If it's literally a waste product, I don't see why that should matter. The costs should just be for processing and transportation, which would also apply to ordinary milk? Yet in my area whey protein powder costs about 30x as much as milk per unit weight.
What I don’t understand is why the excess whey isn’t already used primarily as animal feed instead of being dumped down the drain. Did you come across any reason for this? My first guess would be that many of the smaller operations don’t have the equipment or capacity to store or process whey.
If this is the case, it seems likely that increasing human consumption of whey could just raise the price of the product. This could potentially even divert supply from the market for animal feed. My initial thought is that “recycling” the product back into animal ag could be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Instead of shipping, processing, and packaging it for individual consumption it could be ordered in bulk for animal feed (which also has fewer processing/regulatory requirements). Curious about your thoughts on this as my arguments here are mostly speculative.
You can buy whey made from precision fermentation (PerfectDay). That changes several elements of your post, particularly the claim that whey is necessarily not vegan.
I spent some time looking into this since it was not obvious to me how to buy from Perfect Day. Looks like the only retail partner who sells their whey protein powder is Myprotein, most retailers sell things like ice cream.
I wish it were easier to buy PerfectDay and similar products, but I guess it makes early business sense to target food manufacturers rather than end consumers. It's cool you can get it from Myprotein -- I tried the caramel flavor but found the flavoring overwhelming. Sad that there's no unflavored option. Maybe the animal free version still has some off flavors compared to the animal derived version?
If what you're saying is true, why is whey protein so expensive?
My quick guess is that turning something from a "waste product" to a "certified-safe supplement for human consumption" is still costly.
Isn't it one of the cheapest forms of protein?
If it's literally a waste product, I don't see why that should matter. The costs should just be for processing and transportation, which would also apply to ordinary milk? Yet in my area whey protein powder costs about 30x as much as milk per unit weight.
What I don’t understand is why the excess whey isn’t already used primarily as animal feed instead of being dumped down the drain. Did you come across any reason for this? My first guess would be that many of the smaller operations don’t have the equipment or capacity to store or process whey.
If this is the case, it seems likely that increasing human consumption of whey could just raise the price of the product. This could potentially even divert supply from the market for animal feed. My initial thought is that “recycling” the product back into animal ag could be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Instead of shipping, processing, and packaging it for individual consumption it could be ordered in bulk for animal feed (which also has fewer processing/regulatory requirements). Curious about your thoughts on this as my arguments here are mostly speculative.
You can buy whey made from precision fermentation (PerfectDay). That changes several elements of your post, particularly the claim that whey is necessarily not vegan.
I spent some time looking into this since it was not obvious to me how to buy from Perfect Day. Looks like the only retail partner who sells their whey protein powder is Myprotein, most retailers sell things like ice cream.
I wish it were easier to buy PerfectDay and similar products, but I guess it makes early business sense to target food manufacturers rather than end consumers. It's cool you can get it from Myprotein -- I tried the caramel flavor but found the flavoring overwhelming. Sad that there's no unflavored option. Maybe the animal free version still has some off flavors compared to the animal derived version?