The oat milk boycott explained: Here’s why people are against the dairy alternative

Many former oat milk fans searching for an alternative to their milk alternative, ironically driven by the same ethical and health concerns that originally led them to choose drinking it in the first place.

So, let’s break down the reasons behind the oat milk boycott.

Environmental concerns about its production

Although oat milk can be seen as a more sustainable choice over cows milk or other plant based milks, there’s an argument that oat farming still requires significant water resources. Its production still involves processes which contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, including transportation of oats, production of oat milk in factories, and the packaging. Some people feel that this is often overlooked and not discussed enough when oat milk is advertised as a sustainable choice.

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Some brands like Oatly have significantly improved their ecological footprints by reducing the amount of packaging used, and the amount of emmissions used in production. Oatly also outlined how it sourced 100 per cent renewable electricity for all Oatly-operated factories.

Some people claim they were led to believe oat milk was a healthy alternative

Wellness is a big topic right now and everyone seems to be running, doing Hyrox or has switched up part of their diet in an effort to ear “cleaner”.

So it’s easy to associate vegan and dairy free options with healthy eating, with most veggie influencers being pioneers of wellness and health, and animal product alternatives often being advertised as the better option. However, a lot of people are moving away from consuming oat milk after claiming they were almost tricked into believing it was a wellness product.

That’s because researchers have found that the nutritional content of most milk alternatives, including our beloved oat milk, doesn’t measure up to cow’s milk. Of course, that might be obvious to some of us, but the health benefits of oat milk aren’t necessarily its biggest benefits.

Oatly received investment from a company which supports Donald Trump

Popular oat milk brand Oatly received a $200 million investment from from Blackstone, an alternative investment management company, and a group of other high-profile investors. Blackstone’s CEO previously donated $3.7million to Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign for reelection. And people had stuff to say about this.

‘It’s Like Milk But Made For Humans’

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A post shared by Oatly (@oatly)

Back in 2023, the National Dairy Council in Ireland complained about an advertising campaign Oatly ran, where it used the term “It’s Like Milk But Made For Humans”.

Believing the brand shouldn’t be allowed to say that, a ruling was made with the conclusion that the ASAI agreed with Oatly on two of the three issues raised.

Oatly said at the time: “The National Dairy Council is concerned that our ad ‘It’s Like Milk But Made for Humans’ has the potential to mislead shoppers.

“Shoppers are entitled to choice and they don’t owe the dairy industry a default position in their lives. We are therefore reassured the ASAI agree with us on two of the three issues raised. Oat drink can of course be used for the same purpose as cow’s milk and dairy.”

Oatly and Blackstone have been contacted for comment. 

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