World Plant-Milk Day Celebrated with Fast Facts

In celebration of World Plant Milk Day on August 22, Upfield, manufacturer of Country Crock and other plant-based consumer products, has disseminated trending facts about plant-based dairy alternatives. As the company stated, “From soya to oats to cashew nuts to hemp, the diversity of vegan milks continues to grow.” But, it added, milk isn’t the only dairy that has plant-based alternative – 65% of the population has a reduced ability to digest lactose after infancy – resulting in the need for dairy alternatives across the board. From both a health and sustainability perspective, more and more consumers are aiming to decrease the amount of animal products in their diets, without compromising on taste.

Fast stats on plant-based dairy alternatives from Upfield:

• It takes 21.2 pounds of whole milk to make one pound of butter.
• Making plant butter has a less harmful impact on the environment than raising livestock for use in dairy butter production. This includes significantly less CO2 emissions, two-thirds less land use, and half of overall water use.
• According to the USDA, there has been a 25% drop in liquid cow milk consumption in the last 20 years.
• Data released by the Plant Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute show U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods have grown 11% in the past year, bringing the total plant-based market value to $4.5 billion.
• The total U.S. retail food market has grown just 2% in dollar sales during this same period, showing that plant-based foods are a key driver of growth for retailers nationwide.

World Plant Milk Day is an international day that celebrates plant-based alternatives to dairy milk. It was founded by Plant Based News in 2017 and established as a partnership with ProVeg in 2018.