Amul’s Take on Joaquin Is A Wake-Up Call For Dairy Brands to Introduce Plant-Based Options

Vegans have found a new superstar! He's kind, beautiful, speaks the language of compassion, stands up against inequality for all beings, and also happens to be a very talented actor. Here's a roaring applause to Joaquin Phoenix, the lead actor of Joker, who also won the Oscar Award last week for the best actor of the year.

At the Academy awards when Joaquin was called up on stage to receive his prestigious award, he used the time given to him to shed some light on the dairy industry. (What a man!) While there is a lot more awareness of the meat industry, the horrors of dairy lags behind simply because we don't associate milk and cruelty.

Watch the man in action here:

To quote exactly what he said,

"I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric worldview, and we believe that we’re the centre of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.

We fear the idea of personal change, because we think we need to sacrifice something; to give something up. But human beings at our best are so creative and inventive, and we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and the environment."

The impact that is created when a powerful man takes a powerful stage, one that millions across the world are watching can be profound. It not only has an effect on common men/women like you and me, it even makes celebrities sit up and take note.
Lena Dunham on Twitter:

Welp, it finally happened- I do believe Joaquin Phoenix made me vegan. https://t.co/qpRbsdE3h7

— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) February 10, 2020

Eugenegu, popular, socially active MD Doctor:

Joaquin Phoenix just made me feel really guilty about putting milk in my coffee. What we do to animals—artificially inseminating a cow, stealing the baby, and robbing the mother of her milk meant for her baby to put in our coffee is really evil yet so damn routine. #Oscars

— Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) February 10, 2020

 While the world cheered him on for such a moving speech, and lauded him for his performance in Joker, we can't say everybody was impressed. Exposing an industry as cruel as the dairy industry meant that brands that sell milk were bound to feel a little insecure (read: attacked). Among the few, India's leading dairy brand decided to do a little gimmicky illustration in connection to this event. Not only did they end up offending vegans, it didn't sit down well even with dairy consumers - essentially because they're force-feeding butter to a loved actor who just took stage to condemn the practices that go on in the dairy industry.

Read comments here:

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#Amul Topical: Academy Awards 2020!

A post shared by Amul - The Taste of India (@amul_india) on Feb 10, 2020 at 4:21am PST

How do we shift focus to what they can do right? To cater to a larger audience and to tend to rapidly changing world trends, it would make a big difference if dairy heavy brands start introducing plant-based alternatives. It also adds to the brand's portfolio of showing diversity and inclusivity. While vegans might be small in number, veganism is growing faster than we expected, and the more alternatives we provide, the more the number of people waiting to jump into the bandwagon.

The power of inclusivity and why we need it for veganism comes to the forefront while discussing this topic. Why, you wonder? We end up alienating many groups of people by creating a huge distinction between vegans and non-vegans, and that leaves us in a lose-lose situation. We need to put our collective energies together to let everybody feel included. While many vegans will disagree and opinions may differ, exclusivity will only bring us isolation. To be able to bring about a large scale change, we need more people demanding for dairy alternatives. Every little step makes a difference.

Let's imagine a situation together, shall we? Stay with me: Tomorrow, let's say Amul introduces one drink that's non-dairy. Without exclusivity, if vegans and non-vegans support the move together and show that there's demand, there are more chances for Amul to introduce more non-dairy options, right?  

A great example would be Ben And Jerry's. Back in 2016, they saw a thriving demand for non-dairy ice creams and cracked a great recipe for the same. Today, they boast of over 12 flavours ranging from creme brulee to chocolate chip cookie dough and they've come a long way.

Even Starbucks for that matter, at one point only had dairy milk for their milk options. Today, across the world at all their outlets, we have options of dairy-free milks to choose from. At a recent event, the CEO of Starbucks even recently announced the cutting down of dairy to pave way for a more sustainable menu.

With bigger brands and players entering the vegan space, what stops you, Amul? Here’s hoping to see Amul set the trend for many other dairy brands as well to adopt plant-based options.  

Starbucks to push customers to ditch dairy for alternative milk as it moves to cut carbon footprint

To cut your morning coffee's carbon footprint, skip the Frappuccino and take a plain black espresso. Adding whipped cream to millions of Starbucks Corp. drinks emits 50 times as much greenhouse gas as the company's private jet. Overall, dairy products are the biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions across the coffee giant's operations and supply chain.