Silk or store brand?

[lynnxoobrink]

my budget has gotten a bit smaller so i have to watch what i buy and i was at the grocery store looking at soy milk... usually i get silk which is amazing but i noticed that hannaford brand.. i think its called natures place was less expensive...i didnt get it cause i hate trying new brands. does anyone know if its just as good?

[PlaybackGuru]

Well I avoid Silk because of the price and the fact that it is owned by Dean Foods and they are just plain evil!

[lynnxoobrink]

who are they and how are they evil?

[PlaybackGuru]

http://greenhome.huddler.com/forum/thread/911/horizon-milk-is-not-organic-dean-foods-is-nothing-short-of-corrupt


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Foods

a few links for you....

[Kesira]

I choose Silk over store brand. I KNOW Silk is vegan. I've seen store brands with vitamin D3, which as we all know is ANIMAL DERIVED!!

[animallover7249]

I normally get store brands because I think some of them taste a lot better than silk.

[fadeaway1289]

Although I like Silk I hardly ever buy it unless its crazy cheap and on sale. Usually I'll buy the store brand or whatever is the cheapest.

[3LittleBirds]

I usually buy Silk, but that's because I know it's B12 fortified. I've bought store brands before and when I got home I realized that they didn't show any indication of having B12. And that's one of the big reasons I drink soy milk in the first place.

[greensgood]

Well I avoid Silk because of the price and the fact that it is owned by Dean Foods and they are just plain evil!

Agreed! Please avoid Silk products! Dean Foods is one of the largest dairy producers in the US, and they have very low standards of animal treatment and ethics. when you buy a carton of Silk you're dollars are contributing to animal cruelty. not vegan IMO.

[Poppy]

Silk is absolutely vegan. It may be a subsidiary of Satan, but it is still vegan. Buying vegan products creates demand for vegan products, which will eventually result in more vegan products on the shelves.

[Nickle00]

If you have an Aldi near you that's where I buy my Soy milk. I used to use only Silk but it's pretty pricey and I usually ended up wasting some since I'm the only one who uses it. The brand Aldi carries is (I beli eve) their own and is called Fit & Active. They come in smaller containers (plastic, which sucks but I find other uses for them once I'm finished) and their WAY cheaper!! They come in both Original and Vanilla flavors.

[Michael]

I usually buy whatever is cheapest. It all tastes about the same to me but I never drink it straight - it's either in a recipe or cereal. We usually try to get the Aldi store brand because it seems to be the cheapest.

[KellyBon]

I buy silk or trader Joes brand.

[greensgood]

Silk is absolutely vegan. It may be a subsidiary of Satan, but it is still vegan. Buying vegan products creates demand for vegan products, which will eventually result in more vegan products on the shelves.

this is true to some extent, however buying Silk products sends the message that vegans are ok with factory farming, since they are contributing to a company that practices it.

[danakscully64]

I don't like Silk, only the Trader Joe's brand :)

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Silk is absolutely vegan. It may be a subsidiary of Satan, but it is still vegan. Buying vegan products creates demand for vegan products, which will eventually result in more vegan products on the shelves.

I have to agree here. If we bought no products subsidised by companies we didn't agree with, there would be very little available to some people, and the demand would go down.
Sure it's not ideal, and nice if it's avoidable.
But where do you think the store brands are produced at?
They're made/packaged/bottled in the SAME factories by the same companies using the same ingredients from the same sources, then just sold under a different label. (i.e. Trader Joe's? Only a very few of their products are uniquely "theirs". They contract out nearly all their products to the least expensive manufacturer, then sell it under their store name, so you don't know if you're buying Silk or Edensoy or Pacific soymilk in a Trader Joe's box.)

[pandora9kry]

What's with everyone and Silk?? I have maybe bought it ONCE in my life. I always go with So Nice. They just came out with strawberry and it's fabulous. And organic. They also make mocha soy milk boxes (like a juice box) and vanilla chai.

[animallover7249]

What's with everyone and Silk??

It's normally the most widely-available, even in pretty non-veg*n friendly places.

[jenni-anti-fur]

If you have an Aldi near you that's where I buy my Soy milk. I used to use only Silk but it's pretty pricey and I usually ended up wasting some since I'm the only one who uses it. The brand Aldi carries is (I beli eve) their own and is called Fit & Active. They come in smaller containers (plastic, which sucks but I find other uses for them once I'm finished) and their WAY cheaper!! They come in both Original and Vanilla flavors.

soo agree the Aldi fit and active tastes great and is a great price and comes in the original and vanilla and chocolate...I buy Silk if its on sale and have a coupon...and sometimes buy the case of the Kirkland brand from Costco too..and I think I read silk makes that too...I buy whats on sale and/or the best price:)

Have a great one:)

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

and sometimes buy the case of the Kirkland brand from Costco too..and I think I read silk makes that too..

They do. :up:

Silk is the only brand available around me that makes an UNSWEETENED ORGANIC soymilk that is in a refrigerator carton - not packaged in the aseptic, shelf-stable box.

Something about the aseptically packaged- shelf-stable plant milks tastes "off" to me.
A different form of processing/packaging is used, (if asked, the company even says the processing may make the milks taste slightly different than the refrigerated ones... so I know it's just not me...)

[animallover7249]

I noticed a taste difference, too, when I tried a shelf-stable soy milk.

[FitChick99]

I'm pretty impartial when it comes to brands. They definitely taste different, but the only kind I drink straight is the chocolate. I usually buy whatever is cheapest, or I have a coupon for :) Very good to know about Aldi's! I rarely ever go in there, but that gives me a decent reason to check it out. Although I do prefer to buy the Light, so I'll have to compare.

[Poppy]

this is true to some extent, however buying Silk products sends the message that vegans are ok with factory farming, since they are contributing to a company that practices it.

How could buying soymilk possibly send a message that someone is okay with factory farming? It sends exactly the opposite message. Please don't complicate veganism any further by saying that we shouldn't buy vegan products - that's not helpful at all!

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Please don't complicate veganism any further by saying that we shouldn't buy vegan products - that's not helpful at all!

I know, right?
:wayne: :wayne:

[3LittleBirds]

This thread is called "Silk or store brand?". Some people use Silk, and one would assume that if they post in this thread they would probably explain why they like it. Other people do not.

Why can't they have equal time to explain why they don't like it? What is wrong with full disclosure, and letting people know that Dean Foods is an unethical company, so that they may choose whether or not to support them? I wouldn't buy anything vegan from Monsanto, Tyson, or Cargill either, if they were to offer it. Why should'nt I be allowed to state why without other people trying to make it look like I am being judgmental? Some people might be ignorant for these companies, and appreciate knowing their policies. Why jump down people's throats for stating the truth about an unethical company?

:yes:

I agree. I didn't know about Dean Foods before and it has certainly given me something to think about. Considering that I have a Whole Foods nearby and so have access to several different brands of soy milk, I would rather support a company that is not complicit in animal cruelty. That isn't to say that people who only have access to Silk shouldn't buy it. But if you do have other options, you can use your power as a consumer to support one brand over another. And it's never a bad thing to know more about where our food is coming from, no matter what you decide to do with that information.