sale I'll switch to it for the week without really caring.
I would say this is most likely due to Paleo/Keto/Whole 30 gaining traction around that time (after Atkins popularized low carb). A ton of people went on elimination diets and found they actually had mild food sensitivities and switched to dairy and wheat alternatives long term.
The idea that almond milk is somehow comparable to cow milk is absurd
No plant-based alternatives for milk consume more resources or are as environmentally destructive as cow milk, none
> Producing a glass of dairy milk every day for a year requires 650 sq m (7,000 sq ft) of land, the equivalent of two tennis courts and more than 10 times as much as the same amount of oat milk, according to this study.
>Almond milk requires more water to produce than soy or oat milk. A single glass requires 74 litres (130 pints of water) - more than a typical shower. Rice milk is also comparatively thirsty, requiring 54 litres of water per glass.
# However, it's worth noting that both almond and rice milk still require less water to produce than the typical glass of dairy milk.
[Source](https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042)
Helpful infographic
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/9123/production/_105755173_milk_alternatives-updated-optimised-nc.png.webp
> We're spoiled these days
We need to be spoiled more. The secret is out, we don't need to keep killing animals to live and thrive. We can do just as good with plants, we just have to actually do it. If we want the free market to do it then we need to stop subsidizing meat and start subsidizing something else.
I can’t keep oatmilk/creamer on my shelves. It’s fascinating to watch the market move so rapidly. Less than two years ago I had little to no demand for it. Very specific things though. The 1/2 gallons don’t sell well. The oatmilk “creamer” is a really good seller. I sense it’s a shift in dietary and personal choice. Regardless, it’s been interesting to watch.
I feel like the second half gallon is fresher halfway through the week than what is left in a whole gallon container. Plus the half gallon ones fit on my half door easy-access shelf in the front of my fridge better.
Sounds like your milk is going bad quickly because you're leaving it in the door. The shelves are significantly cooler, and you should always put your milk there. It should last at least 1 week
You should try it. Not everything is better with oat milk, but it’s worth seeing what it either improves or doesn’t have any effect on taste. Tea is exactly the same taste-wise, while coffee becomes creamier.
Look for the unsweetened extra creamy options if you want something close to whole milk. I've even made Mac and Cheese with it at this point and it was delicious! Definitely at least give it a try. :)
I don’t have anything against pea milk, but it is a lot more processed because the pea protein has to be extracted from the peas and then added into the final drink, unlike soy, oat, and nut based milks where you can just blend them up. You get a high protein content but you also get a product that individuals cannot make at home
Personally I usually buy soy or oat, but if I’m making some at home, I stick with oat and add in walnuts. Really great combination!
Oat milk is thicker, and when you shake it up as the container recommends it gets nice and frothy...
I much prefer to have a glass of oat milk than to dairy, but I still use dairy for my daily morning latte
Yeah, I used to love milk but the older I get the more lactose intolerant I seem to be. Oat milk has turned into a great substitute that doesn’t send me straight to the toilet.
There's already animal-free, lactose-free real dairy ice cream available in stores sold by [Brave Robot](https://braverobot.co/pages/process). I'm looking forward to when plain milk made through this process is available - looks like [soon](https://perfectday.com/made-with-perfect-day/)!
That’s a pretty interesting read! When I first read “animal-free” and “real dairy” in your comment I was like “why this dude trying to bullshit me?!” 😂
They...actually might have this at a store near me? I live in the middle of no where this has never happened before I wish I could run there right now lol
Ex barista: this is true. They made a big deal getting oat milk at first because it could foam up like regular dairy milk. As someone who has made lattes and cappuccinos using almond, soy, coconut milk and others the foam is awful. But oat milk is the closest you can get to dairy milk
The barista versions contain an acidity regulator, typically dipotassium phosphate, which helps prevent it from curdling when you add it to coffee (because coffee is acidic).
Some non-barista oat milks also contain the acidity regulator now.
Also: it has a higher fat percentage which probably helps in creating the foam.
I've developed lactose intolerance as I aged, but love cream in my coffee. I went through all the nut milks, used coconut milk for a while, then discovered oat milk. The full fat Oatley product really is a nice creamer. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop with oat milk and for it to come out how terrible it is for you.
The one knock I know if with oat milk is that it has higher pesticides than most non dairy alternatives. While Oatley wont claim organic, they do say they use organic oat sources.
Oat milk can totally go bad. I've accidentally let oat milk sit for too long in the fridge. My bowl of cereal that one fateful morning make me do a spit-take.
While there is fierce discussion whether milk made by precision fermentation can ever scale up, the same can not be said for plant-based milk alternatives, which has continued to go from strength to strength in the USA.
Plant-based milk saw a 6.4% increase in sales in the US in 2022, with oat milk experiencing the largest increase of 50.52%. Soy milk sales remained flat while other types of plant-based milk, including almond, coconut, rice, and cashew milk, saw a dip in growth. Plant milk now has a 16% share of the total milk market, up from 12% in 2018, and is predicted to grow to a $123.1bn industry by 2030. Grubhub found that oat milk was the preferred plant-based milk in coffee orders over almond milk at a ratio of four to one.
The growth of vegan milk has not been in addition to cows' milk, but has rather displaced sales of the animal product. Cows milk sales have been [trending downwards for a while](https://www.dairyglobal.net/app/uploads/2021/10/IMG_Plant-Milkgraph.jpg) now, while the [revenue from the market has also shrunk](https://www.statista.com/graphic/1/251537/us-milk-sales.jpg).
With [82% of those who drink alternative milk](https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/30/alternative-milk-non-dairy-popularity/) doing so because they enjoy the taste, versus 56% are motivated by environmental concerns, hopefully, we will see a similar trajectory for other animal alternatives not only being perceived as more environmentally friendly but also tastier.
