Glass half empty: The rise and fall of ‘milk’ in Canada’s B.C.
The Canada Food Guide was recently revised to include a change from milk to water as the suggested drink to have with meals. Additionally, the required dairy servings per day were eliminated.
ASTRA LUND-PHILLIPS: ‘Sitting in a Victoria café, Jordan Reichert, a local animal rights activist, speaks of growing up like many of us did: with the belief that drinking multiple glasses of milk daily was what we needed to grow and thrive. “I grew up with that [mentality] until I was about 25, until one night … I watched the film Earthlings. I sat there at my computer [and] was so affected by it … so then and there I decided to go vegan,” Reichert says. Earthlings is a film that exposes the sometimes cruel or inhumane aspects of the dairy and meat industries. Since the movie debuted in 2005, it has become popular with animal-rights activists and those who follow vegan or dairy-free diets. Cowspiracy is another anti-dairy manifesto that shows the environmental side of the anti-dairy argument. But both films have drawn criticism by some for making generalizations about the entire dairy industry and sensationalizing information…
It seems these films may be part of a larger societal shift in our consumption of, and cultural attitudes towards, cow’s milk… For years now, Statistics Canada has shown a decline in milk consumption across Canada. In June 2018, they released data that showed milk consumption declining by three per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. This has become more common over time, with other numbers from Statistics Canada showing that in the past 10 years, the average Canadian’s milk consumption declined by almost 16 litres annually — dropping in B.C. alone by over 14 litres per capita. B.C., notably, also has the lowest annual milk consumption per capita of any province, at 64.68 litres in 2017. Reichert’s story seems to be a common one, especially amongst the “Got Milk” generation, of growing up drinking glasses of milk daily, seeing it as a necessity for years, then coming to a turning point and deciding to give up or avoid dairy…
How is an industry that has had so much political influence and monetary power seeing fewer and fewer people consuming milk, one of its main products? There isn’t necessarily one reason to point to, but rather many factors could be contributing to this phenomenon. As many media outlets have reported, the Canada Food Guide was recently re-released with substantial updates, including a change from milk to water as the suggested drink to have with meals. Additionally, the required food group servings per day were eliminated. Previously, the guide suggested having multiple servings of dairy products daily. Since then, the dairy industry has been on the defensive. Dairy Farmers of Canada released statements alongside the new Food Guide’s release, reaffirming the health benefits, “mounting scientific evidence … and abundant research” that support the claims that dairy can be a part of a healthy diet’. SOURCE…
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