Is coconut milk a good alternative to dairy milk?
If you're considering reducing down on dairy and animal products for health or ethical reasons, the obvious alternative to dairy milk may be to use coconut milk instead which is becoming incredibly popular especially for those allergies, or sensitivies to animal milk.
Coconut milk can be used as a possible alternative in small amounts, however, it contains high levels of calories and fats (including saturated fats) and so combining a high intake of coconut milk with a carbohydrate-rich diet can result in weight gain.
Whilst coconut milk may be more environmentally friendly compared to animal derived milks, growing them is land intensive and been the main cause of deforestation in some countries. Also, there are some ethical problems behind some of its processes. Coconut plantations and production have been associated with the loss of 66 animal species.
In many cases farmers have been know to enslave pig-tailed macaque monkey's and use abusive processes to force them to pick coconuts. These farmers, especially in south east asia, have been outcast from several suppliers and retailers where this is known to be happening. https://investigations.peta.org/thai-coconut-milk-cruelty/
If you're looking to adopt coconut milk as a healthier alternative to animal milks, be sure to check that they are both from an ethical suppliers and retailers who have already done the vetting on ethical harvesting of coconuts and if in doubt contact the retailer and/or supplier for verfication.
If in doubt avoid coconut mils from south east asia, especially Thailand where using monkeys to harvest coconuts is a widespread practice.
Another plant product to avoid which can be harmful to animals is palm oil which uses chemicals in its processing which are poisonous to pig-tailed macaque monkeys and infants are being kill in large numbers.
If you prefer to avoid coconut milk, the best animal and plant friendly options are soy and oat milks.
To learn more about what brands of coconut to trust or not, as the case may be, please listen to the evidence based podcast attached ;)