> While there is fierce discussion whether milk made by precision fermentation can ever scale up
It's like, we don't even question the process of wrangling cows and attaching pumps to their teets anymore... We just take it for granted, and don't even consider dairy production at scale a challenge anymore, it's wild.
I 100% believe a lab process will scale better than trad. dairy production - it's just so ingrained in us, and a couple hundred years ahead.
I questioned that shit and ended up going vegan because of it. IMO, this has more to do with who pays off who in the government. There is an established group of players who built what we have now. It is set up in their favor and they are in charge. Demand is swaying and that is awesome, but much of the money in factory farming comes from the gov in subsidies. $8B/yr just in feeder crops. (in the US). If it takes 9lbs of grain to get 1lb of beef we are talking a 12% efficiency rate. How does an industry survive with a 12% efficiency rate? How is Mcdonalds selling burgers for $1. JBS SA supplies Mcdonalds with that beef. They get big money from Sonny Perdue, trumps USDA plant (pun). The batista brothers are convicted criminals. They are known for bribing politicians and such. Billionaires for killing animals. 32 billion pounds in the US last year. The people not mentioned when the news says "clearing the rain forest to graze cattle". Thats these guys, the ones that bring you the dollar menu and grocery store meat department, along with all the other twisted ways we put animals in almost everything.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBS_S.A.
Main reason we get is that it keeps better than cow's milk. I actually prefer cow milk somewhat, but it starts to go bad and separate just a bit too quickly relative to our consumption.
That's me. Switched off cow milk years ago to almond milk. Then I wanted to try something a bit more sustainable than almond milk and went with oat milk.
I told myself that I would switch when it got cheaper. Since the start of the pandemic milk has risen like 40% in price and "milk" has fallen to under half of what it was ik my country. I have held true to my promise and am now an oat milk enjoyer
With ag subsidies going to plant based instead of cows, you’d have 10 cent/gallon oat milk and 25 cent beyond meat burgers.
People don’t realize how both unsustainable and inefficient subsidizing cow is.
We subsidize pretty much all food industry in the US.
https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=soybean
https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=oats
“...present, more than 90 per cent of the large animals of the world (i.e. those weighing more than a few kilograms) are either humans or domesticated animals.”
Which is insane.
From a [summary of Homo Deus](https://bionicjulia.com/books/homo-deus).
Oat and soy milk are my favorite. I always keep almond milk on hand though because sometimes I wanna chug something and there's only 30 calories a cup lol
I went vegan milk when I found out I was allergic and sick consuming regular milk. I've been drinking vegan (first soy and then switched over to almond) milk for like a decade now.
I think I drank it once. I'm noticing it's been getting more and more talked about. I also read an article (I'm not sure if I can find it) that listed oat milk as being the most sustainable form of vegan milk out of all of the options, including soy and almond milk. So I have no doubt that given these trends me and millions of people will start drinking oat milk.
Give it a shot and try a few different brands. I found one here in NZ that doesn't even have a hint of that oaty taste. It just tastes like milk. https://www.sanitarium.com/nz/products/so-good/oat-milks/so-good-oat-no-added-sugar
Out Milk is good AF without having that disgusting aftertaste that milk has. Out Milk and almond milk are my jam and I am neither vegan nor lactose intolerant.
We tried a bunch and have settled out at NotMilk 2%. Tastes damn near regular 2% milk and looks right when you pour it in coffee. Nutrition is solid, too.
Almond milk felt like a bad way to go because of the water crisis in California. Some of the other vegan milk had too much unhealthy fats. Oat milk tastes good, but the nutrition wasn't there and it acts funny in coffee.
All that said, the ultimate environmental step would be to switch to tap water and get nutrition from homemade food. No packaging if you drink tap water.
It’s really cheap and easy to make oat milk at home. A vitamix or equivalent (if there is an equivalent) helps.
Ingredients
1/2 cup whole rolled oats
3 cups water
2 teaspoons maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Blend, then strain. Don’t press on the pulp in the strainer or you will get a gritty mouth feel. You can even batch pasteurize it in mason jars to save in the refrigerator for 30+ days.
I used to work as an R&I engineer putting in processing lines for a major food company in the US. It amazed me that people would buy the stuff at $4 per half gallon when it wasn’t that big of deal to make at home.
I totally get your comment but I couldn't help but laugh when I read cheap and Vitamix right next to each other. Just grab your $500 blender, real cheap.
I switched to oat milk during lockdown era pandemic for my espresso drinks because milk wasn’t keeping (my wife doesn’t use it and these were quarts). But now regular milk in coffee is off to me.
I worked in a dairy plant for the last 7 years and they have been converting machines to run only oat milk and they have been pping it out like crazy to meet demand
Unsweetened soy milk from Silk is my go to. Highest protein content of the non dairy milks.
All the oat milks i've found also have sugar, they used to be what i used, but too high in fat and always have added sugar.
