South Africans Encouraged to Rethink Dairy this World Plant Milk Day
From soy to oat, plant-based milks offer Mzansi a kinder, climate-smart alternative for your morning coffee, cereal, or smoothie
Cape Town, 11 August 2025 — In celebration of World Plant Milk Day on 22 August, FOUR PAWS is urging South Africans to make the switch from cow’s milk to one of the many plant-based milk alternatives now widely available across the country. As concerns grow around the environmental and ethical impacts of dairy farming, plant-based milks present an easy, affordable and compassionate solution.
FOUR PAWS highlights that dairy production in South Africa and around the world contributes significantly to climate change, deforestation, and animal suffering. Cows in industrial dairy systems are repeatedly impregnated, separated from their calves, and often live in confined conditions to maximise milk production.
According to the Planetary Health Diet, developed by global scientists to balance human and environmental health, the world should consume no more than 15.7 kg of meat per person per year. However, we surpassed that limit globally by 19 June 2025, now dubbed Meat Exhaustion Day. While South Africa’s average meat and dairy consumption remains lower than the Global North, our dietary trends are moving in the wrong direction.
Thanks to a growing demand for plant-based options, local retailers and cafés now offer a wide range of delicious, fortified milk alternatives also available at major retailers nationwide and online stores.
Why Make the Switch?
- Kindness: No animals are harmed in the production of plant milks.
- Sustainability: Oat milk, for instance, uses just 48 litres of water per litre, compared to hundreds for cow’s milk.
- Nutrition: Fortified plant milks often match dairy for calcium, B12, and vitamin D, without cholesterol or growth hormones.
- Taste: Whether it’s a foamy cappuccino, overnight oats, or pap and plant milk, there’s a flavour and consistency for every lifestyle.
Take the First Step
FOUR PAWS invites the public to celebrate World Plant Milk Day by trying something new: ask your favourite café for oat milk in your coffee, pour soy or almond milk over your granola, or bake a malva pudding with coconut milk. Small actions add up. “South Africans are changemakers,” Miles adds. “We’ve led social movements before, now let’s lead the movement towards conscious eating. Your next glass of milk can be a vote for a better world.”
For more information, please visit: www.four-paws.org.za
/ENDS
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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org.za