Lancashire’s Oato Drink (also sold in groceries)
Oato is another oat drink brand, born in Lancashire and sold online at Milk & More. The milks locally are still in glass bottles. In strawberry, coffee and chocolate flavours.
This brand has recently gone on sale in Waitrose. Due to logistics, the supermarket version is in plastic bottles (easily recycled at kerbside).
Toats Mylk (Hampshire) is another oat drink sold in returnable glass bottles, ordered via a veg box scheme, with taps on wholesale boxes.
Oat drink is not a substitute for formula. Always talk to your GP and midwife about dairy alternatives, for babies and weaning. Keep away from pets (due to nuts, chocolate etc). Read more on food safety for people & pets.
Why Switch to Oat Drink?
Oat drink (apparently industry says we’re not allowed to call it ‘milk’) is the best plant-based alternative for most people. It’s less likely to cause allergies, it’s high in fibre (and protein). And importantly, it can be made from local ingredients, which farmers can grow to transfarm from livestock (leaving animals to live out lives in peace).
This gives good income in a huge market (most oat drink is imported) and keeps long-held family farms in business, as people eat more plants and less meat.
Just as there are issues with almonds grown in California (migrating farming leaves bees to starve after the harvest, which is why it’s important to buy European-grown nuts), also most oat milk sold in shops is watered down along with oil, and hardly contains any oats. Same with cashew milk.
Coconut milk is okay for some, but again it’s not local and strong in taste. And also high in saturated fat. So best reserved for special occasions and use in recipes like cakes.
The good news is that you can now buy oat drink from independent homegrown brands in England. Which not only reduces food miles, but these better-quality oat drinks are also supporting local farmers, and sold in sustainable packaging, instead of plastic Tetra packs (for the most part).
The Many Benefits of Oat Drink
- Oat Drink Makes Creamy Drinks! It’s naturally thick and creamy, so often the best choice for coffee shops selling cappuccinos and hot chocolates.
- Oat Drink Has Healthy Fibre. No animal foods have fibre. But oat drink does. Just like porridge, it contains soluble fibre, that kind of ‘sweeps out your insides’ of bad cholesterol. Naturally cholesterol-free, it’s a great alternative if you like creamy drinks (or carbonara-style creamy pasta dishes).
- Oat Drink is High in Protein and Calcium. We are often told that we must drink dairy for calcium. But in fact, many plant foods are high in calcium and protein, and oats are one of them. As part of a balanced diet, they are packed with nutrients.
- Oat Drink Supports Local Farmers. Organic oats can be locally grown. So it’s a great way to produce income for local organic farmers, and keep money circulating within communities.
Why Are People Giving Up Dairy?
No-one denies that a small organic dairy farmer treats his cows well. But the big dairy industry (from where most dairy milk is produced – especially for all the by-products used in ready-meals etc) has huge welfare concerns.
In the UK, most male calves (of no financial use to the dairy industry – separate from beef industry) are shot dead, soon after birth.
Many cows spend their entire lives in factory farms, being inseminated and giving birth, then having their calves taken from them. Cows and calves form incredibly strong relationships, and will cry out loudly for weeks, if separated.
Ongoing Debate on Oat Drink Labels
Recently, Dairy UK won a court case against Oatly, to stop it using the words ‘milk’ or ‘post-milk-generation’ so now we can only call it oat drink. Not only patronising to suggest that consumers can’t work out which is which (the argument was ‘to risk confusing consumers’), it shows that governments don’t really care about the planet.
As mentioned above, nearly all dairy comes from factory farms. And livestock farming is one of the main emitters of greenhouse gases. So to reduce emissions to ‘net zero’ (or even close), there must be at least a part rise in switches to plant-based foods.
The fact that Big Dairy is allowed to stifle and try to reduce people switching at least some dairy consumption over to climate-friendly alternatives, shows there is still a long way to go.
The same is happening in the EU, with countries like Sweden (with a powerful dairy board) also trying to stop people drinking plant-based dairy alternatives.
Again Oatly was taken to court for its slogan that its oat drink was ‘like milk, but for humans’. The publicity from the court case generated so much new business, that the founder said he wished they’d been taken to court years ago!
Although now having been bought by a big firm (which has upset many), Oatly remains the best-selling oat drink in UK stores, and also offers unique products like vanilla and caramel versions, plus ‘mini’ versions (akin to the individual milk pots you find in hotels.
