America’s largest dairy company, Dean Foods,
announced the closure of an Illinois facility this year,
citing a decline in consumption as the reason.
The company best known for manufacturing,
marketing, and distributing dairy-based products such as Dairy Pure and TruMoo
predicts more closures as consumers ditch dairy products in favor of
plant-based options. The company’s 2017 annual investors report attributes facility
shutdowns to decreased dairy consumption.
Earlier this year, Dean Foods 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 half of all 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.