I never realised my milk drinking habits were strange! Are yours?

[MrsPeacockInTheLibrary]

Partly inspired from another thread where someone said that only people over forty drink cow's milk.

I am close to 40 at 37, but I only drink semi-skimmed cows milk and have done for years. I'll drink almond or soya if a friend or family provides it, obviously, but I also see it as knowingly looking at the more expensive price. Any one else?!

Disclaimer: I know I don't drink as much milk as other people anyway, so no judgement here just curiosity!

Are there any other items that people under or over a certain age are probably not having?

@Mmmmmmbop90

Deforestation is caused by cow farming - surely we all know that one by now. 90% of the worlds soy production goes to feed cows. Soy milk isn’t the problem here - it’s cow farming

And as to the ‘I know how well the cows are looked after’ argument - please come and enlighten us. Do your cows not have their babies removed so you can take their milk and sell it to adult humans? What happens to your cows when they no longer produce milk? Do you keep them all as pets?! What happens to male calves born to your cows?

Where I buy my milk the calves stay with mum for a couple of months, followed by a month where they visit for a feed daily. Beef from retired cows is sold through the dairy. Male calves go on to be beef cattle nearby.

I love VERY COLD full fat milk, straight from the bottle. I always take several gulps every morning while waiting for the kettle to boil for my tea😁. I used soya milk for about a year in uni...lifes too short for all that

I’m almost 29 and I only drink semi skimmed. I don’t see how this is strange, I thought it was very common. I went through a vegan spell for a few years so only drank soy or almond milk, occasionally hazelnut or oat. It’s very expensive to maintain so I just stick to cows now.

Obviously. everyone on this thread who still drinks dairy milk only ever consumes milk bought from their mate Fred the Farmer who lives up the road and feeds his cows on grass all year (No lattes from Costa, then? No yoghurt, chees, ice-cream?)

In the real world, very, very few UK dairy cows are fed on grass year round. It's more common for beef cattle. You need to look for the "Pasture for Life" logo for 100% grass fed dairy produce or meat.

www.pastureforlife.org/faqs/
"In the UK, the words ‘grass-fed’ can be used to describe food from animals that have spent only part of their time out grazing in the fields or eating conserved grass. The rest of the time they will have been fed other less natural feeds, such as cereals or the by-products of human food manufacturing like bread and biscuit waste."

And I meant to add that Fred the Framer's cows continue to suckle their calves after birth in a bucolic meadow before the calf weans itself and trots off happily either to have its own calf in turn, or to have fun with the beef cattle until it heads off for a nice day out at the theme park. I mean slaughterhouse.

I drunk (well tried) soy milk when bf DD as she reacted on me drinking or eating anything pure dairy. It lasted 2 days and I survived 5 months without cows milk apart from when it was cooked/thoroughly heated.

The taste was foul in my opinion. Rice milk was even worse, one sip and the stuff ended in the drain.

I am in two minds trying oat, a friend moved from soy to oat (lactose intolerant) and says it definitely is better tasting.

I like oat milk, especially in coffee. Never drink it on its own, so can't comment about that.

‘Beef from retired cows is sold by the dairy’

Yes so when their poor bodies are spent from years of churning out babies to have them taken away and their milk stolen so Jill can have it on her cornflakes they are slaughtered.

Nah I’ll stick to alternatives which don’t involve mass slaughter and cruelty along the way

I look at my baby boy happily breastfeeding and my heart breaks for all those mother cows and babies ripped away - I can’t see how anyone thinks a 10 minute meal or cup of tea is worth that level of cruelty.

I was camping last year and nearby a place bred special cow breeds once every four years and kept them as pets, mum and babies stayed together ( male calves castrated!) and we saw a calf be born there - it was amazing to see their bond.

As for the ‘I only buy grass fed’ etc a) they still all end up dead for your cup of tea/ steak and b) do you never have a slice of cake or butter on toast when you’re out? Never pop to a coffee shop?

I know it’s hard when you’ve been doing something your whole life, and your family has been doing it before then, plus it’s normalised in society. I was vegetarian for 15 years and I honestly thought that cows ‘needed’ milking so we weren’t hurting them. When I educated myself I couldn’t believe the suffering I’d caused and I didn’t want to face it - it’s hard, I get it. But there are better, kinder, options out there if you open up to it.

@Mmmmmmbop90
It seems odd to aim your comments at people who have chosen to buy local dairy rather than those buying eight pints a week from the supermarket. I choose to buy milk because I like milk, I try to buy the more ethical option and pay much more for it but I won't be switching. If I stopped buying milk I wouldn't buy plant based milk because I don't like it, I'd just go without.

@Svara that’s fair - I think it’s because the ‘I only buy local’ people a) don’t only buy local, they will still (in most cases) eat dairy when out and about without knowing it’s origins and b) the supermarket buyers aren’t kidding themselves that they are making an ethical choice

Going without milk is no hardship if you’re interested in ethical behaviour- which it sounds like you are.

