Where does the milk come from?

After finishing this module, a student will have learned where milk comes from. It sounds simple; however, not many of us know the whole path – from the cow to carton. Instead, you often hear students say, “milk comes from the supermarket”. This module will help students to better understand every step of the supply chain as well as the climate and animal welfare related impacts of milk consumption.

Students learn: 

• how cows live and why as well as when they give milk
• why humans drink milk, which nutrients can be found in milk, and other food products that contain milk
• about the differences between organic as opposed to regular industrial animal husbandry (e. g. feed, husbandry conditions, daily milk production)
• about alternatives to cow milk, such as milk made from goats, sheep and/or oats, cashew nuts, almonds, soy etc. – and how to make their own vegan milk at home
• the carbon footprint of milk compared to its alternatives

Based on their learnings, students are, furthermore, encouraged to reflect upon other food products of their day to day lives and how they are produced (? see also “Where does the Mango come from?”)

2 x 2 lesson units 

(+ if possible, one day trip to a nearby farm)  

The workshop is designed to be integrated seamlessly into day-to-day lesson planning. The first two lesson units are a thematic introduction and carve out time for research. If the second two lessons are on a different day, students can take a more active role by preparing presentations or by gathering milk cartons / bottles from their homes and bringing them to school. If possible, an excursion to a nearby farm could be organized, so that parts of the milk production can be witnessed in real life. 

Additionally, it is possible to do a whole series and to explore other food as well (? see also “Where does the Mango come from?”). 

For presenting different kinds of milk, you need

• numerous milk cartons / bottles from different brands and certificates, varying in quality, such as
  • Certified organic
  • Animal welfare-tested
  • Fairtrade 
  • Conventional milk
  • UHT
• cartons / bottles of soy, almond and/or oat milk

For producing your own vegan milk alternatives, you also need

• Mixer
• Cashew nuts
• Oats
• (nut milk bag)

The lesson “Where does the milk come from?” is a great opportunity for students to reflect upon their daily food products. Milk is often taken for granted. For the animal’s welfare and for our environments, however, it does make a big difference if you consume plant based, certified organic or conventional milk. It is important for students to understand the consequences of their consumption at a young age and to understand the supply chains involved – from farm to fork (or here rather from cow to carton). 

The lesson is designed to be integrated seamlessly into day-to-day lesson planning and can be a good starting point to also explore the supply chains of other food products. Depending on the lesson planning, students can take on active role, e.g., by doing research, presenting their findings, gathering different milk glasses / cartons, making their own plant-based milk etc. Also, students are introduced to “carbon footprint” as a model to analyze environmental and social impact of people and / or products.  

The ideas and activities can be used flexibly within your current curriculum. Feel free to use the resources to fit with your scheme of work. Our recommendation is to use the resources in:

• Biology
• Geography
• Health & PE
• If applicable: cooking lessons