Woo hoo! Australia’s biggest dairy producer, Murray Goulburn, has announced a 22 percent drop in sales! The dairy producers say that milk intake has dropped 2.7 billion liters in the fiscal year 2016-2017, making a loss of $370.8 million in profits. Wow.

Murray Goulburn formed way back in 1950 and because of poor sales has been forced to discontinue their infant formula line, and they are currently shutting down three processing facilities to try to recoup their sale losses. Despite consumers boycotting no-named milk in support of milk that supports Australian farmers, there has still been an unprecedented drop in milk sales, with lower milk intake and adverse seasonal conditions to blame, reports ABC News.

Just last week we shared the news of Dean Food, the largest dairy company in the United States, shutting down yet another processing plant due to poor sales so this news about Murray Goulburn is no surprise. The consumption of dairy has been facing a steady decline for decades. Plus, more consumers are waking up to the fact the dairy industry not only has a major negative impact on the environment, but milk is also not the nutritional powerhouse that many of us once thought it was. It turns out, we can get the same nutrients from fortified plant-based milk and whole, plant-based foods.

In fact, the dairy-free milk market has surged within the past few years. Almond milk sales, in particular, have increased by 250 percent from 2000-2015 to almost $895 million. New nut-free and soy-free alternatives, made from hemp, rice, and vegetables, have also been cropping up. The latest release, a milk formulated from pea protein, shows great potential since it appeals to consumers looking to avoid soy as well as nuts. Plus, pea-protein milk has a much smaller environmental impact than almond and boasts more calcium and nutrients overall.

In light of the environmental impact of a glass of milk, some California dairy farmers have converted their land to almond groves. Not to mention, a 92-year-old dairy plant that was forced to close due to a decline in sales recently reopened as a plant-based milk company. We think it’s high time for the dairy industry to face reality: cow’s milk may be going out of style, but there’s a future in plant-based milk. Murray Goulburn, we’d love to have you on the plant-based team!

For more about plant-based food trends, check out One Green Planet’s Future of Food.

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