According to VegNews, Dean Foods, America’s largest dairy company, recently announced a
plan to shift focus to its plant-based brands, particularly the vegan
flax-based milk and yogurt label Good Karma Foods.
The dairy giant made a minority investment in
Good Karma Foods in 2017 and increased its investment last month to become the
majority stakeholder.
According to Food Business
News, Dean Foods CEO Ralph P. Scozzafava
said on a conference call:
We want to be back in the plant-based business. We think Good Karma is a platform for us. And I will remind everyone that was here, remember how small Silk was when this company brought it in-house many years ago. Just keep in mind that with the playbook for Good Karma, we’ll look a lot like that, and that’s our commitment.
The company best known for manufacturing,
marketing, and distributing dairy-based products such as DairyPure and TruMoo
recently made headlines after it closed an Illinois facility, citing a decline
in consumption. Dean Foods predicts more closures as consumers ditch dairy
products in favor of plant-based options.
Earlier this year, the company issued a notice
to dozens of dairy suppliers that it would not renew their contracts after May 31,
because lack of consumer demand had resulted in overproduction of dairy milk.
According to a 2013 USDA report, dairy consumption has been on the decline for decades,
with each generation consuming less milk than the one before. In fact, CBS New York reports that fluid milk
consumption has fallen a whopping 37 percent since 1970.
A recent survey from agribusiness giant
Cargill reveals that half of U.S. dairy consumers also use vegan dairy
alternatives. With so many dairy consumers using plant-based
alternatives, the dairy industry is losing a significant portion of its
business.
Dean Foods must know that the future is vegan.
It’s one of many companies taking steps to adapt to the consumer shift away
from animal products. Food giant Danone, famous for its yogurt, recently invested nearly $60 million in a plant-based beverage
facility in Mount Crawford, Virginia. Danone also dropped its animal-based dairy brand Stonyfield. And Elmhurst Dairy in Queens, New York, closed its
doors after 90 years in business and switched to making plant-based milks!
While dairy consumption continues to decline
and farmers are forced to turn to other industries, the plant-based market is thriving.
A 2017 report by the Plant Based
Foods Association and The Good Food Institute shows a more than 20
percent increase from the previous year in purchases of dairy alternatives, such as vegan cheese, ice cream, and yogurt, for a total of over $700 million in
sales.
The decline in dairy consumption is great news
for cows, who are treated as mere milk-producing machines, forcibly
impregnated, and kept in terrible conditions. Shortly after calves are
born, they are torn away from their mothers. Male calves are killed for veal.
Females are forced into the dairy herd, trapped in a cycle of abuse for years
until they are considered “spent and sent to slaughter.
Heartbreaking, right? Just watch this
undercover video from a Mercy For Animals investigation.
Fortunately, you can avoid drinking pus and contributing to this cruel
industry by adopting a healthy and compassionate vegan diet. Click here to
get started. And check out our Pinterest
page for thousands of recipe ideas!
For a list of dairy alternatives, click here.