The greek yoghurt market is increasing in the USA. It is due
to health and the diet trend.
This yoghurt presents many advantages because is
more nourishing, it contains twice more proteines than a classic yogourt and it
is less caloric because it contains less lactose and less sugar. This product
seducts american consumers ! This industry is 2 billions dollars per year.
But this taste is not without consequences for the
environment because the production of the yoghurt creates an acide residu.
An article published
in the American magazine « Modern Farmer » reveals negative
aspects of the production of greek yoghurt which is particularly concerned
because it takes so much more milk to produce, about three cups of milk for
every one cup of yoghurt.
The big question is « where does this waste
go ? »
Chobani delivres the toxic greenish mess to local farms,
where it is then mixed with live stock feed.
« Right
now, we choose to return whey to farmers, most of whom use it as a supplement
to their livestock feed. Some is used as a land-applied fertilizer but only at
farms that have nutrient management plans in place with the state environmental
conservation agency. A small percentage is also sent to community digesters,
where the whey is used to produce energy. »
A photo of the
digesters that Chobani is speaking of can be seen below:
Photo of an actual manure
slurry of whey / Justin Ellion / Modern Farmer
Justin Elliott
writes in the Modern Farmer that the acidic whey « cannot just be
dumped » :
« It's a
thin, runny waste product that can’t simply be dumped. Not only would that be
illegal, but whey decomposition is toxic to the natural environment, robbing
oxygen from streams and rivers. »
Whey is a
disaster for biological systems and in recent years, whey accidents
have resulted in the death of thousand of fish.
For example a
factory that produces 26,500 gallons of milk per day creates the same amount of
pollution as a city of 60 000 people.
What are possible
solutions for this?
First, whey can
be used to produce energy like electricity.
Then, one of the
solution consists in extract the milk sugar from the whey and use it for infant
formula.
All these
solutions are expensive, not very efficient and unfortunately not close to
solve the problem.
Cécile Vendeville
http://www.slate.fr/lien/72901/yaourt-grec-pollution
