“We have no more need for the milk of a cow than we do the milk of a dog or a giraffe.”
Paper: [SACN and COT assessment of the health benefits and risks of consuming plant-based drinks: summary](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plant-based-drink...)
.. note there's some UK specific aspects of the study:
> Plant-based drinks in the UK that are labelled as ‘organic’ are not allowed to be fortified with any nutrients.
> Most plant-based drinks would be classified as ‘ultra-processed’ according to the NOVA classification.
The findings also conclude:
> Replacing cows’ milk with almond, oat or soya drinks would result in potential benefits and risks from both a nutritional and a toxicological perspective.
.. so hardly a slam dunk.
I have massive problems with the NOVA classification.
For example, anything traditional gets a pass. Cheese? Traditional, so it's not highly processed, even if made in a factory. Oat milk? New, so it's classified as highly processed , even when there's less actual processing happening (talking about mass produced but real cheese here, not the American stuff).
I do get the idea behind NOVA, it's designed to be simple, to statistically improve the diets of people in Europe, and to accept that they won't stop people eating traditional foods so they should ignore them. Overall, trying to have less NOVA food items in your diet is a good start to healthy eating.
However, there's no nuance. It's (intentionally) simplistic. It falls apart when you focus on individual items like this, and it will get used this way.
Many things classified as highly processed, considered individually, could be fairly healthy. Many things not classified as highly processed, considered individually, could be unhealthy.
Statistically, applied to all foods, it should help steer people towards a healthier diet. But when talking about an individual food, you should have a stronger case than "it's NOVA classified as highly processed" before dismissing it.
toomuchtodo•3h ago
Adult humans don’t require dairy, most vegan soy and pea milk for children is fortified. Ripple Kids, for example (pea based and fortified).