Why plant-based milk is stirring a debate in India

Plant-based or non-dairy milk is a fast-growing segment in the world, and an alternative being adopted to Big Dairy in India – thereby catching the attention of Amul, Mother Dairy, and other local milk co-operatives.

According to a report in Economic Times, the big dairy brands, which dominate the Rs 1.5 lakh crore dairy sector, are pointing out that plant-based milk is inferior to dairy.

“If you make plant-based products, you have to make sure you say they are synthetic products with some natural ingredients, with artificial colour, flavour… You eat food because of three things — taste, nutrition, and affordability. These products do not meet any of these parameters. They are not natural products. They are nutritionally very inferior (to milk protein). They are not plant-based; they are chemical-based. They are artificial,” RS Sodhi, managing director of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation which owns Amul, was quoted as saying in the ET report.

But why are consumers going for vegan milk? The reason may lie in prevalence of lactose intolerance, calorie concerns and high blood cholesterol which are influencing choices, and plant sources (cereals and legumes) being increasingly accepted as functional food due to the presence of health promoting components such as dietary fibres, minerals, vitamins and antioxidants.

Hence the focus on soy milk and almond milk, and even peanut milk, oats milk and barley milk.

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Having said that, plant-based milk alternatives – though lactose-free, lower in saturated fat and cholesterol – cannot match the nutrition profile of dairy milk in terms of protein and essential amino acids. They are also more expensive, with almond and soy milk alternatives priced much higher as compared to cow or buffalo milk.

When it comes to dairy, there is the idea that the industry is cruel to animals, with People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) asking Amul in May this year to switch to producing vegan milk.

In March, Amul had run an advertisement claiming to counter the myth that the dairy industry is cruel to animals, and its ad stated that the term “milk” was being encroached upon by plant-based beverages.

India’s food safety regulator FSSAI in September issued draft guidelines on classifying plant-based foods and other vegan options and its guidelines set in 2017 state that a company cannot claim or suggest in advertisements and packaging that a non-milk product is made out of milk.

Also read: FSSAI launches new logo for vegan food. How does it help…