I saw that too OP I would also like to join the 'Under 40s Who Drink Cows Milk' club! 🥛🐮

Family of 5, all under 40, all drink cows milk.

I'm early 30s and have dairy milk in tea, coffee and for making yoghurt. I tend to have almond milk for muesli though.

My ex used to drink pints of the stuff.

I'm 55 & if someone could invent a milk that never went off I would be able to make a 2 pint bottle last forever as I only have a 5p size spot in drinks.

[quote Mmmmmmbop90]@Svara that’s fair - I think it’s because the ‘I only buy local’ people a) don’t only buy local, they will still (in most cases) eat dairy when out and about without knowing it’s origins and b) the supermarket buyers aren’t kidding themselves that they are making an ethical choice

Going without milk is no hardship if you’re interested in ethical behaviour- which it sounds like you are.[/quote]
I don't see why it has to be all or nothing with buying local. I don't buy the local grass fed cheese as I can't afford it. If it was just me I would as I don't eat a lot but my teen does. I was answering about the milk we buy not all dairy.

I'm not 'kidding myself', I understand that no choice is completely ethical, it's all a scale and different impacts. By buying local I'm supporting local business, reducing food miles, I do believe the cows have a better life, and I've been refilling the same glass bottles for almost two years. We are going to drink milk, we don't want to go vegan. I've been vegan before but it's not the right choice for me right now.

We buy local and high welfare where meat and dairy products are concerned as far as possible - our beef and eggs come from a farm 1km away where we can see the chickens and cattle outside as we walk past. Milk I usually buy from a dairy farm on my route home from work.

I'm not kidding myself that the agricultural stock are doing anything as anthropomorphic as having "a nice day out" or that freezing, muddy fields in January are "bucolic". How deeply unpleasant and stupidly patronising and misguided to sneer at those of us who choose higher welfare, locally farmed produce like that! I can only assume that poster would prefer anyone not vegan to seek out the lowest welfare meat and dairy with the most food miles possible so that she feels as superior and vindicated as possible... Or would that be hyperbolic perhaps?

Personally my priority is low food miles and supporting local producers, not anthropomorphism.

@Mmmmmmbop90 I assume your comments are mostly aimed at me. I work in agriculture, I know what happens. I also have managed hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland for conservation bodies. Currently I’m only managing 100 acres of wildlife reserves and country park.

I’m also fully aware that animal agriculture is entirely necessary and that often posters on threads like this spread misinformation or present statistics than have no relevance without having any experience to know how it applies.

Animal agriculture is 100% necessary for environmentally friendly and sustainable farming. So people like me pushing for sustainable agriculture, like organic grass fed dairy, is important. One family member has an organic, vegan fresh produce farm. Their yields are small, costs are high. It’s a lovely thing if you can afford it but it isn’t going to sustain the population, there isn’t enough land in the UK to farm like this.

I'll drink almond or soya if a friend or family provides it, obviously, but I also see it as knowingly looking at the more expensive price.

I know it’s Friday and I’m tired, but I’ve read it multiple times and I have literally no idea what this means?

I thought milk was for babies and adults ate food.

I’m 38 and drink oat milk because my breast feed toddler is allergic to cows milk (I also can’t have any soya or coconut). I occasionally have some cow milk in tea as toddler can tolerate this and doesn’t feed as much as previously but it taste weird to me now.

DH and I are both 31, we use cow's milk. So do my brother and SIL, who are 25.

I've tried every possible non-dairy alternative and they're all foul, in my opinion. I drink iced lattes which are obviously mostly milk and using dairy free tastes terrible. I really have tried but I just don't like them.

@StarlingsAreAmazing

Knowing that the milk was destined for the calf, which will be slaughtered instead,is sad enough before realising a farmer has to stick their arm up the cows arse to impregnate her over and over is enough to put me off. (Can't imagine it's all too pleasant for the farmer either)

Wow a cow got pregnant from something up its arse?

misses point of thread

@Mmmmmmbop90

Pus wise - there is an ‘acceptable level of pus cells per litre’ I think it’s something like 200 million cells for UK milk and 400 million for EU?

Wait til i tell you about how many ground up bugs you'd find in a bag of flour. Especially organic flour.

That conversation with someone who worked in the industry was an eye opener.

Vegan should immediately ditch all products with flour in.

RedToothBrush In the sense that they need to guide the insemination rod as per the diagram.

I grew up on a dairy farm. I’ve never drunk milk other than in tea and coffee.

I breastfed my children, and never used formula. I looked after friends child once and she left me a bottle to make up: wow it took me right back to making up buckets for the calves , exactly the same smell which makes sense I guess, being dried cow milk.