

Why Coca-Cola wants to sell the world expensive “science milk” - petethomas
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/04/why-coca-cola-wants-to-sell-the-world-expensive-science-milk/

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pkulak
I'm pretty sure the only "sugar" in milk is lactose, so how removing the
lactose only took the sugar down by 30% is beyond me.

My cynical guess is that they took out all the lactose, then replaced 70% of
it with table sugar or HFCS. The irony there would be that, while the carton
can still say 30% less sugar, they removed all of the sugar that acts nothing
like fructose in humans (many people can't digest it, and those who can do so
about as fast as they do protein) and replaced it with a bunch of fructose
that was never there in the first place.

~~~
maxerickson
Their marketing material mentions lactase enzyme:

[http://fairlife.com/our-products/fat-free/](http://fairlife.com/our-
products/fat-free/)

So apparently they don't add HFCS. I guess they don't try to remove more
because the sugar makes it taste better.

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iza
What is with the milk hate? Is it cool to not drink milk now?

~~~
hnnewguy
> _What is with the milk hate? Is it cool to not drink milk now?_

Most of the modern "fad" diets are against dairy. Personally, I'm torn. I'm
half-convinced that it's "unnatural" for human consumption, but at the same
time it's a cheap, tasty way of getting good fats and protein.

~~~
voidlogic
>I'm half-convinced that it's "unnatural" for human consumption

Its not like a large portion of the Earth's human population has evolved the
ability to process lactose after childhood or anything--

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roywiggins
People buy expensive coffee, expensive protein drinks, and expensive
smoothies- why not milk? Doesn't surprise me at all.

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coldtea
> _Why Coca-Cola wants to sell the world expensive “science milk”_

For profit? Companies would sell heroin to kids if they could get away with
it.

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Eric_WVGG
taste test: [http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2015/2/3/7971373/fairlife-
coca-...](http://www.theverge.com/tldr/2015/2/3/7971373/fairlife-coca-cola-
milk-taste-test)

verdict, tastes like milk, bit of malty aftertaste, typically offensive
marketing

~~~
gregcrv
Doesn't tastes like milk: it tastes like something labeled "milk" in
supermarkets. Not that many people anymore know the taste of a real fresh milk
that just came out of an animal.

edit: if you never did, go on a farm and try, you'll see, it's very different

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randomname2
"Casein has been documented to break down in the stomach to produce the
peptide "casomorphin", an opioid."

So amping up the protein (casein) content makes the milk more addictive? :)

~~~
Perceval
Depends. Milk has two types of protein: casein and whey. They may only
increase whey and not casein (casein tastes much worse than whey in my
anecdotal experience).

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skjfhskjhf
Humans are the only animals that drink milk after infancy. We are also the
only animals that are influenced by advertising.

Got Milk? Does a body good. And other bullshit to help you decided.

~~~
crazygringo
We're also the only animals that cook meat, or eat chocolate, or who get to
eat fresh strawberries in the winter.

I always find it odd when people consider drinking milk to be unnatural,
somehow -- as though it's any more unnatural than the other 99% of our modern
diet.

~~~
dragonwriter
> We're also the only animals that [...] get to eat fresh strawberries in the
> winter.

My cat would disagree with that.

> I always find it odd when people consider drinking milk to be unnatural,
> somehow -- as though it's any more unnatural than the other 99% of our
> modern diet.

Well, the fact that most non-Northern European adults are lactose intolerant
is a better basis for concluding that drinking milk is, for most people,
"unnatural" than is available for most other foodstuffs.

~~~
pizza234
> Well, the fact that most non-Northern European adults are lactose intolerant

The statistics about lactose intolerance are a complete jumble of inconsistent
data; I'm very skeptical.

I can't speak for many groups/countries, but for the one I've been in
extensive contact with, the published numbers are simply out of whack.

