Oat milk in your cappuccino, soya milk on your muesli, rice milk instead of cow's milk in your cake batter - plant-based milk alternatives are increasingly finding their way into family households. The range on offer in supermarkets is growing accordingly. Pregnant women and parents are also increasingly turning to them. The reasons vary. They can be for health reasons, environmental or animal protection, a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle or simply the desire for more variety in their diet. Parents are now increasingly asking me whether they can also give their baby plant-based milk substitutes. That's why I want to take a closer look at this topic for you here.
What is "milk" anyway?
Stupid question? Not at all! I would like to start by telling you that I am not using the term "milk" correctly in the following. According to a decision by the European Court of Justice in 2017, only products that actually come from the udders of mammals may be labelled as "milk" in retail and advertising. In Germany, this corresponds to Section 2 (definition) of the so-called Milk and Margarine Act. According to this, milk is "the product of the normal udder secretion of animal species kept for milk production, obtained by milking once or several times". And a dairy product is "a product made exclusively from milk, even with the addition of other substances, provided that these are not used to replace a milk component in whole or in part".
According to the law, milk is always an animal product, e.g. from cows, goats, sheep or mares. This is precisely why you are more likely to find the term "oat drink" on the packaging of plant-based alternatives made from oats, for example, even if we speak colloquially of "oat milk".
To simplify matters and improve readability, I therefore use the not entirely correct term "plant milk" below.
What are plant-based milk alternatives?
Word has got around in the meantime that Cow's milkwhich is produced by factory farming and industrial agriculture, is not environmentally friendly. The animals' digestive processes alone have a negative impact on our climate. The emissions caused by feed production and the transport, processing and storage of milk also have a negative impact.
This is why consumers are increasingly looking for plant-based alternatives. The most common are Soya, oats and Almonds processed with water to make plant milk. But there are also products made from Rice, Spelt and Coconut, from Hazelnuts and Hemp on the market.
Before I come to their ingredients, here is some brief information on the Life cycle assessment plant-based alternatives compared to cow's milk:
The life cycle assessment of plant-based milk substitutes:
Soya milk: We know that the industrial cultivation of soya, as practised in South America, destroys the rainforest and damages the soil. This soya, which is also imported into Europe and is usually genetically modified and contaminated with pesticides, is mostly processed into animal feed here. In contrast, the soya beans used for local plant-based dairy products mainly come from Canada and Europe - and often even from sustainable organic farming. In this case, they require significantly fewer resources than cow's milk.
Almond milk is also a popular plant-based alternative. Some manufacturers claim to use almonds from southern European growing regions. However, the lion's share of almonds comes from hot, dry California. There, huge almond monocultures not only take up a lot of land, but also enormous amounts of water and the use of industrial beekeeping - which is not good for the animals.
Oat milk has the best overall ecological balance. The grain is often grown in Europe and also in Germany, so it has short transport routes. It also does not kill any rainforests, is comparatively modest in terms of land use and water consumption and also consumes significantly less energy when processed into plant milk.
The ingredients of plant-based milk substitutes
The "original", cow's milk, naturally contains many nutrients. These include protein, fat, calcium, fluoride, iodine, phosphorus and vitamins A, B and D. Cow's milk only needs four processing steps before it reaches the supermarket shelf.
The raw materials of the plant-based alternatives contain fibre and secondary plant substances, among other things, and are also lactose-free (free from lactose) and in some cases gluten-free. Various substances are added to ensure that the other ingredients, consistency and appearance of the milk substitute products are as close as possible to their animal counterparts. Many manufacturers add oil, salt, sugar, flavouring, calcium, phosphates, stabilisers, emulsifiers, acidity regulators and vitamins B2, B12, D and E to their products. Many things also have to be added because plant milk takes 13 to 15 months to reach the supermarket shelf. Processing steps goes through. During this process, many natural nutrients are lost, which then have to be artificially added again. This means that plant milk substitutes are highly processed foods. However, the individual quantities added vary depending on the producer's recipe. There are no legal requirements as to what a plant-based drink may or must contain.
Nevertheless, the main advantage of plant milk is that it has fewer calories than cow's milk, as it contains less fat overall, especially less saturated fatty acids, but more healthy unsaturated fatty acids and fibre. Further plus points: The plant-based alternatives are always lactose-free, meaning they contain no lactose. Some of them are also gluten-free.
Are plant-based milk substitutes suitable for babies and toddlers?
Nothing is better and healthier for babies than human milk! Whoever feeds their child breastfeedsThe mother can always rely on breast milk having the optimum composition at every stage of the baby's development. And also strengthens the bond.
As long as your child consumes breast milk, your child is well fed. The same applies to pre-nutrition.
Important to know for parents who bottle-feed their child:
Plant-based milk alternatives can by no means replace breast milk!
And also not the commercially available pre-milk as special baby food!
Therefore, oat milk & co. are absolutely taboo throughout the first year of your child's life, because these products lack essential nutrients for the youngest. Otherwise, malnutrition would result. In addition, there are numerous additives in plant milks, such as phosphates, Not for babies.
The German Society for Nutrition writes unequivocally on its website: "Soya drinks and other vegan substitute products such as almond, fresh grain or rice drinks etc. are not adapted to the specific nutritional needs of infants. ... are not tailored to the specific nutritional needs of infants and are therefore unsuitable. Failure to thrive due to energy and protein deficiencies and other nutrient deficiencies have been observed in the past."
So far, so clear. But you may now be wondering what will happen after the first birthday of your child. There is usually nothing wrong with the occasional consumption of small amounts of plant milk. But water remains the number 1 thirst quencher in any case.
If you want to introduce plant-based milk to your toddler, approach it slowly. This is because your child may have certain intolerances. And also pay attention to the list of ingredients on the product packaging. For example, the product should not contain sugar, flavourings, stabilisers, emulsifiers or carrageenan (E407). The latter - a thickening agent made from red algae - is not authorised for little tots, for example, because it could be harmful to their health.
Even though soya milk is most similar to cow's milk in terms of various ingredients such as protein, experts disagree on whether it is safe for young children. This is because it contains isoflavones from soya beans. These are plant hormones that can have a similar effect to the body's own female hormone oestrogen. Isoflavones are therefore also used specifically for menopausal symptoms. The Federal Institute for Risk Research (BfR) therefore advises against giving soya milk to babies and small children. The BfR also advises against rice milk for children under the age of five, as rice and rice products can contain tiny amounts of arsenic.
If you would like to read more about feeding the youngest members of the family in general, take a look at my blog. Here you will also find articles on Introduction of complementary foods for the baby or for Infant nutrition. So feel free to click in.
And for babies with a cow's milk allergy?
Plant-based milk substitutes are generally suitable for people who are allergic to animal milk, especially cow's milk. In this case, those affected react to the milk protein with itching, abdominal pain, flatulence or vomiting and even allergic shock. Even small children can be affected, albeit rarely. However, ready-made milk powder for preparing infant formula from a bottle is regularly based on cow's milk.
If you suspect that your infant or toddler is suffering from a cow's milk allergy, do not hesitate to consult your paediatrician. You should not change the diet of your affected baby or child to plant-based dairy products without authorisation beforehand.
After a milk protein allergy has been diagnosed (not to be confused with lactose intolerance), special nutritional counselling by a trained specialist is recommended. It is important to adapt the child's diet in such a way that the affected child is protected from allergens but still receives all the nutrients it needs. For example, cow's milk is and remains an important source of calcium, which must be replaced accordingly.
