Animal-Friendly Ice Cream Alternatives for Summer
Do your bit for animal welfare by opting for a plant-based cold dessert
The sun is shining, and there's still a few weeks left of summer! What could be better than cooling yourself down with an ice cream? While we are enjoying a cold treat, dairy cows are suffering in factory farms to deliver the key ingredient used by the majority of ice cream manufacturers: Between 5.5 lbs and 9 lbs of raw milk, from which cream and skimmed milk are made, are needed to produce ~2 lbsof ice cream1. In addition to milk and cream, conventional ice cream can also contain eggs or egg yolks.
Depending on the composition, a distinction is made between the following types of ice cream2:
- Ice cream must contain at least 10% milk fat, regardless of whether it is made from milk, cream or butter. However, it contains a higher proportion of cream.
- Gelato is similar to ice cream, but only needs to contain 5-7% fat. In contrast to ice cream, gelato contains more milk. It is stirred more slowly and is therefore firmer than ice cream.
- Cream ice cream consists of at least 50% milk and contains eggs (270 grams of whole egg or 90 grams of egg yolk per 1 liter of milk3).
- Milk ice cream must contain at least 70% milk or another milk product; this also includes soft ice cream.
- Frozen yogurt is a mixture of yogurt and milk ice cream with cream and sweetener.
All these treats negatively impact the environment due to their use of dairy products as the production of cow’s milk emits roughly two to four times more greenhouse gasses (GHG) than that of plant-based milks. Globally, dairy production causes one third of all GHG emissions of livestock farming.
Additionally, the approximately 277 million dairy cows that are kept worldwide4 are at a higher welfare risk than beef cattle, but despite this, dairy production is mistakenly perceived as more humane than beef production5. The industrial farming of dairy cows goes hand in hand with practices like zero-grazing, tethering, dehorning, disposal of male calves, and early cow-calf separation.
By simply reducing animal-sourced products such as cow’s milk, cream or butter, everybody can make a positive contribution towards animal welfare and the climate! Start looking out for the many vegan options available to satisfy your sweet tooth in an animal-friendly way!
The following types of ice cream are vegan, for example:
- Ice cream made from plant drinks: Nowadays, vegan 'dairy' ice cream copies conventional ice cream almost perfectly. Milk, cream and butter are replaced by soy, oat or coconut drinks, for example. Just like milk, eggs can also be replaced by plant-based alternatives such as locust bean gum, guar gum or apple pectin, which have the same function and ensure a creamy ice cream flavor.
- Sorbet has a fruit content of 25% (15% is sufficient for citrus fruits) and otherwise consists only of water and little to no sugar. It is therefore not only vegan, but also lower in fat and calories.
- Water ice/granita/slush ice: These consist mainly of water and sugar. They may also contain a small amount of fat (usually plant-based) as well as colorings and flavorings. Granita is a crushed water ice that is primarily available in Italy and slush ice is offered in a thick liquid form for drinking.
Check your supermarket, local grocery store or ice cream shop for dairy-free alternatives as they are popping up more and more.
With animals always on our minds, we of course did not forget about dogs and cats. If you want to make your pet a frozen treat, then click the links to find foods and recipes for dog-friendly and cat-friendly summer treats.
We also encourage you to try thinking of other ways to make your summer food choices animal-friendly. Maybe you are attending or hosting a BBQ?
Source
2. Eis, Gelato, Sorbet und Co. – das sind die Unterschiede | Kitchengirls
3. Speise-Eis: Kleines Lexikon der Eissorten (faz.net)
4. FAOSTAT
5. Mandel R, Bracke MBM, Nicol CJ, Webster JA, Gygax L. Dairy vs beef production – expert views on welfare of cattle in common food production systems. animal. 2022;16(9):100622. doi:10.1016/j.animal.2022.100622