Got milk? – A Vegan Story; Through the Medium of Milk
Imagine a tall, cool glass of milk. Do you drink it?
…Or, do you ask what the environmental implications will be? Are you worried that it’s unhealthy? Would an alt-milk just taste better? 26 years ago Goodby, Silverstein & Partners counted on us just drinking the milk. Their “got milk?” campaign’s success lived in our view of milk as a commodity; a cornflake topping, tea completing, thirst quenching commodity. But our views towards animal-products have migrated from sources of delight, to anxiety. We’re telling the story of the rise of veganism through the medium of milk.
Chapter One - gloopy, brown, soy milk
In a time when vegans were branded as kookie, ethically minded outsiders, a long, hot summer, new technologies and government policies thrusted Global Warming into the limelight. The environmental impact of animal-farming became everyone’s problem. Ted Talks began to wax lyrical about the fact that our meat consumption isn’t economically sustainable. A wealth of information on the environmental and economical implications of our animal-product consumption was suddenly at our fingertips; the can of worms was opened.
Chapter Two - “healthier” alt-milks
Then, the world of wellness exploded. Alongside the “fit not thin” and “clean eating” narratives, came one where alt-milks were skin purifying, weight loosing options. GP and her Goop community were amongst the influencers giving wellness a shiny, new face.“Clean eating” soon became synonymous with expelling animal-based products from our diets.
Chapter Three - no-moo milkshakes
Every Thursday the Delight team embark on a 20 minute walk to the Buddha Bowl van. We have vegetarians, flexitarians and omnivores amongst us, but this little van of meat-free goodness has stolen our hearts with food that excites us. Today, meat-free doesn’t mean taste-free. We order our oat milk lattes because we prefer the taste. The shiny-faced health fanatics started launching cookbooks, whilst restaurants, supermarkets and street food vendors caught onto the animal-free trend. They showed us that indulgent, comforting, wholesome, filling, fast, even calorie full luxurious food isn’t off the menu, just because meat is.
Vegetarian, vegan and the newly coined flexitarian diets have moved and shaken their way from ethical outsiders, to trends, to permanent lifestyle choices. 1/3 of us Brits have stopped or reduced our meat consumption. These numbers will only grow as “clean, cultured meat” comes into the equation (raising a whole new question of “what is real meat?”). More than a fad, it’s a pill luxury lifestyle brands will have to swallow… they can always wash it down with a glass of milk.
