All mothers deserve kindness
This is our story.
Help end experiments on primates
An 'Australian Story' not to be missed!
Tell Coles & Woolies to can the cage!
Go Deliciously Dairy-Free!
18 January 2011 Have your say
Many caring people are choosing to cut back or go dairy-free to save the lives of bobby calves — the babies of dairy cows killed as 'waste products' of the dairy industry.
With an ever-expanding range of calcium-rich dairy alternatives available in supermarkets, going dairy-free no longer means missing out. Here's a list of our favourite cruelty-free dairy-alternatives.
Dairy's calcium myth
Clever marketing from the dairy industry has led many of us to believe that we must consume dairy for strong bones — this is completely untrue. Click here to debunk dairy's calcium myth!
Milk
Soy milk – The range of soy milk is huge and brands differ markedly in taste, so shop around and if you find one you like, chances are there's another you may like even more! There are also many flavoured soy milks that will satisfy any chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or iced coffee cravings. Our top picks are Vitasoy Soy Milky Lite, Sanitarium So Good, and Aldi's Just Organic.
Soy-free milk – For those with soy allergies (or for those who simply prefer the taste) there's also rice milk, oat milk or almond milk. These can often be found in the long-life milk aisle or the health food section of the supermarket.
Cheese
As with dairy-free milk, these 'cheeses' vary in taste among brands, but whether you like cheddar, mozzarella, smoked, or with chives you'll find one to your liking. Try Tofutti Slices, (best for 'cheese' burgers), Redwood's Melting Cheezly (for all occasions), Tofutti Cream Cheese (plain, French Onion, Herb & Chive), or Parmazano (to top pasta).
Chocolate
Most dark chocolate is dairy-free, such as Whittaker's Dark and Lindt 70%. Supermarkets also stock Sweet William blocks, bars and cooking pieces in white and 'milk' chocolate (in the 'health' food aisle). Often in the same aisle are LEDA's* amazing chocolate rum balls and biscuits akin to Tim Tams and Mint Slices. And in health or wholefood stores Bonvita, Cocolo, and Tropical Source have so many different varieties of chockie treats, with GoMaxGo providing the mouth-watering dairy-free versions of the most popular chocolate bars.
* Note: some LEDA products do contain palm oil. Click here to read LEDA's statement on the use of palm oil in their products.
Marg & Cream
You can't go wrong with Nuttelex for your toast or in your cooking. It looks like margarine but has a buttery taste and is available in varieties including lite and olive.
For all things creamy, we suggest Soyatoo. With topping, cooking or whipped cream in both soy and rice options, it's hard to go wrong. For sour cream, try Tofutti's Sour Supreme.
Yoghurt
If you love yoghurt on your muesli or just as a snack, try Kingland Soy Yoghurt or Soy Life Yoghurt. Both come in a variety of flavours and are in the yoghurt section of the supermarket fridge.
Ice Cream
For delicious dairy-free ice cream try Sanitarium So Good, a Tofutti Cutie, or a refreshingly sweet sorbet (Weis sorbets can be found in the ice cream section of the supermarket).
Shopping Online
If you have trouble finding any of these items in your local supermarket, ask at the counter or try checking in organic or wholefood stores. Or you could order everything without even leaving your computer from stores like Vegan Online or The Cruelty Free Shop!
Dairy-Free Cooking
Keen to learn how to make easy dairy-free pancakes? What about a 'cheese' cake? Discover heaps of delicious dairy-free recipes at WhyVeg.com
What inspires you to shop and cook dairy-free? Is your favourite dairy-free product not yet listed here? Leave a comment!
Post a commentYour Say: 946 comments
0I've have feed back from some orgs - they say "thanks 4 your email, we pay more attention to personal letters and take them seriously".
Now I take more time over the few rather than clicking away at the many.
sometimes even 4 words (ie "take care of them!") can work wonders.
See the website below amongst others to get the real story about it.
Cheers.
http://blog.wholesoystory.com/
Zymil make their milk and have also just bought a cream as well.
To be honest, my partner is a self confessed meat lover. And if he can happily give it up, and be excited for a new, cruelty free diet - anyone can. He gets so excited whenever I cook now, and has discovered a love of chickpeas and zucchini bread :D I have only told my family and a few friends about the bobby calves, and so far, I've had 4 people pledge to become milk/cream/cheese free.
And as far as not making a difference goes... Say, between barbeque chickens (we used to have those once a week), and butter/honey mustard chicken, me and my partner were probably consuming 1.5 chickens a week (on average). This isn't factoring in all the male chicks that are unsuitable for egg production, thus usually ground alive. So, that would be approximately 78 chickens a year. As a 21 year old, if we were to live another 50 years... that's 3,900 chickens we save by going without chicken. I think it's a bit harder to calculate beef/milk saved, but you get the gist. To me, that's a pretty big difference.
Peta has an excellent baking infographic too: http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/infographicVeganBaking-peta.pdf
Zucchini bread:
http://southernfood.about.com/od/zucchinibread/r/bl00819g.htm (obviously replacing the egg)
OH! And a good friend got me on to this site, Like a Vegan
http://likeavegan.com.au/ Pretty awesome recipes on there.
www.taste.com.au have a few good ones too, but a lot of them are more for those inclined towards capsicum, tomato and antipastos (which don't quite mesh with my boyfriend :) )
I think if you're having any second thoughts about becoming vegan, I do think Meat-free Mondays, or simply eating vegan meals a few days of the week are a great idea, but make sure you have an actual reciple planned so you don't automatically associate it with being bland or boring.
'We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form.'
William Ralph Inge
Ok so for anyone who actually enjoys their food what can be done? The answer is not to totally eliminate animals products because that is impractical. Food is one of the joys of life and im going to say it straight out veganim is BORING! I mean not erting bread because it upsets yeast? Get real people, this is going too far!
A sensible person weighs up meeting their nutritional needs with compassion and the welfare of animals. A wholesale overhaul needs to be established that both meets the needs of animals with those of people. I believe animals must succumb to the needs of people but in the most compassionate way possible. The actual issue here is not people using diary but the way its extracted. If diary products could be extracted as humanly as possible then all the people here painfully cutting out diary would not be needed.
Its the way its done that is the issue. Not that its done. Lets be honest no one here actually enjoys eating anymore. Vegans do not enjoy life but go around self righteously promoting themselves as the most noble of people. I agree all animals, not just cows need to be treated with respect and compassion but completely eliminating all animal products froms ones diet is a mistake and will achieve nothing!
Elgaar Farm in Tasmania and Barambah Organics in Queensland
I sarted buying only Soy products but I used to like milk, cheese etc
Bobby calves we care for you babies and we definitely do not want to have all your milk and kill you too. Why cannot we share?????
50 pack Bobby Calf flyers
37 O’Connell St,
North Melbourne
Victoria 3051, Australia
Ph: (+61) 03 9329 6333
Fax: (+61) 03 9329 6441
Freecall: 1800 888 584
Donate
Become a member
Subscribe to e-updates
