Why is dairy “trending” right now?
Despite my efforts to curate a happy, positive vegan bubble, I have not been able to escape the massive increase in content promoting dairy that seems to have taken over social media over the past few years. Perhaps it was there all along and only recently felt emboldened to come out of the woodwork. The faces behind this content are primarily white millennials who tout and praise trends that fit into the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) worldview such as raw cow’s milk, the use of “beef” tallow in everything, avoiding seed oils, and even following a carnivore diet. Sometimes subtle and sometimes glaringly obvious, this content has seeped into social media and society.
Food is something we engage with every day. It is a fundamental part of our routines, cultures, families, and ways of being. Food is also political. It is not a coincidence that the rise of this type of content coincides with Trump’s presidency. There are many other subtle or not-so-subtle ways that we’ve seen the rise of conservatism reflected in pop culture, from celebrities choosing to buy land in the Western United States to “homestead” to fashion brands embracing preppy, patriotic designs. But food and food trends often serve as a mirror that reflects back at us the current state of the world, including politics.
Dairy is a symbol of the United States’ colonial past and present. The push for milk consumption was and continues to be a “civilizing” tool forced upon BIPOC, completely ignoring that a majority cannot digest dairy. The industry works hard to convince us that consuming dairy is normal, good, healthy, and even natural, and it makes those of us who get sick feel othered, abnormal, or even defective.
I am what Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.) considers “lactose normal.” Despite being fed dairy at a young age, I have never been able to digest lactose due to my Korean heritage. While many would call this “lactose intolerance,” F.E.P. rejects this term as it implies there is something wrong with the people who can’t digest lactose. The language of “lactose normal” denormalizes the consumption of the milk of another animal, something that only humans do, and calls attention to the use of dairy as a tool of imperialism and colonization.
Even if I could try pills to digest dairy, or struggle through the discomfort, I chose to stop eating it after I learned about the cruelty cows raised for dairy face. I couldn’t ignore the fact that the industry that I had been made to believe was “more ethical” was full of such suffering and abuse. Like so many, I opt for vegan milk, butter, and cheese to avoid getting sick and to protect animals.
While plant milks have seen a rise and fall in trendiness over the past decade, they are not going anywhere. Plant-based milks are not just a modern alternative to dairy—a supplement to the “norm.” Soy milk dates back to ancient China and has been a staple in East Asian cuisine for centuries. Almond milk was frequently referenced in 13th- and 14th-century recipes in Baghdad and Egypt. To this day, cultures around the world practice techniques and traditions for making non-dairy milks. The scrutiny surrounding the health or legitimacy of plant milks is rooted in fear-mongering by the dairy industry and MAHA propaganda.
And, of course, another reason to avoid consuming animal milk is the devastating environmental impact of the dairy industry. Despite marketing campaigns aimed at greenwashing dairy and making it seem like the most environmentally friendly option, plant milks contribute significantly less greenhouse gas emissions as well as using less land and water.
So, back to these raw milk influencers. They make claims that eating “clean, unprocessed foods” will change your life—giving you a glow from within, a smaller waist, more energy, and smoother skin. The thing is, the basis of almost all of their claims relies on marketing terminology that has almost no scientific or legal definition. Almost everything we consume is processed! A processed food is anything we eat that has been changed or altered in some way from its natural state.
For many of us vegans, health is not at the center of our philosophy for choosing to live and eat this way. Of course, there are endless science-backed health benefits of reducing one’s “meat” and dairy intake. But the idea that consuming animals, eggs, and dairy is inherently “good and healthy” compared to being vegan is entirely built on assumptions and dairy industry propaganda.
Today, social media has the power to shape people’s daily habits, food choices, perspectives, and worldviews. It is designed to generate feelings of FOMO (fear of missing out) and self-comparison, so when a new trend comes along, there is pressure to join in. We need to remember and emphasize that veganism is not a trend, and it certainly isn’t going anywhere. Cultures around the world have had plant-based foodways for centuries. The vegan movement at its core is not just about money or health or trend. It is an inclusive movement centered around collective liberation, and not one based on fear mongering, false health claims, and shaming. It is critical that we collectively resist the continued normalization of consuming dairy and continue to speak up for animal rights, community health, and the environment.