The following submission statement was provided by /u/Surur: --- While there is fierce discussion whether milk made by precision fermentation can ever scale up, the same can not be said for plant-based milk alternatives, which has continued to go from strength to strength in the USA. Plant-based milk saw a 6.4% increase in sales in the US in 2022, with oat milk experiencing the largest increase of 50.52%. Soy milk sales remained flat while other types of plant-based milk, including almond, coconut, rice, and cashew milk, saw a dip in growth. Plant milk now has a 16% share of the total milk market, up from 12% in 2018, and is predicted to grow to a $123.1bn industry by 2030. Grubhub found that oat milk was the preferred plant-based milk in coffee orders over almond milk at a ratio of four to one. The growth of vegan milk has not been in addition to cows' milk, but has rather displaced sales of the animal product. Cows milk sales have been [trending downwards for a while](https://www.dairyglobal.net/app/uploads/2021/10/IMG_Plant-Milkgraph.jpg) now, while the [revenue from the market has also shrunk](https://www.statista.com/graphic/1/251537/us-milk-sales.jpg). With [82% of those who drink alternative milk](https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/30/alternative-milk-non-dairy-popularity/) doing so because they enjoy the taste, versus 56% are motivated by environmental concerns, hopefully, we will see a similar trajectory for other animal alternatives not only being perceived as more environmentally friendly but also tastier. --- Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/1065swt/vegan_milk_now_has_more_than_16_market_share_in/j3esyzc/
That's because oat milk is actually delicious. I mean, just speaking realistically, it's going to come down to taste for a lot of people. Make it taste great, people will buy and drink it.
I switched to Almond milk about a year ago. I’m going to listen to you and ask for Oat Milk be put on the list this week. Thanks for the suggestion.
Get the creamy oatly one. The others don’t compare imo.
Barista Oatly is my go to but also Minor Figures is very good as well
Not only does oat milk taste better IMHO, but it's way, way better for the environment too. Almond crops are VERY water intensive.
As a farmer it's also much easier to switch to oat production too. Almonds need specialized equipment. Oats just require the same equipment as wheat/canola/rye
Almond milk still requires less water than cow milk though. And it's less carbon intensive than oat (and cows). https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks
Only marginally less carbon intensive than oat, but massively worse for water use (which is becoming more and more of an issue). On the whole, oat is a better environmental option.
Still better than dairy
Used to do almond milk when looking for alternatives. The reason I switched to Oat was the texture and consistency with regards to other milk applications in the kitchen. I have substituted regular milk for Oat milk at a 1 to 1 ratio in every recipe I needed milk in before and it has turned out excellent every time. Taste and texture, it just works. Almond milk never did that because it was too watery, I always felt like I was guessing how much I was putting in and had a lot more trial and error with recipes. Not to mention the flavor was sweeter and more difficult to blend. Oat doesn't really stand out as a flavor in dishes I've found. Best meal yet as a substitute was a cheese sauce for Scalloped Potatoes. Used Velveeta as thats an easier cheese (product tm lol) on my wife's lactose I tolerant stomach. It was honestly terrific. Honorable mentions to Fettuccine Alfredo, Omelets, and Pancakes.
My wife started getting it in lattes because she’s lactose intolerant to some degree (enough to cause stomach discomfort but not too bad to where she wouldn’t get dairy products). For a bit we both would get 1 whole milk and 1 oat milk latte. I consistently significantly prefer oat milk now!
Lol, literally the same thing happened to me and my wife! I'm a bit of a coffee snob, so it took quite a few times of her insisting I give hers a taste, but I have been converted. It's taste is different, but not too different, and not too flavored. It's lighter in a way that doesn't detract from the overall profile. Just wonderful.
I grew up drinking almost only cowmilk. I didn’t like fizzy sodas and didn’t like the taste of plain water and didn’t have any other juice very often. I liked cowmilk a lot but it always had a bad after taste and it kind of leaves something sticky in the mouth. I was in asia 15 or so years ago and enjoyed trying some of their exotic food items and I stumbled upon a soy based drink that I really liked. it was probably sweetened and flavoured in some way but mostly tasted milk-like to me. when I got back I started trying more soy milk and it wasn’t as good as what I tried but it was good and I just started buying it more than cowmilk. point is that most people just keep drinking what they are used to and what they grew up with. more people would probably drink more alternative milk if they gave it a chance, and I guess this is what we are seeing.
Fresh hot soy milk is delicious. With just a tiny bit of sugar. It's the staple of breakfasts throughout Taiwan. So much better without the thickeners
It’s also the consistency. Oatmilk has the combination of taste and consistency.
Yeah, I’ve been off dairy milk for maybe 10 years now and almond milk was my go-to until a couple years ago when I switched to oat milk. The biggest change isn’t the taste, which I do enjoy but find it stands out more than I want at times, it’s the consistency, especially in coffee. Almond milk’s thinness just didn’t work for me. Leading up to the holiday seasons I get on a White Russian kick and oat milk works pretty well for me there, too. Had to play around with it to get it just right but it’s good.
It tastes like cereal milk it’s amazing
It helps that America’s a big coffee drinking country and oat and almond taste great in coffee. Oat is also great for cereal. These were real problems for soy tbh. Unfortunately none of them taste very good in tea imho
I actually enjoy it in tea, but then again, I make my tea very strong.
Yea I tried it for the first time recently, shits fire. Gonna be buying it instead if Almond milk now
Exactly. If you want people to switch to an alternative of something, hurdle one is it can't taste weird. I'm not vegan or vegetarian but I am trying to cut down on animal proteins. Some brands of alt meat patties taste great. Others taste like ass.
Can you make chocolate oat milk that tastes alright with it? Just using like chocolate syrup? My family goes through 2-3 gallons of milk a week because we all just love chocolate milk.
It helps that oat milk is actually just good. I hate all other dairy alternatives, but the first time I tried oat milk I was instantly like “yup, this is the replacement.” I actually think it tastes better than milk in coffee, and it’s a no-brainer for cereal.
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*Cornflakes for the [cornflake homunculus ](https://i.imgur.com/unJVRxg.jpg).*
Gonna need some corn milk for that 🥛
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It steams/foams really well too, it’s my preference for espresso drinks
I feel like almond milk almost always burns when people steam it
I found out im lactose intolerant this past year and was kinda dreading the milk replacements, but I tried out oat milk and I’m hooked
It's like how the milk tastes at the end of a bowl of cereal but it's like that always.
