Cows milk vs almond milk

WendyTerry420

As to those people who were saying we weren't "meant" to drink animal milk and we should drink almond milk instead I felt like I should mention that a natural almond has enough cyanide that eating a small handful would literally kill you and it was only through artificial breeding, selection and domestication that we made them edible but then I thought there was probably no point in mentioning that.

There is a reason that cyanide smells like almonds. Its because the "almond" smell is cyanide.

My question is who is deciding this, what we are "meant" to do? Is it God or Mother Nature or some vegan novelist? As a kid, my parents decided these things. As an adult, I decide these things for myself and then make decisions for my kids.

What gives anyone else the right to decide what I'm "meant" to do?

Mygsds

As to those people who were saying we weren't "meant" to drink animal milk and we should drink almond milk instead I felt like I should mention that a natural almond has enough cyanide that eating a small handful would literally kill you and it was only through artificial breeding, selection and domestication that we made them edible but then I thought there was probably no point in mentioning that.

There is a reason that cyanide smells like almonds. Its because the "almond" smell is cyanide.

I could write an essay on how we're not "meant" to eat any citrus produced in the US either based on the standards dictated here. Virtually nothing we eat today is how it exists in nature, and that includes the produce section as well as the dairy and meat sections of the grocery store.

The argument that we're not meant to drink milk because we're the only species that drinks milk past infancy, and it happens to be from another animal, is laughable. We're the only species that talks too, so are we not supposed to do that?

. This:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:

lemurcat12

have no issues with cows milk for human children/ adults - but that's not to say anyone who doesn't use it is stupid.

Agreed.

SnuggleSmacks

My almond milk tastes great and is only 30 calories a cup. Cow's milk messes with my sinuses and I don't like the taste. The ONLY thing almond milk won't do is congeal instant pudding...but it still works fine if you use half as much and add a bowl of Cool Whip Free.

Jenni129

I know it's a bit of a gross-factor thing, but if you look at what's in milk (... pus) it can be rather nice to switch to non-dairy alternatives.

There is no pus in milk. All commercially sold milk is heavily tested and if any sample doesn't meet those standards, the whole tank is discarded.

I am inclined to agree. I grew up on a dairy farm. the milk is tested and if anything is found to be contaminated (a cow may have had a mild infection, etc...) the whole tank is drained. period. i remember it well, because when that happened...it would be a very meager week for us.

I grew up on a dairy farm as well. The pus comment is totally ridiculous. The rare times the tank had to be drained, my dad would be completely disheartened as it was the means for our survival. We worked very hard to produce grade A milk and ran a very clean facility.

daffodilsoup

I know it's a bit of a gross-factor thing, but if you look at what's in milk (... pus) it can be rather nice to switch to non-dairy alternatives.

There is no pus in milk. All commercially sold milk is heavily tested and if any sample doesn't meet those standards, the whole tank is discarded.

I am inclined to agree. I grew up on a dairy farm. the milk is tested and if anything is found to be contaminated (a cow may have had a mild infection, etc...) the whole tank is drained. period. i remember it well, because when that happened...it would be a very meager week for us.

I grew up on a dairy farm as well. The pus comment is totally ridiculous. The rare times the tank had to be drained, my dad would be completely disheartened as it was the means for our survival. We worked very hard to produce grade A milk and ran a very clean facility.

What happened to the calves that were born from the dairy cows?

WendyTerry420

I know it's a bit of a gross-factor thing, but if you look at what's in milk (... pus) it can be rather nice to switch to non-dairy alternatives.

There is no pus in milk. All commercially sold milk is heavily tested and if any sample doesn't meet those standards, the whole tank is discarded.

I am inclined to agree. I grew up on a dairy farm. the milk is tested and if anything is found to be contaminated (a cow may have had a mild infection, etc...) the whole tank is drained. period. i remember it well, because when that happened...it would be a very meager week for us.

I grew up on a dairy farm as well. The pus comment is totally ridiculous. The rare times the tank had to be drained, my dad would be completely disheartened as it was the means for our survival. We worked very hard to produce grade A milk and ran a very clean facility.

What happened to the calves that were born from the dairy cows?

On my uncle's farm, the calves stayed with their mother until they were ready to be weaned.

Holly_Roman_Empire

I know it's a bit of a gross-factor thing, but if you look at what's in milk (... pus) it can be rather nice to switch to non-dairy alternatives.

There is no pus in milk. All commercially sold milk is heavily tested and if any sample doesn't meet those standards, the whole tank is discarded.

I am inclined to agree. I grew up on a dairy farm. the milk is tested and if anything is found to be contaminated (a cow may have had a mild infection, etc...) the whole tank is drained. period. i remember it well, because when that happened...it would be a very meager week for us.

I grew up on a dairy farm as well. The pus comment is totally ridiculous. The rare times the tank had to be drained, my dad would be completely disheartened as it was the means for our survival. We worked very hard to produce grade A milk and ran a very clean facility.

What happened to the calves that were born from the dairy cows?

On my uncle's farm, the calves stayed with their mother until they were ready to be weaned.

