During the last three weeks, we shared a lot of content regarding the impact of consuming cows on the environment, your health, and the cows.

But how does one switch to an dairy-free, or even, a vegan diet? Below are some of our favourite resources to help replace dairy in your diet. And, if you’d like to support a sanctuary to help rescue more dairy cows, check out some of the links at the bottom.

Dairy Replacements

It can seem like a challenge at first—so many dishes in many cultures rely on dairy, and so many store-bought foods contain any number of dairy ingredients. But not to worry—it actually can be easier than you think.* The availability and popularity of non-dairy milks, cheeses, yogurts, and ice creams has exploded in recent years. There are lots of options from homemade nut milk that you can whip up in a flash to store-bought brands made from healthy ingredients like soy, hemp, rice, nuts, oats, and coconut. You’re sure to find one that suits your fancy. And here is a neat little tool that compares plant-based milks based on their nutritious values.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the widely available brands you’ll find throughout North America. For simple recipes to make your own yoghurt, cheeses, creams and other dairy products check our Pinterest page.

Watch Out!

There are so many foods that contain “hidden” dairy products that reading labels can be a frustrating task. However, once you’ve learned what to look for, it will get easier. When people new to the dairy-free diet ask for “tricks" when reading labels, we usually suggest that they look for products labeled “vegan,” “dairy-free,” or “pareve” as these will contain no dairy ingredients, whereas products labeled “non-dairy” often still contain milk proteins or other dairy-derived ingredients. *

Cow Rescue

If week 3 of our series inspired you to help, here is a great option! Check out the website, blogs and podcasts from our partners at Catskill Animal Sanctuary. They are entertaining, informative and invite you to be part of the lives of the animals they have rescued.

We hope you enjoyed our series. Before we wrap things up we would like to give a big ‘Thank You’ to Sentient Media who allowed us to republish their great newsletter content. We highly recommend the website of this non-profit, journalism organization that seeks to create transparency around the use of animals in our daily lives—from food to companionship to laboratory test subjects.

Also, be sure to check out our daily posts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more information on cows and the dairy industry.

Juliane Priesemeister, Social Media and Marketing Specialist

Juliane worked almost a decade for an international corporation as an information designer. Generating compelling visual stories was her daily deed, but as much as she enjoyed the creative work the big corporation environment left her hungry for substance and impact.

When she started her yoga journey a few years ago the “do no harm” philosophy pushed her to align work with her personal ethics and values. Today she uses her omnibus skill set, including marketing communications, economics, and graphic design, to reveal the truth about the egg industry to consumers.