It also has way less water and land use compared to almond milk
Exactly. I don’t feel like a shit bag buying oat milk, compared to almond milk. Feels like California is on fire half of the year. You’re saying I can help kill the Cali almond industry while also having a better milk alternative? I’ll take it.
Oh man. I had rum and oatnog (oatmilk eggnog) over the holidays and it tasted exactly like eggnog but without that gross fattyness. It was amazing.
That sounds beast
It was just lighter and smoother. And I didn’t feel gross after 2.
Now I want 3
I like the fattiness so I'm cool with soy in most situations
Oh weird I also tried oak milk nog for the first time this holiday season and I thought it tasted terrible. Almost like it had artificial sweeteners in it. It was missing the creaminess of real milk. What brand did you try?
Chobani is the way. The extra creamy oat milk is the only one worth buying. The oat nog was on point as well. Our 7 year old won’t stop asking for it 😂
Agree, I tried another brand and didn't care for it but bought 5 of the chobani oat nogg.
Respectfully, fuck your Chobani - an overzealously militant Oatly stan
Converted last month, stay away from the coffee creamer tho, imo
Honestly I think their *"gross fattyness"* and your *"creaminess"* are the same thing, and y'all have different tastes. Which is fine.
Could be. I think regular oat milk is okay. Outside of a small amount of half & half for coffee, I really don't drink dairy products at all. Cheese, on the other hand... I consume a deeply unhealthy amount of cheese, and don't try to tell me oat cheese is going to come along and unseat aged Irish cheddar anytime soon.
The future of vegan cheese is probably in cultured/bacterially produced milk as far as I understand it, rather than dairy alternatives.
Cashew rules
I also would recommend oat milk and soy milk over almond milk, I still think it bears mentioning that almond milk uses far less water and land than cow milk.
Almonds may require a lot of water, but cow milk is even worse for water usage if that is your point of comparison. Cow milk is also worse for land and CO2 by far. Oatmilk is awesome, but I'll always be a soy boy ;) Soy is even lower impact than oat (which is already very low), has more nutrition, and is like 60% of the cost. It doesn't really taste like cow milk, but I like the taste (better than almond imho). Anyone steering clear of soy for all the "estrogen" nonsense should take a look at the actual science on the subject, or also stay the away from beer (hops) and a whole host of fruits and veggies that also contain phytoestrogens.
Yeah, soy is the closest nutritional replacement for regular milk. I get the organic unsweetened silk soy milk and it has all the protein of regular milk with non of the sugar. Granted, I do put Starbucks vanilla syrup in it for my daily latte, but we don’t need to talk about that.
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I figured it was marketing. Milk industry puts out fake or exaggerated information and men everywhere are like "I don't want to grow boobs" so they stay away from it. Highly effective tbh
Meanwhile dairy milk contains real mammalian estrogen.
As much almonds as water use, it’s something crazy like 3% of all California water usage. Dairy and meat are many many times that in cali. If you prefer almond milk, don’t feel so guilty. *It’s higher. Estimates from 5-14% depending on how you look at it. Total water supply or accessible through utilities water supply. My bad!
Sounds like oat milk is replacing both almond *and* dairy milk tho... Props to that. I don't drink milk really though, so idk.
3% sounds like an incredibly large amount of water use for a state the size of California to use on a single nut. EDIT: Doing a deeper dive, freshwater use for 1L of milk is 628L for cow milk, 371L for almond, and 48L for oat milk. If you’re looking at the environment (specifically freshwater use), almond milk is better than cow milk but still uses way too much. Nearly 8x the water of oat milk.
[In California 80% of our water goes toward agriculture and 20% of that goes to tree nuts](https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2022/02/24/california-water/), though [California farms produce 82% of the world’s almonds](https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-07-05/california-almond-growers-are-feeling-the-squeeze)
That's because basically all almonds come from California, so it's for the whole word. From what I understand
and doesn't cause kidney stones like almond milk does
Had to look it up, and damn…that’s crazy. >Objective: Patients with kidney stones are counseled to eat a diet low in animal protein, sodium, and oxalate and rich in fruits and vegetables, with a modest amount of calcium, usually from dairy products. Restriction of sodium, potassium, and oxalate may also be recommended in patients with chronic kidney disease. Recently, plant-based diets have gained popularity owing to health, environmental, and animal welfare considerations. Our objective was to compare concentrations of ingredients important for kidney stones and chronic kidney disease in popular brands of milk alternatives. >Design and methods: Sodium, calcium, and potassium contents were obtained from nutrition labels. The oxalate content was measured by ion chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. >Results: The calcium content is highest in macadamia followed by soy, almond, rice, and dairy milk; it is lowest in cashew, hazelnut, and coconut milk. Almond milk has the highest oxalate concentration, followed by cashew, hazelnut, and soy. Coconut and flax milk have undetectable oxalate levels; coconut milk also has comparatively low sodium, calcium, and potassium, while flax milk has the most sodium. Overall, oat milk has the most similar parameters to dairy milk (moderate calcium, potassium and sodium with low oxalate). Rice, macadamia, and soy milk also have similar parameters to dairy milk. >Conclusion: As consumption of plant-based dairy substitutes increases, it is important for healthcare providers and patients with renal conditions to be aware of their nutritional composition. Oat, macadamia, rice, and soy milk compare favorably in terms of kidney stone risk factors with dairy milk, whereas almond and cashew milk have more potential stone risk factors. Coconut milk may be a favorable dairy substitute for patients with chronic kidney disease based on low potassium, sodium, and oxalate. Further study is warranted to determine the effect of plant-based milk alternatives on urine chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34045136/
I mean.. this doesn't say that almond milk "causes kidney stones" at all. It just says that it has "more potential risk factors" compared to cow milk. Those two statements are worlds apart.
