Part of this is simply chasing consumer demand.

Seeking a source of tasty fats with a smaller carbon footprint than the cattle industry is a justification for consumers to switch, and self-diagnosed lactose intolerance appears to be on the rise https://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

There’s a better reason for the dairy industry to chase the vegan market, however:

Dollars http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

Only a quarter of the milk produced on farms ends up being sold as a liquid, with the vast majority turned into:

Cheese
Butter
Infant formula
Yoghurt http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

Those manufactured goods are a far more profitable business for most dairy processors.

Fresh milk requires fiendishly complex supply chains capable of delivering consumers a highly perishable product from living animals http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

Cheese, butter and other goods last longer, can easily be manufactured on demand and can be heavily branded.

In that way, non-milk dairy products have a lot in common with plant-based milks http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

In China, plant milks have about a third of the combined market for milk and its alternatives, but it’s declining.

In the U.S., the plant-based share is rising fast to nearly 17% of the combined market http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

All the growth in the dairy industry these days is in things other than milk. From 2000 to 2018, this is how U.S. consumption changed:

Butter 51%
Cheese 57%
Yogurt 138%

Milk and ice cream saw declines http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

From that perspective, the dairy industry would be better off if milk-drinking continued to decline and people switched to plant-based alternatives.

So don’t be surprised to see milk producers increasingly going vegan-ish http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7 

Just don’t kid yourself that you’re cutting your carbon footprint much by opting for an almond latte.

The amount of milk coming out of cows is still rising -- and it’s the butter on your toast and the cheese on your pizza that’s driving it http://bloom.bg/2FL3DJ7