Why Humans Don't Need to Drink Another Mammal's Milk

I have heard and read vegans talk about the many times a meat-eater asks them where they get their protein. In my case, no meat-eater has shown much interest in my protein intake, but they seem to be very interested in my calcium intake. I have been asked how do I get enough calcium without drinking milk (referring to dairy, or course) many more times than I can remember.

I am no expert in nutrition or have any academic preparation in this topic. But I read a lot, and feel confident that I am better informed than many people out there. So, my response to them is that we humans need to drink milk as much as we need to drink soda. We don't need it at all! Even if we needed to drink milk, wouldn't it make more sense for us to drink human milk? I know is sounds ugly, but think about it. A mammal's milk is meant for her baby to drink for a period of time. In a natural situation, after that period of time, the baby mammal turns to what will be his or her natural diet for the rest of his or her life. They don't go back to drink milk, even less, another specie's milk.

In reality, the only reason we humans think we need to drink milk is because it has been marketed as THE source of calcium for our diets. Well, it is true that milk has lots of calcium, but it is because the mother mammals get it from their foods. The milk that is available to us is produced mainly by cows and goats. In a natural situation, these animals get their calcium from the grass, which gets calcium from the soil. Not so much for the animals that produce the milk that we buy at the super market. They are not grazing around eating grass; they are fed stuff that is not natural to them. Their diet is supplemented with calcium so that the milk they produce gets calcium so that we can drink it.

So what do we do? We don't need to drink milk, but we need the calcium. Well, we can supplement our diets with calcium too! We can eat plants that are rich in calcium, or eat and drink calcium-fortified food. That is exactly how I get my calcium. I take a multivitamin every day (that has calcium) and count on a variety of calcium-rich foods in my diet.

• I eat calcium-rich veggies like: broccoli and rhubarb. There are more out there, just google "calcium rich vegetables".
  
• I drink fortified non-dairy milk. There are many alternatives in the market, the most popular are made with soy, almond, rice, oats, or hazelnut. Most come in vanilla or chocolate flavor, and of course the "original" flavor. The ones that I drink have at least 20% of the daily calcium* requirement. I looooove vanilla flavored soy- and almond-milk.
• I drink juice that is fortified with calcium and vitamin D. Instead of selecting the regular orange juice, I select the fortified version (some times there is no difference in price!). An 8-oz glass of fortified juice often has more calcium than the same amount of milk!
• I spread almond butter on my bread and make AB & J (almond buter & jelly) sandwiches . It is sooooooo delicious. The brand that I use has 8% of the daily calcium* requirement per serving.
• I eat almonds. A 1/4 of a cup has about 8% of the daily calcium* requirement. I know that nuts (almonds included) have fat, but since I don't eat meat, dairy, or eggs (huge sources of fat) I don't worry too much. Plus, almonds (and all other nuts) have the good-for-your-health kinds of fat, and are naturally cholesterol free (unlike meat).
• I eat calcium-set tofu. The brands that I buy have at least 15% of the daily calcium* requirement per serving.
• I eat soy yogurt. The brands that I buy have more than 30% of the daily calcium* requirement.
  

I don't eat each and every one of these foods every day. But it helps to have a wide variety of plant foods to choose from to create a menu that is both nutritious and enjoyable.

We humans have no need to drink milk or eat it's derivatives. Us drinking milk is a custom that generates lots of suffering for the mother animals and their babies. All animals deserve our respect. We are not here to create suffering. We need to direct our advantages over other species in such a way that creates peace and joy for all. Don't support the industries that inflict suffering on them. Don't drink milk from another mammal.

*Percentages are based on a 2000 calorie diet, as on the nutrition data labels on the foods.

The picture on this post was provided by FreeFoto.com.