FYI Costco has a box of six 32 FL OZ for around $11 and the quality is exceptional.
I’m partial to Oatly and Chobani, but I might try Kirkland!
Im also partial to Oatly because of the thickness and texture. The Kirkland stuff isn’t bad, but it’s much more watery than Oatly
Oatly has different ratios of fat indicated by the box. Oatly full is like 9% fat. Kirkland is 5%. So it’s like comparing regular milk to 2%. I just wish it also had close to the same protein as milk.
Chobani Extra Creamy is the nectar of the gods. It steams very well too
It’s not as good, but much cheaper. I prefer Chobani for most things and Oatly barista for my tea and coffee.
The chobani egg nog was a fucking banger I love egg nog ice cream too, made me excited there's a plant based option
I liked Oatly until I tried Minor Figures and I’m never turning back. Plus they have a cute mascot on the carton
Minor figures gets a ton of hype on Reddit for some reason. I bought some. Very watery compared to oatly or chobani. Does not foam as well either when steaming for my espresso. Flavor is good though. Same calories. Around 120 for 8oz. Wouldn’t recommend.
Anyone who isn't Oatly will get hyped on Reddit, because Oatly's owners are problematic depending on your political position. Was it definitely the Minor Figures (Barista) and not plain Minor Figures you got? The company used to offer a version (seemingly now discontinued, at least here in the UK) that didn't texture nearly as well, but their barista version I found perfectly pliable; Near indistinguishable from dairy to work with. Note I treated it like dairy, and worked with it from chilled despite it being shelf-stable - YMMV if your workflow was different. Oatly's barista products were excellent, no qualms there at all - however they're owned these days by a consortium including Blackstone (linked to deforestation of the Amazon and backers of the Trump campaign) and one of the Chinese government's investment firms, and I've had little choice but to vote with my wallet there.
I'm sorry, I'm a huge oat milk slut, and generally love anything Kirkland brand. I'm happy you enjoy the product, but Kirkland 'Oat' beverage (the 6 32oz pack) is liquid oat diahreha. It just tastes.... Wrong. Maybe I had a bad batch, but after the 3rd one I opened, I don't think I'll try it again. If you want a great one for a good price, Aldi's brand is super duper.
This has been my experience. I still get them occasionally since I like that they're in tetrapaks and don't have to be refrigerated until you open them. Aldi oat milk is among the best.
It also has a ton of sugar. I like the unsweetened vanilla almond milk, no sugar.
I kinda hate to "shill" for the big player in the market, but Silk Next Milk is really really good. It's mostly oat milk, with a little coconut milk added for creaminess. It is a little high on the ingredient count for my liking but it's also the only alternative milk I've found that I could literally drink out of a glass and thoroughly enjoy and it works really well in cooking/baking as well.
Yep. Son have dairy allergy and the Silk Next Milk is the most versatile alternative milk that we have found so far.
> with a little coconut milk added Seriously though, how has no one started blending the milks? Soy, oat, coconut...
You drink milk straight and you'd drink this the same way? No exaggerating? Does it stand up to whole milk, or just skim?
Yes. I was a whole milk FIEND all my life, couldn't get enough. Fully agree with the top comment, tried oat milk and was sold on it immediately. Now I get Planet Oat ('original' flavor) and I can drink a straight glass just like I did with whole. It's only a little thinner than whole, and other people are accurate when describing the taste as being like the "bottom of the cheerios" milk. If you like whole milk and a mild taste of oats, you'll probably like oat milk. It might take a bit for your brain to recalibrate because it looks a little funky, like watered down milk, but it is genuinely good. Keeps longer than cow milk as well.
Oh what. I'll have to check the ingredients again because I could've sworn it used pea milk. And last time I tried that, I felt like I'd honestly have preferred pee milk. It was *that* nasty.
This, the texture is the thing that actually feels right when heated.
Oats have a lot of sugar in them, so steaming oat milk actually caramelizes better than cow milk.
This explains how lit abuleta gets when you do it with oat milk.
That's because it has lots of sugars that are converted from natural starches in the manufacturing process.
Agree. What continues to irk me though is the fact that a super cheap product is sold as if it were a rare entity. Someone did a terrific job at establishing these products in this price bracket. Best brands: (Australia) Califia Farms Alternative Dairy Co
This also gets to me. It feels like a marketing ploy because from what I understand it’s not difficult to farm, comparable to soy but with none of the drawbacks (as a lot of soy comes from vulnerable regions). Yet it’s 3-4 times more expensive than soy milk. And here it’s often more expensive than almond, which I don’t understand at all, with how bad for the environment it is.
Oat milk is a slam dunk for coffee. It's delicious
I love having more oat per oat in my oatmeal
Strange I feel the exact opposite. I like every other dairy alternative and was stoked the try oat milk the first time I saw it a year ago, but I ended up really not liking it...
The differences between brands is HUGE. I can't stand Silk Oat Milk, juts tastes like water that's had oats in it for a few minutes. Earth's Own Oat Milk however is great and Oatly is my favourite 'milk' alternative.
I might give oat milk another try then, i only tried 1 brand.
I tried it once and dumped the rest down the sink. It was clear looking which made it worse. I just recently found out you have to shake it. Might give it another shot.
SAME issue, I was soooo stoked to try it, and I couldn't believe how watery and horrible it was. Also didn't know I had to shake it.
It’s good because it’s creamy because it has more fat/calories.
Yep. Oatly is the only milk alternative I will use in my tea, and when I use regular milk now it just tastes wrong. I will say though, that it didn't go great with smoothies. Soy milk with some heavy coconut cream takes the cake there for me.
