A very interesting, and useful discussion. I admit I haven't read every post in the string, so apologize if I'm "milking" previous comments. It seems that the environmental impact discussion/analysis is yielding a kind of toss up of pros and cons. By the way, the "Silk" brand is considerably more expensive on the shelf (about 50 cents/half gallon) here in Virginia than, for instance, the "Nature's Place" USDA certified organic! brand, "produced...without any artificial agents, chemical fertilizers, or pesticies." For me, that swings the discussion over to human health aspects - acknowledged to be somewhat off-topic. My reading shows that soy provides distinct advantages in this arena. Especially for newborns and infants, mother's milk is far superior to cow's milk which, contrary to American Dairy Assoc. hypt, is actually ideal only for their own calves!). A good summary of the human health aspects is provided here:
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