‘Indie milk’, I called it. In search of the tastiest dairy alternative during a vegan spell a while back, I gulped the diluted pulp of rice, coconut, almond, hazelnut, oat, hemp, and more – even soy, because hey, it might be pretty much mainstream by now but only a jerk thinks they’re too good for pop milk. I like the idea of new Minecraft mod The Vegan Option, adding crafting alternatives free of animal products for everything from dye to armour, but as an indie milk aficionado I had to know: what is the drink it calls ‘plant milk’?

Pumpkin milk. You make your own pumpkin milk from seeds. Damn, that’s pretty hardcore.

The Vegan Option adds new ways to craft things that would usually involve animal parts, using new parts and new recipes. Rather than fertilising with bone meal, for example, you can make your own compost then add a dash of saltpeter. If you want to cook a recipe using egg, you can make an egg substitute by mashing a potato with a piston to get potato starch or beating apples to make apple sauce. A straw bed is itchy, and that hurts a little, but it doesn’t use wool. And burlap armour made with plant fibres is an alternative to leather armour.

Here, the readme details the list of new materials and recipes, along with a fine selection of links explaining quite what they are. I had not known before where burlap comes from; now I know all about retting. You can still biff cows to turn into cool leather jackets if you want, as this mod simply adds alternatives; I still wore a leather jacket because I’m cool.

I like this answer from creator ‘squeek502’ as to the why:

In-game veganism is simply a playstyle that I prefer, in that I think survival games offer a unique way to explore vegan ethics that the real world doesn’t provide. For example, attempting to adhere to veganism within Minecraft leads to weird/interesting questions like, “Is it really self-defense to kill a mob if I’m semi-responsible for mobs being able to spawn at all?”. It can also encourage non-standard behavior like building a weapon that does the least amount of damage possible.

Of course, one must wonder about the nutritional value of the diet this mod offers. A little quinoa would be a great start to add more protein, perhaps some more nuts, and we can’t forget the wonder crops of flax and hemp! The first release was only a few days ago, mind.

Download links and complimentary mod suggestions are in its Minecraft Forum thread.

I never did try pumpkin milk, but have enjoyed a mystifying pumpkin seed ‘cheese’ on vegan pizza.