Milk is sold in bags in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes, but it could be approaching its expiry date. Part of the reason is changing consumer habits.
"Consumption of milk per capita has gone down every year over the last 30 years," says Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University. "Actually, it's gone down by more than 20 per cent since 2015."
While bagged milk is often cited as a unique Canadianism, it's actually not sold west of Ontario. Those who prefer it, however, say it's more cost efficient and some even believe it tastes better.
It's funny we have no issues drinking milk from many animals, but people would be grossed out knowing it's milk from a human breast, and wouldn't drink it.
I grew up with bagged milk but don't have it where I live now. With my two kids and I enjoying breakfast cereal regularly, our recycling bin fills up fast. I miss milk bags. So low waste. I remember we'd slit the end and use them for sandwich bags in our lunch bags. Or use them to wrap blocks of cheese.
I swear I remember my mum freezing sealed bags of milk for the cooler to keep meat cold on the way to the cabin.
Are these changing consumer habits mostly being driven by how insanely expensive and low quality milk products are becoming? Canadian cheese and butter are trash and cost an arm and a leg - especially when you get into goat and sheep cheeses that a lot of lactose intolerant west coasters prefer.
bagged milk is a pretty wild concept to me, but obviously there are a lot of facets of american life that are fucking bonkers to everyone else (and lots of us) so I cant really speak to it