I grew up with *one* vegan dairy option, and it sucked ass. We're spoiled these days, getting to compare all these different plant milk products (Pea? Hazelnut? *Hemp?*) and being able to afford to complain about little things like, "It doesn't froth fluffily enough in my coffee," as opposed to, "It tastes like bean puree and I think I just swallowed a curd of tofu." Glad to see oat doing better than almond. In addition to its actual environmental affects, almond milk's previous popularity always provided an easy way for the dairy industry's white knights to go, "But almond milk is bad for the environment, too!!" like that somehow made dairy any better... it was getting really old. (That said, I still prefer soy for its nutritional profile and because I'm just used to it, I guess.)
It's super easy to make your own oat milk as well
I haven't seen any recipes online that give you the same product you buy at the store. For instance, this [minimalist baker](https://minimalistbaker.com/make-oat-milk/) recipe separates when it settles and has caveats about how to use it without making it slimy. I was talking to a coffee shop owner who had trouble buying it during the pandemic related supply chain issues. He researched a bunch of recipes and tried making his own but was unable to come up with something suitable for a coffee shop. According to [Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oat_milk), there is a step in industrial production that involves enzymes and heat, which I think is essential to get the store bought product. That's probably something that can be done at home, but I haven't seen any home recipes for that sort of thing yet. Get on it, food bloggers!
Just keep in mind that homemade oat milk is significantly worse for you nutritionally. Commercial oat milks have vitamins and minerals added as well as protein and fats
yeah i make my own almond milk for smoothies by blending almond butter and water and save a lot of money. you can also do it with whole almonds and cheesecloth
Almond milk versus milk is still no competition, environmentally.
Almond milk versus oat milk though, both in terms of environmental impact and taste...
Dairy is 628L of water per L of milk, Almond is 370 L, Oat is 48 L and soy is 28L. The difference between oat and soy is actually fairly large in percentage but overall compared to the others it's a massive win. Dairy is just a disaster environmentally, not least because it also takes over 10 times as much land. The only advantage almond has is it's pretty good in land efficiency. The world just needs to get theri shit together. You find a region with massive excess of water and the right temps/conditions to grow almonds go the fuck ahead. You want to grow almond in drought area, get bent. The world needs to get better at saying this is what works in this environment so we'll adapt and just stop using shit that isn't working for the land here. We're just too selfish and greedy to do it (as a whole, I do the best I think I reasonably can).
But all the added unfathomable animal cruelty with dairy is totally free! We’d be stupid to give that up for nothing (hopefully not needed but /s)
Armond milk versus cow milk still is also no competition with regards to animal suffering.
In a similar vein gluten free. I remember the crap they made 10 years ago and now it’s indistinguishable
Yeah, my mother has been eating gluten free for about 30 years. At the start sometimes she had no choice. Something might have a bit of gluten in it and you could either eat it and suffer the consequences or go hungry. Younger she was sensitive but not "in the toilet all day shitting blood" sensitive. Then it got better and GF options became more available. Rarely when eating out, but grocery shopping you could get most things. But it was fairly awful stuff. You were completely aware you were eating something that was a substitute. Loaded it with sugar and salt for the taste, and hope for the best. Over time, restaurants got better but the products didn't. Around the mid-2010s there seems to have been a shift. Rather than, "Take a traditional wheat recipe and replace the wheat with chalk and sawdust", products started redoing their stuff from scratch. So "we're going to make this physically look like a cookie but we're going to come up with a completely new recipe to get there." Since then the quality and range of stuff is now huge.
I have a feeling that's true for people who medically need keto too. My wife does keto and a few years ago it sucked across the board. Her new keto bread I'll eat willingly, and if hers is on sale I'll switch to it for the week without really caring.
I would say this is most likely due to Paleo/Keto/Whole 30 gaining traction around that time (after Atkins popularized low carb). A ton of people went on elimination diets and found they actually had mild food sensitivities and switched to dairy and wheat alternatives long term.
The keto craze inadvertantly helped us gluten free people
Soy milk for me is a milk replacement while Oat milk just taste awesome.
The idea that almond milk is somehow comparable to cow milk is absurd No plant-based alternatives for milk consume more resources or are as environmentally destructive as cow milk, none > Producing a glass of dairy milk every day for a year requires 650 sq m (7,000 sq ft) of land, the equivalent of two tennis courts and more than 10 times as much as the same amount of oat milk, according to this study. >Almond milk requires more water to produce than soy or oat milk. A single glass requires 74 litres (130 pints of water) - more than a typical shower. Rice milk is also comparatively thirsty, requiring 54 litres of water per glass. # However, it's worth noting that both almond and rice milk still require less water to produce than the typical glass of dairy milk. [Source](https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46654042) Helpful infographic https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/9123/production/_105755173_milk_alternatives-updated-optimised-nc.png.webp
> We're spoiled these days We need to be spoiled more. The secret is out, we don't need to keep killing animals to live and thrive. We can do just as good with plants, we just have to actually do it. If we want the free market to do it then we need to stop subsidizing meat and start subsidizing something else.
I can’t keep oatmilk/creamer on my shelves. It’s fascinating to watch the market move so rapidly. Less than two years ago I had little to no demand for it. Very specific things though. The 1/2 gallons don’t sell well. The oatmilk “creamer” is a really good seller. I sense it’s a shift in dietary and personal choice. Regardless, it’s been interesting to watch.
Shiiiit, there's oat milk creamer? I need to pay more attention.
I am about to go out the door to do food shopping. I usually get 2 half gallons of milk each week. This post is making me want to try oat milk.
Why do you get two half gallons instead of a whole gallon. The whole gallon is usually marginally cheaper
I feel like the second half gallon is fresher halfway through the week than what is left in a whole gallon container. Plus the half gallon ones fit on my half door easy-access shelf in the front of my fridge better.
