Oatly: not the best milk alternative
There are a handful of Oatly factories in the United States as well as the Netherlands and China
If you are on the Oat milk wave, stick with me here. You might change your perspective— something not often sought after but always necessary.
I’ll preface this blog with disclaiming that I was a vegan in college which led me to consume Oatly quite regularly. The company’s products seemed like a tasty and good substitute for milk as long as you put little weight into the ingredients list. Even my friends who weren’t vegan preferred oat-milk in their coffees and such. It was a blessing to wake up to the reality that what I was consuming was not only unhealthy but did no service to the environment. There are a few factors I’ll dive into today which really woke me up to being a more conscious consumer.
We’re going to take a look at the ingredients and the company’s messaging. Both alone might make you want to find a local dairy farmer, together it feels simply concerning.
Image description: Brainwashing - We say that we only do oats, but guess that’s not true. A lot of things we do go way outside of our own company, simply because we believe that everyone on this planet should be at least slightly interested in what we’re doing since what we are doing is in the interest of the future of our planet and everyone living on it. Yeah, something like that.
It’s soo funny when giant corporations joke about brainwashing the public for the greater good, innit? They express their heroic sentiment: “what we are doing is in the interest of the future of our planet and everyone living on it.” I had no idea opening up factory after factory is for the greater good of the earth. They should be applauded for their transparency honestly. On a serious note, I find this messaging troubling and I’m extremely weary of any food-like product that is quite openly in the business of brainwashing.
They would prefer you look the other way, don’t ask questions and keep consuming their substandard product. I also offer the notion that if you really care about “saving the planet” I would first reflect with some humility that the planet seldom needs saving. Second, I would look to farmers who look at the land, their animals and their customers with decency and respect. Oatly is not in that business.
If you are familiar with companion planting then you might understand plant pheromones. Pheromones are a semiochemical that carries information throughout a species. A reality of vegetable production is that the plants do essentially feel and communicate. There is no way around death, sorry my vegan friends! In the messaging from the ad about oats being harmed Oatly says “they don’t have mouths or brains and can’t feel pain”… So I guess if we can’t hear it— it doesn’t exist. They also aren’t going to touch on all the animals that are harmed in the making of oat milk. Certainly the spray techniques they’re using on oat fields is killing every rodent, insect, and microbe in the soil. If the glyphosate didn’t kill them the combine will. No shade to the farmer, that’s just how it’s done. Oatly would prefer you didn’t know that. They are great users of the tactic commonly known as “greenwashing”. Tricking consumers into thinking they are environmentally conscious.
They’ve done a great job misleading the public. Or rather in their own words, brainwashing you.
And so onto the ingredients list:
From the Oatly website ^
They disclaim on their website their reasoning for using canola oil in their milk substitute but if you know the dangers of seed oils it doesn’t seem worth it. We can break down the differences between expeller-pressed with zero hexane and industry standard production for the seed oil in another article, there is a lot to get into there. However it is worth researching over, and while one may seem healthier than the other— it is easily still a substandard processed product compared to cow’s milk. So their expeller-pressed seed oil ingredient just might not be AS toxic for you as regularly processed canola oil. Awesome.
They offer synthetic vitamin A, vitamin D2, vitamin B12 in their oat-water. In comparison to cow’s milk, which provides vitamin C, B12, B6, B2, A, D, folate, calcium, iron, minerals. There are plenty of studies showing the lack of bioavailability in synthetic vitamins versus the real thing. Low and behold the wonders of nature are more efficient at bringing you the nutrients you need than a processing plant or lab.
The sugar intake with Oatly’s oat-milk is another deceiving misconception that is easily overlooked. Their production process uses natural enzymes to further break down the oats into simple sugars like maltose. A naturally occurring process that has long been taken advantage of by our food industry. To further understand this sugar impact take a look at this chart made by Jeff Nobbs.
Oat-milk simply is not a milk alternative, it is just oat water. Packaged up very nicely and marketed to the consumer as a healthy option if you don’t want or can’t have milk.
Respectively if you believe you’re lactose intolerant or don’t like milk, make your own oat-water. Don’t fill the pockets up of the people who don’t give two shits about you. Companies like this are reliant on us being ignorant. As my grandpa, the founder of the Nature Lyceum would say, work to break the programming.
Don’t be a part of the generation they’re molding
Talk to a dairy farmer
In a time where they expect you to take things at face value, it’s worth digging a little deeper.