This happens at the majority of milk producers I personally know here in Texas, too. Then once they're weaned, they just keep getting milked. I don't know what benefit is had from taking a calf away from its mother anyway. You'd still have to give it milk; it may as well be direct from mom.

arabianhorselover

Since my body does not have a problem with cow's milk, I use that because Almond milk is much more expensive.

HappyHope0123

I know it's a bit of a gross-factor thing, but if you look at what's in milk (... pus) it can be rather nice to switch to non-dairy alternatives.

There is no pus in milk. All commercially sold milk is heavily tested and if any sample doesn't meet those standards, the whole tank is discarded.

I am inclined to agree. I grew up on a dairy farm. the milk is tested and if anything is found to be contaminated (a cow may have had a mild infection, etc...) the whole tank is drained. period. i remember it well, because when that happened...it would be a very meager week for us.

I grew up on a dairy farm as well. The pus comment is totally ridiculous. The rare times the tank had to be drained, my dad would be completely disheartened as it was the means for our survival. We worked very hard to produce grade A milk and ran a very clean facility.

What happened to the calves that were born from the dairy cows?

On my uncle's farm, the calves stayed with their mother until they were ready to be weaned.

This happens at the majority of milk producers I personally know here in Texas, too. Then once they're weaned, they just keep getting milked. I don't know what benefit is had from taking a calf away from its mother anyway. You'd still have to give it milk; it may as well be direct from mom.

Goodness...cows have calves...they nurse for a few days, then are bottle fed. Those calves - the females are raised as the next generation of dairy cows. The males are usually sold off the farm since they are cost prohibitive to raise.

Aaron_K123

I'll admit I assumed incorrectly that almond milk had protein in it because, you know...almonds.

So now that I look it up nutritionally and see that it is mostly carbohydrates...which is a bit odd considering almonds, I have to ask....how much of "almond milk" is actually from almonds and/or how much post-processing is involved?

How do you mulch a food that is pretty much mostly protein and fat (nuts), mix it with water and end up with something that is mostly carbs? I guess you do that then you boil it or something to denature the protein and separate the fat? But then you basically just have sugar water.

I'm confused. What exactly is almond milk? Have to go look this up now.

Alright yeah so they grind up almonds in water...then they strain that out removing much of the protein and fat (you know, what is actually making up almonds) and then they add a lot of sweetener...hence the carbohydrates.

Wierd.

So how is this a substitute for milk? Milk is calorically mostly protein and fat with some carbs, this is calorically mostly carbs with some protein and fat...they seem like nutritional polar opposites.

Because someone erroneously labeled it milk and due to that, we now have to compare the two, pretending that one can substitute the other.

I find if ironic that the added nutrients to almond milk are heralded ( calcium, vit d, vit A) while they are poopooed by even the Harvard School of Public Health for vit a in milk and added nutrients are poopooed in wheat and cereal products.

I personally am of the opinion that "fortification" is a valuable tool to ensure an adequately nourished population which may not consume "ideal" foods. I just find some things ironic.

Yeah, I don't get why some folks think it's bad to add vitamins to your food.

Because everything natural ia good and perfect and impossible to improve. Nature loves you and cares for you, it wants you to come into its van so it can give you a treat.

Strokingdiction

I know it's a bit of a gross-factor thing, but if you look at what's in milk (... pus) it can be rather nice to switch to non-dairy alternatives.

There is no pus in milk. All commercially sold milk is heavily tested and if any sample doesn't meet those standards, the whole tank is discarded.

I am inclined to agree. I grew up on a dairy farm. the milk is tested and if anything is found to be contaminated (a cow may have had a mild infection, etc...) the whole tank is drained. period. i remember it well, because when that happened...it would be a very meager week for us.

I grew up on a dairy farm as well. The pus comment is totally ridiculous. The rare times the tank had to be drained, my dad would be completely disheartened as it was the means for our survival. We worked very hard to produce grade A milk and ran a very clean facility.

What happened to the calves that were born from the dairy cows?

On my uncle's farm, the calves stayed with their mother until they were ready to be weaned.

This happens at the majority of milk producers I personally know here in Texas, too. Then once they're weaned, they just keep getting milked. I don't know what benefit is had from taking a calf away from its mother anyway. You'd still have to give it milk; it may as well be direct from mom.

Goodness...cows have calves...they nurse for a few days, then are bottle fed. Those calves - the females are raised as the next generation of dairy cows. The males are usually sold off the farm since they are cost prohibitive to raise.

They are rarely bottle fed. It's more expensive both in materials (formula) and labor (having to bottle feed dozens of calves 2-3 times a day) to purposely pull calves from the cows before they are ready to be weaned.

FireOpalCO

Because everything natural ia good and perfect and impossible to improve. Nature loves you and cares for you, it wants you to come into its van so it can give you a treat.

I nearly choked on a strawberry.

WendyTerry420

Because everything natural ia good and perfect and impossible to improve. Nature loves you and cares for you, it wants you to come into its van so it can give you a treat.

The more you know... :drinker:

bcattoes

I prefer cows milk for the high protein content, which you won't get from milk substitutes. But if you're meeting your protein goals elsewhere then use whichever milk you enjoy most.

