The price and size of the carton have kept it from reaching that status. A look at Organic Direct’s website shows while a 64 oz container of organic whole milk costs $4.69, a 64 oz container of non-kosher (and not marketed as organic) lactose-free milk costs $5.89. No one wants to pay more and receive less. During my freshman year of college, I found that the majority of my meal plan dollars went towards buying soy milk at the campus convenience store. My friends were able to purchase reasonably priced gallons of regular milk, but I was stuck paying upwards of $5 for a measly container of the soy stuff.
Again, where is the representation? Starbucks, one of the most-visited coffee vendors in the country, doesn’t even offer lactose-free milk as an option. Getting soy milk as a substitute costs extra and alters the taste of the drink. And, if you’re unlucky enough to have a barista who forgets to add the soy, then for the rest of the day you’ll be suffering from severe nausea and gas. Starbucks says that it will prepare beverages “your way.” For 50 million Americans, that way needs to be lactose-free.
It shouldn’t be a trying, wallet-pinching ordeal to obtain your day’s calcium or just enjoy a healthy glass of milk. Likewise, no one else should have to endure secondhand the discomfort of someone who is lactose-intolerant. Companies that produce lactose-free milk should step up their efforts to advertise their product and drive prices down so that grocery stores can start making sales, and the beverage industry has to start making lactose-free an option. Please--I want to stop feeling like a kangaroo, and I’m not alone.
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