So you’re going to punish me for being lactose-intolerant?
About three years ago, I started to suspect I was lactose-intolerant. I’m not going to get into all the gorey details - as most people know the results of this condition where basically you drink normal milk and it goes “right through you.” I finally begrudgingly admitted I had a problem when I suffered severe cramps after drinking a Starbucks Frappucino at two rallies (thankfully I was working at them and not competing!) in 2006. A bit later that year I gathered info about soy milk (the other white drink…) and other milk-alternatives (rice milk, almond milk) from talking to some vegetarian and vegan friends, and started to try them out for myself. I’ve found I love the taste of rice milk - but that’s because it’s mostly sugar and has no basic “added benefits.” I also really like almond milk, and it has a little more added benefit with the protein content - but it’s not as readily available, it’s a little more pricey, and it’s still full of sugar. I really wanted the extra protein boost from soy milk, with much less sugar content, though it does not taste as good. My favorite is Trader Joe’s Vanilla Soy Milk Extra - because it has even more added vitamins and minerals. This leads to one final tangent before getting to my real story - Kris and my name for soy milk. Kris wanted to try it one day just to taste the flavor. I warned him - as I warn most people when trying it - not to expect it to taste anything like real milk, with a hint of oatmeal aftertaste. He completely agreed with me, and in an effort to shorten the name, called it “silk.” Well, Silk is a brand-name for one company and their soy milk products, and that doesn’t really describe it best. So in our next best “soy milk” name shortening combination, we came up with “moy.” Believe me, somehow “moy” is a MUCH better description for the taste (it seems “oatmeal-like” to me), and it’s a laughably short & cute name for soy milk.
Back to the real story…. Needless to say, for the past year and a half or so, I’d been avoiding those Starbucks Frappuccinos and other similar milk-made products unless I happened to have a lactase pill on me to take with said beverage. One day about two months ago, I met a friend for lunch at one of our favorite places and saw on a sign “We can substitute soy milk in any of our drinks.” Yay! I could finally order some of my previously favorite tasty drinks! And I thought, well, why can’t OTHER places substitute soy milk in their drinks? Especially in California, where there’s so much focus on health? So I’ve started asking if Starbucks and the like can use soy milk instead. The answer is yes, but unfortunately most places will charge you like 60 cents extra. Earlier this week, I was at Panera Bread and ordered a Chai Tea Latte` after asking the requisite “can you make this with soy milk” question. Since it was slow, and I was annoyed when the clerk took my order and told me about the extra charge, I said, “So you’re going to punish me for being lactose-intolerant?” Surprisingly, the guy was really nice and said he’d make it with soy milk and not charge me extra for it. Wow! I think more places need to get on the bandwagon of the first place I’d gone that was super accommodating and not charge extra (Cha for Tea in Irvine) for people with different needs. Being lactose-intolerant is on the same scale as being allergic to something (it almost is an allergy in itself), and you wouldn’t purposely serve something with peanuts to someone who just told you they have a nut allergy - without thinking you might be sued. You don’t usually charge extra for that - you just leave the nuts off the salad! So instead of just assuming I’m vegan and you’re “doing me a favor” by having soy milk on hand - stop punishing me for a condition my body has imposed upon me. There shouldn’t be a difference anyway!