Some soy milk is comparable in protein to cow's milk.

Holly_Roman_Empire

I know it's a bit of a gross-factor thing, but if you look at what's in milk (... pus) it can be rather nice to switch to non-dairy alternatives.

There is no pus in milk. All commercially sold milk is heavily tested and if any sample doesn't meet those standards, the whole tank is discarded.

I am inclined to agree. I grew up on a dairy farm. the milk is tested and if anything is found to be contaminated (a cow may have had a mild infection, etc...) the whole tank is drained. period. i remember it well, because when that happened...it would be a very meager week for us.

I grew up on a dairy farm as well. The pus comment is totally ridiculous. The rare times the tank had to be drained, my dad would be completely disheartened as it was the means for our survival. We worked very hard to produce grade A milk and ran a very clean facility.

What happened to the calves that were born from the dairy cows?

On my uncle's farm, the calves stayed with their mother until they were ready to be weaned.

This happens at the majority of milk producers I personally know here in Texas, too. Then once they're weaned, they just keep getting milked. I don't know what benefit is had from taking a calf away from its mother anyway. You'd still have to give it milk; it may as well be direct from mom.

Goodness...cows have calves...they nurse for a few days, then are bottle fed. Those calves - the females are raised as the next generation of dairy cows. The males are usually sold off the farm since they are cost prohibitive to raise.

They are rarely bottle fed. It's more expensive both in materials (formula) and labor (having to bottle feed dozens of calves 2-3 times a day) to purposely pull calves from the cows before they are ready to be weaned.

^^^Yes, this is the point I was trying to make. It's not cost-effective to take calves away from mothers before they are weaned.

Aaron_K123

As far as the pus in milk is concerned I totally believe there is pus in cows milk. In fact, its hard for me to believe that there wouldn't be pus in cows milk. That said it doesn't concern me in the slightest. Why? Well to know you'd have to know what pus actually is.

Pus is dead leukocytes, that is it...that is what it is. If there is dead leukocytes in something then there is pus in there. So what are leukocytes. Well leukocytes are the bodies cell based innate immune system colloquially referred to as "white blood cells". Pus gets a bad rep because when you get an infection its the leukocytes job to rush in there, start phagocytosing the invading organisms and then dying off themselves leaving pus. As a result people associate pus with disease, infection, bad stuff, ickiness etc etc. Fact is though all pus is is dead leukocytes and guess what, there are leukocytes in milk.

Those leukocytes aren't going to survive pasteurization which will kill them and therefore make them pus because by definition pus is just dead leukocytes. This is not gross, this is not unexpected.

So my suspicion is some marketer for anti-dairy at some point realized this, realized the knee-jerk response the public would have to hearing there was icky icky pus in something and so they truthfully but disingenuously put out there that there was pus in milk.

Here is the thing though, if that is how we are using pus then there is also plenty of pus in breast milk which of course also has leukocytes...both alive and dead. Of course when that milk hits your stomach acid at that point they are all dead and therefore all pus.

There is nothing wrong with pus anymore than there is anything wrong with dead red blood cells. Animal products are going to have dead animal cells in them. If that bothers you you are probably vegan and this is a moot point for you anyways. Complaining that there is pus in your milk is like complaining there are dead red blood cells in your steak.

arabianhorselover

I'll admit I assumed incorrectly that almond milk had protein in it because, you know...almonds.

So now that I look it up nutritionally and see that it is mostly carbohydrates...which is a bit odd considering almonds, I have to ask....how much of "almond milk" is actually from almonds and/or how much post-processing is involved?

How do you mulch a food that is pretty much mostly protein and fat (nuts), mix it with water and end up with something that is mostly carbs? I guess you do that then you boil it or something to denature the protein and separate the fat? But then you basically just have sugar water.

I'm confused. What exactly is almond milk? Have to go look this up now.

Alright yeah so they grind up almonds in water...then they strain that out removing much of the protein and fat (you know, what is actually making up almonds) and then they add a lot of sweetener...hence the carbohydrates.

Wierd.

So how is this a substitute for milk? Milk is calorically mostly protein and fat with some carbs, this is calorically mostly carbs with some protein and fat...they seem like nutritional polar opposites.

Because someone erroneously labeled it milk and due to that, we now have to compare the two, pretending that one can substitute the other.

I find if ironic that the added nutrients to almond milk are heralded ( calcium, vit d, vit A) while they are poopooed by even the Harvard School of Public Health for vit a in milk and added nutrients are poopooed in wheat and cereal products.

I personally am of the opinion that "fortification" is a valuable tool to ensure an adequately nourished population which may not consume "ideal" foods. I just find some things ironic.

Yeah, I don't get why some folks think it's bad to add vitamins to your food.

Because everything natural ia good and perfect and impossible to improve. Nature loves you and cares for you, it wants you to come into its van so it can give you a treat.

Everything that is "natural" is not good for you.

Aaron_K123

Everything that is "natural" is not good for you.

and not everyone can correctly identify sarcasm

FireOpalCO

Everything that is "natural" is not good for you.

If having those words in the wrong order was intentional, it's freaking hilarious.