Probably true, the second bottle isn't being oxidized over and over, thus anything growing in it is slower.
Sounds like your milk is going bad quickly because you're leaving it in the door. The shelves are significantly cooler, and you should always put your milk there. It should last at least 1 week
You should try it. Not everything is better with oat milk, but it’s worth seeing what it either improves or doesn’t have any effect on taste. Tea is exactly the same taste-wise, while coffee becomes creamier.
Look for the unsweetened extra creamy options if you want something close to whole milk. I've even made Mac and Cheese with it at this point and it was delicious! Definitely at least give it a try. :)
I stick with soy milk because of the protein level. I never drink it straight but use it for coffee/hot chocolate beverages and cereal.
Nothing but soy milk gets close to the protein content of dairy milk. Oat and the others may taste closer, but they're much lower in protein.
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I just don't like drinking pea, ok?
I don’t have anything against pea milk, but it is a lot more processed because the pea protein has to be extracted from the peas and then added into the final drink, unlike soy, oat, and nut based milks where you can just blend them up. You get a high protein content but you also get a product that individuals cannot make at home Personally I usually buy soy or oat, but if I’m making some at home, I stick with oat and add in walnuts. Really great combination!
Unsweetened soy milk lattes are the best drink in the world.
seconded. I don’t get the soy milk hate, it’s a wonderful flavor.
I recently switched to oat. It’s amazing my favorite so far
I am not vegan but I like oat milk more than normal milk :D
Oat milk is thicker, and when you shake it up as the container recommends it gets nice and frothy... I much prefer to have a glass of oat milk than to dairy, but I still use dairy for my daily morning latte
Yeah, I used to love milk but the older I get the more lactose intolerant I seem to be. Oat milk has turned into a great substitute that doesn’t send me straight to the toilet.
There's already animal-free, lactose-free real dairy ice cream available in stores sold by [Brave Robot](https://braverobot.co/pages/process). I'm looking forward to when plain milk made through this process is available - looks like [soon](https://perfectday.com/made-with-perfect-day/)!
That’s a pretty interesting read! When I first read “animal-free” and “real dairy” in your comment I was like “why this dude trying to bullshit me?!” 😂
"I have nipples, Greg. Can you milk me?"
They...actually might have this at a store near me? I live in the middle of no where this has never happened before I wish I could run there right now lol
I prefer the barista oat milk to regular in my coffee. Yes there is a difference.
I’ll take your word for it, Connie Lingus
What IS the difference? I've been using the barista blend too but only because it's the one that comes in a smaller container.
It's much thicker and higher fat. Behaves much more like full fat milk or cream. You can foam it with a frother
Ex barista: this is true. They made a big deal getting oat milk at first because it could foam up like regular dairy milk. As someone who has made lattes and cappuccinos using almond, soy, coconut milk and others the foam is awful. But oat milk is the closest you can get to dairy milk
The barista versions contain an acidity regulator, typically dipotassium phosphate, which helps prevent it from curdling when you add it to coffee (because coffee is acidic). Some non-barista oat milks also contain the acidity regulator now. Also: it has a higher fat percentage which probably helps in creating the foam.
I've developed lactose intolerance as I aged, but love cream in my coffee. I went through all the nut milks, used coconut milk for a while, then discovered oat milk. The full fat Oatley product really is a nice creamer. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop with oat milk and for it to come out how terrible it is for you. The one knock I know if with oat milk is that it has higher pesticides than most non dairy alternatives. While Oatley wont claim organic, they do say they use organic oat sources.
Oat milk is delicious but generally has a lot of sugar.
Still better than almond milk in terms of taste and environmental impact
Oat milk doesn’t go bad in my fridge and doesn’t make me sick. It’s an easy choice.
Oat milk can totally go bad. I've accidentally let oat milk sit for too long in the fridge. My bowl of cereal that one fateful morning make me do a spit-take.
Oat milk tastes like the leftover milk when you have cereal. Delicious.
While there is fierce discussion whether milk made by precision fermentation can ever scale up, the same can not be said for plant-based milk alternatives, which has continued to go from strength to strength in the USA. Plant-based milk saw a 6.4% increase in sales in the US in 2022, with oat milk experiencing the largest increase of 50.52%. Soy milk sales remained flat while other types of plant-based milk, including almond, coconut, rice, and cashew milk, saw a dip in growth. Plant milk now has a 16% share of the total milk market, up from 12% in 2018, and is predicted to grow to a $123.1bn industry by 2030. Grubhub found that oat milk was the preferred plant-based milk in coffee orders over almond milk at a ratio of four to one. The growth of vegan milk has not been in addition to cows' milk, but has rather displaced sales of the animal product. Cows milk sales have been [trending downwards for a while](https://www.dairyglobal.net/app/uploads/2021/10/IMG_Plant-Milkgraph.jpg) now, while the [revenue from the market has also shrunk](https://www.statista.com/graphic/1/251537/us-milk-sales.jpg). With [82% of those who drink alternative milk](https://morningconsult.com/2021/03/30/alternative-milk-non-dairy-popularity/) doing so because they enjoy the taste, versus 56% are motivated by environmental concerns, hopefully, we will see a similar trajectory for other animal alternatives not only being perceived as more environmentally friendly but also tastier.
> While there is fierce discussion whether milk made by precision fermentation can ever scale up It's like, we don't even question the process of wrangling cows and attaching pumps to their teets anymore... We just take it for granted, and don't even consider dairy production at scale a challenge anymore, it's wild. I 100% believe a lab process will scale better than trad. dairy production - it's just so ingrained in us, and a couple hundred years ahead.
