Indian vegan milk India has its own sanctuary

Delhi - India’s newly launched vegan plant milk brand, Dancing Cow, has vowed to physically remove cows from the dairy sector by rescuing and rehoming them at its proprietary farm sanctuary.

Rescue endeavours are tied to the brand’s first product release: a combination dairy-free milk called Oatish that uses oats, millet, and mung beans. For every 10,000 litres sold, one cow or milking buffalo will be freed, through legitimate and fair compensation.

Following their release they will be able to live the rest of their life in peace. Additionally, for every 10 litres sold, Dancing Cow will add 10 bricks to its sanctuary site, thereby creating space for more rescued animals in India.

New Zealand’s Otis oat milk will open its manufacturing facility in Auckland later this year. Soy milk is also very popular in Aotearoa.

Otis has entered into partnership with local beverage manufacturer Free Flow Manufacturing, which could produce the quality needed at scale.

Free Flow Manufacturing will add an additional 2500m² of production and another 4000m² of warehousing dedicated to plant-based milk production.The new facility would be able to produce 50 million litres of plant-based milks every year.

Meanwhile, alongside rescuing cows, for every 100 litres of India’s Oatish sold Dancing Cow will plant three trees. This is on top of donating five percent of all profits to a non-profit organisation.

Dancing Cow creators founded the vegan milk brand on the guiding principles of positively impacting the environment and human health. As such, it offers stark comparisons to regular dairy on its website. It refers to this as cowsplaining.

“We believe that every person has the power to make a difference in the world by choosing to consume plant-based foods,” Aarohi Surya, founder of Dancing Cow, said in a statement.

“Our new dairy alternative brand offers consumers a delicious, healthy, and ethical choice that helps to protect animals, the environment, and human health.”

Dancing Cow says that Oatish is responsible for 81 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than cow milk production. Furthermore, 67 percent less energy is needed to produce the

plant milk, which contains 60 percent fewer calories.

The beverage comes in two flavours: plain extra creamy and rich chocolate. Both are vegan, gluten-free, and fortified to provide vitamins and calcium.

India is home to the world’s largest dairy sector. At last count, more than 48 million dairy cattle lived in the country. However, despite the large population, little welfare protection in place.

At the beginning of March, a new documentary exposed the truth about India’s dairy industry. Shot over two years, it uncovered the multifaceted impacts of India’s increased dairy production. In particular, frequent imagery of brutalized animals drives the underlying anti-dairy message home.

Praised for its candour and investigative revelations, Maa Ka Doodh has won multiple awards.