Plant-based beverages, such as nut, seed and soy "milk," have gained popularity among those seeking dairy-free options. However, it is important to clarify whether these beverages should truly be classified as milk, considering their different nutritional profiles and production processes compared to traditional dairy milk.
Oat, almond and soy are the most popular plant beverages, however the list is expansive, and seems to keep growing.
Soy Coconut Rice Pecan
Almond Macadamia Nut Peanut Hazelnut
Oat Hemp Seed Pecan
Cashew Flax Seed Walnut
Liquid Based Extract of Plant Materials
At Spring Hope, one of our core values is truth and transparency in our food system. Basically, calling products what they really are. Technically these products are considered a “liquid based extract of plant materials” (per the FDA).
Terminology is important! We prefer the term Almond Juice, Oat Juice, etc. I am old enough to remember when the liquid extracted from a plant was referred to as it's juice.
Don't get me wrong - I enjoy the taste of plant juice! A double tall vanilla oat juice latte is delicious! Also, many people have allergies and other very good medical and cultural reasons for not drinking milk.
Our aim is simply to walk in truth and call food what it actually is, and not get caught up in marketing campaigns of food producers.
History and Survival
We also look at the historic perspective of food. What would our great grandparents think?
My mother grew up on a farm and hand milked cows before school. I do not believe she would have considered almond juice a milk - although she would have much rather pulverized almonds in a blender than milked cows in the morning.
Milk has been important to the survival of civilizations for thousands of years. A cow can produce milk for 305 days per year, before it needs a rest period. Having spent a good amount of time in nomadic places, cattle can travel and move with people.
Almonds and oats have a once a year harvest that needs to be plentiful, and properly stored. This is not practical in many parts of the world. It is truly the industrialized scale of farming that has even made plant beverages on a large scale possible.
Nutrition
While we, ourselves, enjoy plant beverages for the flavor, from a nutrition and composition standpoint, there is not a comparison. Referring to plant beverages as an "alternative" to milk, is misleading from a nutrition standpoint.
Remember the food pyramid? That trusty triangle (more on that another day), with the government's recommendations of what foods we should eat to get our daily recommended nutrition? The FDA acknowledges that plant beverages do not have enough nutrients to be placed in the dairy section of the triangle. Only soy products that have been fortified with nutrients is allowed in the box.
Milk is a naturally a source of protein, (minerals) calcium, magnesium, selenium, potassium, sodium and zinc thiamin, riboflavin, (vitamins) Vitamin B12 and Vitamins A, along with Vitamins D, E, K.
Plant juices just have 2 to 5 of the same vitamins and minerals.
Composition
Many commercially produced plant juices have gums and fillers in them to prevent separation and improve the texture (try making a "milk mustache" from a plant juice).
Let's compare the ingredients between milk, and a very popular almond juice on the market.
Milk: Milk, Vitamin A, Vitamin D
Almond Juice: Filtered Water, Almonds, Calcium Carbonate, Sea Salt, Potassium Citrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan Gum, Natural Flavors, Viam A Palmitate, Vitamin D, D-Alpha-Tocopherol
Standards of Identity (SOIs)
The FDA has Standards of Identify for 250 food products, including milk. The reason for SOI’s is to prevent the adulteration (basically fraud) of food in the marketplace.
For example, when you purchase a product like jam, you expect there to actually be fruit in it. So, the SOI for jam requires there to be a certain amount of fruit in the product in order for the product label to say “jam.” There are similar standards for milk.
If you want to nerd out like we do, read the FDA Standard of Identity: §131.110 Milk.
Historically, the SOI for milk has required that it be produced from a healthy animal such as a cow, goat, sheep, etc. We live in a time where words, and the meaning of words are constantly changing. For thousands of years, milk has been understood to be a food derived from an animal.
(a) Description. Milk is the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows. Milk that is in final package form for beverage use shall have been pasteurized or ultrapasteurized, and shall contain not less than 8 1⁄4 percent milk solids not fat and not less than 3 1⁄4 percent milkfat. Milk may have been adjusted by separating part of the milkfat therefrom, or by adding thereto cream, concentrated milk, dry whole milk, skim milk, concentrated skim milk, or nonfat dry milk. Milk may be homogenized.
Why is this important?
We have a younger generation that has grown up from birth with plant based beverages, and so it is important that we pass along the truth we know and grew up with. The FDA has acknowledged that referring to plant based beverages as "milk" can confuse the consumer into believing that these products are equivalent to milk in its nutritional makeup.
If plant juice is a part of your diet (as it is occasionally ours), you may want to consider supplementing your diet to make up for any differences in nutrition.