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oh_sigh
Sounds great to me. I'm not very price sensitive for beverages, and I'd drink
more milk if it was lower in sugar. More protein is nice too.

~~~
pizza234
Milk is low on calories, especially in proportion to the volume. A 500 ml
portion of skim milk is a little more than 150 calories, which is a "bargain",
for how filling it is.

Protein content is arguably insufficient. For people in need (real or
imaginary), the amount is too little per portion - for the rest of the masses,
a balanced diet will give enough proteins (especially considering the average
meat intake in western countries).

Reasoned approaches to balanced nutrition look elsewhere for "slashing
calories".

~~~
Someone1234
You realise a 500 ml Coca Cola has 210 calories, right? So calling 150
calories a bargain is a little strange. That's a high calorie drink.

It has more calories than a 500 ml coffee with cream and sugar, and much more
than a black coffee or a double-black/green tea (0 calories).

Honestly milk's health effects are highly exaggerated. I don't love this
article[0] and won't stand behind everything in it, however it begins to get
the point across that the adverts for milk are just that: adverts.

[0] [http://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-
myth/](http://saveourbones.com/osteoporosis-milk-myth/)

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MengerSponge
My favorite thing about Fairlife is that there isn't a speck of Coca-Cola
branding on the bottle. It's like Coke's Goose Island!

~~~
thanksgiving
For other readers who do not know about Goose Island Brewery either, it is a
fully-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch. Anheuser-Busch is the world's
largest brewer and has a 25% world-wide market share.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_Island_Brewery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_Island_Brewery)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anheuser-
Busch_InBev](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anheuser-Busch_InBev)

------
rickdale
It's interesting that milk consumption is down so much and the fact that whole
milk is down even more make me attribute it all to the backwardness of the
food pyramid that people form their diet around. I don't know though. I don't
follow the pyramid, but also stay away from milk because I don't like the
taste too much and I don't trust the process of how it got to me. Just grosses
me out for irrational reasons. Either way, zero chance I'll ever consume a
'Fairlife'.

~~~
Guthur
I was certainly with you on the taste factor for quite sometime with milk.
Then I manage to get some non-homogenized Jersey cow milk and realised milk
does not have to taste terrible. The fact is the vast majority of milk these
days is from cows selected for quantity over quality, and homogenization
removes so much character from the taste.

Edit. Also full cream or why bother.

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beckler
weird. it's already in Atlanta. it tastes alright, not my favorite by any
means, but it's cheaper than horizon organic.

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michaelbuddy
as long as it's 140 calories of mostly sugar in a can, you know people will
buy it from those sadists.

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c0ur7n3y
Placebo Water™ - Imagine the difference!™

~~~
Zikes
50% more protein, 30% less sugar, and lactose free. Any one of those on their
own would be a differentiator from conventional milk that consumers would
potentially look for.

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narag
If it's free from lactose, then has it 30% less sugar than what?

~~~
maxerickson
To reduce the amount of sugar, they separate the sugar from the liquid
ingredients and then mix it back in later.

They add enzymes to convert the lactose into other sugars.

So I guess they are still comparing to less processed milk.

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serve_yay
Well, good luck to them. There really isn't a good reason to drink straight
milk in my opinion, though it makes sauces and soups nicer.

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Yetanfou
'premium' milk... in other words, more processed food. Which, of course, is
generally something to avoid.

Maybe there is a market for a shared cow startup?

iMoo: a modern alternative for an old staple. The cow with the 'share'
function. Kickstart a cow?

Or, just use your head for thinking before stuffing it with the next branded
product. Buy unbranded fresh staple foods and prepare them yourself. Don't
whine about your busy schedule which does not allow you to do this, see it as
a challenge instead of a chore. You'll spend less money and end up healthier
to boot. Invite some friends (real live ones) if you're single and don't like
eating alone. If there isn't an app for that yet, maybe there should be: geo-
located single hungry people who want to share their chow.

~~~
kiba
_' premium' milk... in other words, more processed food. Which, of course, is
generally something to avoid._

Your comment is all about asserting that unprocessed food is good for you.
Where's the evidence?

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Yetanfou
Here?

[https://www.google.com/search?q=processed+food+health+issues](https://www.google.com/search?q=processed+food+health+issues)

~~~
guipsp
As Einstein said:

>If I were wrong, then one would have been enough!

