Milk Myths Are Crumbling

Billions have been spent convincing people that they need to drink the lactation of a cow. That calcium only counts if it comes from a carton with a black-and-white mascot. That plant-based alternatives are a fad, a niche, a joke.

But the numbers are in - and they’re terrifying if your business depends on mothers being forcibly impregnated so their milk can be sold to humans instead of their own babies.

In Western Europe and North America, plant-based dairy just hit $11.55 billion in retail sales. That's a 12% compound annual growth rate since 2019. Consumers are shifting. Not gradually - profoundly.

And let’s be clear: this isn't a health food craze. This is a mass rejection of exploitation. It’s a collective realisation that cow’s milk isn’t a miracle drink - it’s a marketing triumph built on broken biology, stolen motherhood, and shaky science.

But calcium!

That’s the favourite cry of every dairy apologist. Without cow’s milk, how will our bones survive? The short answer: better.

Calcium is important. No one’s denying that. But the idea that cow’s milk is the only or best source is laughable. Calcium exists in the soil. Cows get it from plants. So can you.

Here’s what they don’t want you to know: dark leafy greens like kale and bok choy have higher bioavailability of calcium than dairy. You absorb 35–40% of the calcium from these plants, compared to about 30% from cow’s milk. Wholemeal bread? Also around 40%. Tofu made with calcium sulphate? Another top-tier source. Fortified plant milks and yoghurts? As good as dairy, minus the suffering.

Beans, almonds, chia, tahini, tempeh, oranges, cabbage - nature’s calcium buffet is wide open. No need for milk moustaches or udder secrets.

Borrowed from bones? 

Your body borrows calcium from your bones when it’s not getting enough through food. That’s true. But here’s what the dairy industry skips: it also replaces that calcium constantly - if your diet includes enough of it. And enough doesn’t mean gallons of milk. It means 700mg a day for most adults in the UK. Easily met on a varied plant-based diet.

Meanwhile, high calcium intake - especially from supplements - can backfire, increasing the risk of heart disease due to calcification of blood vessels. Because the body isn’t a machine. It doesn’t blindly shove minerals into bones just because you poured some white liquid over your cereal.

So if it’s not about calcium… what is it about?

It’s about tradition. Nostalgia. A warped idea of health that’s been drilled into us since childhood. The UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board still pushes cow’s milk in schools and universities. Why? Because if you don’t hook kids early, you lose future buyers.

Never mind that lactose intolerance is common. Never mind the links between cow’s milk and prostate cancer. Never mind the constant flow of scientific reviews that show dairy makes no meaningful difference to bone health in people already getting enough calcium.

The system knows it’s losing.

Milk alternatives already make up 12% of the total milk market. Yoghurts and cheeses are catching up. In Finland, people spend €34 a year per person on plant-based dairy. In France? Just €5.90. Not because they love cows more - because tradition dies harder in some places than others.

It is dying.

58% of people in a global survey said they’re open to switching to plant-based dairy. The obstacles? Taste, availability, price. Not principle.

That’s where brands like Oatly and Alpro come in - known by over 80% of consumers, they’re leading the charge by innovating, expanding, and branding with purpose. Because this isn’t just about food - it’s about freedom.

The future doesn’t milk mothers.

If you’re still clinging to the belief that cow’s milk is natural, necessary, or neutral, ask yourself: who benefits from that belief? Spoiler: not the cow.

Plant-based dairy doesn’t rely on artificial insemination, stolen babies, or secretive slaughterhouses. It doesn’t require people to ignore the screams of animals who just want their babies back. It doesn’t pretend that milk is “humane” when its very existence depends on a mother’s loss.

There’s a reason plant-based dairy is booming. It’s not just health. It’s not just the environment. It’s because people are waking up to the fact that the white stuff comes at a cost.

And they’re no longer willing to pay it.