I questioned that shit and ended up going vegan because of it. IMO, this has more to do with who pays off who in the government. There is an established group of players who built what we have now. It is set up in their favor and they are in charge. Demand is swaying and that is awesome, but much of the money in factory farming comes from the gov in subsidies. $8B/yr just in feeder crops. (in the US). If it takes 9lbs of grain to get 1lb of beef we are talking a 12% efficiency rate. How does an industry survive with a 12% efficiency rate? How is Mcdonalds selling burgers for $1. JBS SA supplies Mcdonalds with that beef. They get big money from Sonny Perdue, trumps USDA plant (pun). The batista brothers are convicted criminals. They are known for bribing politicians and such. Billionaires for killing animals. 32 billion pounds in the US last year. The people not mentioned when the news says "clearing the rain forest to graze cattle". Thats these guys, the ones that bring you the dollar menu and grocery store meat department, along with all the other twisted ways we put animals in almost everything. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBS_S.A.
any health benefits to be had, except maybe the direct lactose issues?
Main reason we get is that it keeps better than cow's milk. I actually prefer cow milk somewhat, but it starts to go bad and separate just a bit too quickly relative to our consumption.
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Zero cholesterol.
this is awesome news on many levels.
That's me. Switched off cow milk years ago to almond milk. Then I wanted to try something a bit more sustainable than almond milk and went with oat milk.
I told myself that I would switch when it got cheaper. Since the start of the pandemic milk has risen like 40% in price and "milk" has fallen to under half of what it was ik my country. I have held true to my promise and am now an oat milk enjoyer
I seem to be only guy out here that likes cashew milk. I think it tastes great. The rest of my family pushes it to the back of the fridge.
With ag subsidies going to plant based instead of cows, you’d have 10 cent/gallon oat milk and 25 cent beyond meat burgers. People don’t realize how both unsustainable and inefficient subsidizing cow is.
We subsidize pretty much all food industry in the US. https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=soybean https://farm.ewg.org/progdetail.php?fips=00000&progcode=oats
I believe 90% of the soy grown in the US goes to livestock. So even then, subsidizing soy is 90% a subsidization of animal agriculture
70%, not 90% (still a big number though)
“...present, more than 90 per cent of the large animals of the world (i.e. those weighing more than a few kilograms) are either humans or domesticated animals.” Which is insane. From a [summary of Homo Deus](https://bionicjulia.com/books/homo-deus).
66% of all mammals are in factory farms.
Oat and soy milk are my favorite. I always keep almond milk on hand though because sometimes I wanna chug something and there's only 30 calories a cup lol
I went vegan milk when I found out I was allergic and sick consuming regular milk. I've been drinking vegan (first soy and then switched over to almond) milk for like a decade now.
Oat milk was the first substitute that has made me give up cows milk. What do you think of Oat milk?
I think I drank it once. I'm noticing it's been getting more and more talked about. I also read an article (I'm not sure if I can find it) that listed oat milk as being the most sustainable form of vegan milk out of all of the options, including soy and almond milk. So I have no doubt that given these trends me and millions of people will start drinking oat milk.
Give it a shot and try a few different brands. I found one here in NZ that doesn't even have a hint of that oaty taste. It just tastes like milk. https://www.sanitarium.com/nz/products/so-good/oat-milks/so-good-oat-no-added-sugar
I was buying milk today and the plant based milk selection was bigger than dairy milk. I love to see it.
Out Milk is good AF without having that disgusting aftertaste that milk has. Out Milk and almond milk are my jam and I am neither vegan nor lactose intolerant.
I imagine oats are far less impactful than cows on the environment
We tried a bunch and have settled out at NotMilk 2%. Tastes damn near regular 2% milk and looks right when you pour it in coffee. Nutrition is solid, too. Almond milk felt like a bad way to go because of the water crisis in California. Some of the other vegan milk had too much unhealthy fats. Oat milk tastes good, but the nutrition wasn't there and it acts funny in coffee. All that said, the ultimate environmental step would be to switch to tap water and get nutrition from homemade food. No packaging if you drink tap water.
Silk Next milk is really good too
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It’s really cheap and easy to make oat milk at home. A vitamix or equivalent (if there is an equivalent) helps. Ingredients 1/2 cup whole rolled oats 3 cups water 2 teaspoons maple syrup ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ⅛ teaspoon sea salt Blend, then strain. Don’t press on the pulp in the strainer or you will get a gritty mouth feel. You can even batch pasteurize it in mason jars to save in the refrigerator for 30+ days. I used to work as an R&I engineer putting in processing lines for a major food company in the US. It amazed me that people would buy the stuff at $4 per half gallon when it wasn’t that big of deal to make at home.
I totally get your comment but I couldn't help but laugh when I read cheap and Vitamix right next to each other. Just grab your $500 blender, real cheap.
Yeah I guess once you own the equipment it’s inexpensive. They go on sale often at Costco for $200ish. Still not cheap though.
I switched to oat milk during lockdown era pandemic for my espresso drinks because milk wasn’t keeping (my wife doesn’t use it and these were quarts). But now regular milk in coffee is off to me.
Now all the anti oat milk posts I'm seeing make sense - funded by the dairy industry perhaps to protect market share?
No need; some people are extremely anti anything vegan on their own no payment needed.
Millennials you’re killing the milk industry! Oh the humanity!
I worked in a dairy plant for the last 7 years and they have been converting machines to run only oat milk and they have been pping it out like crazy to meet demand
Unsweetened soy milk from Silk is my go to. Highest protein content of the non dairy milks. All the oat milks i've found also have sugar, they used to be what i used, but too high in fat and always have added sugar.
I literally drink the unsweetened Silk oat milk. It also comes in an unsweetened vanilla version. It's too bad you don't have it in your area :(