Animals Today July 27, 2019: Why should almond milk not be called milk? How can we save orangutans from extinction?

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Almond milk vs: almond beverage.

Lori begins speaking about deceptive advertising practices employed by the diary industry, and then moves on to the compelling health reasons for eliminating dairy from our diets. With the large variety of alternatives now available, it has never been easier to drop dairy from our diets. Giving up cheese can be especially hard for some, due to its addictive qualities, but you will be glad you did.

Peter then describes the battle now being waged over the term, milk. Will the descriptors soy milk and almond milk be replaced by soy beverage and almond beverage? The FDA will decide the question.

Milk has a complicated, jargon-filled standard of identity, but in short, the FDA says it is “the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows.”

How can we save orangutans from extinction?

Then Peter welcomes Leif Cocks, President and Founder of The Orangutan Project to speak about protecting the critically endangered orangutan. The Project’s major goal is to secure five to eight complete ecosystems in Indonesia to permit these animals enough habitat to go on as a species, but time is running short. The Orangutan Project funds, trains and supports teams of Indonesian men to patrol the rain forests. These teams look for poachers, remove snares and report illegal activity. It also has a program to help orphan orangutans, involving the rescue, rehabilitation and release of juveniles. Leif offers guided eco tours, which also support their work.

Another way to help is to adopt an orphaned or injured orangutan going through rehabilitation in one of their care centres. All adoption money goes to the centers listed here which work hard to give these orphans the best chance to return to the wild: Centre for Orangutan Protection, International Animal Rescue Orangutan Centre, Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, all in Borneo; and Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme Orangutan Quarantine Centre and Sumatran Orangutan Reintroduction Centre, both in Sumatra.