Lesson Twenty-Eight: Milk vs Almond Milk — Narrative of Climate Change

Jun 28

Jun 28 Lesson Twenty-Eight: Milk vs Almond Milk

Consumerism, Food & Drink, Plants & Animals

CCSS+-+Blog+Post+Images.002.jpg — How we should be crying over spilt milk

Today we’re going to be talking about how switching your “milk” can have a big positive impact on the planet.

Most people think of milk as coming from cows, goats, and sheep. However, there is a whole other world of milk alternatives out there! If I was to go down to my local grocer, I’d find about 10 different varieties including almond, oat, cashew, coconut, soy, macadamia, rice, pea, hazelnut, and flax. SO 👏 MANY 👏 OPTIONS 👏.

When trying to understand the environmental impacts of the different kinds of milk, these are the 3 factors we need to consider:

Emissions
Land Use
Water Use

When we compare cow milk to 4 popular types of milk alternatives (rice, soy, oat, and almond), we can see the intense scales of their impacts.

Source: Poore & Nemecek (2018)

This means that a 200mL glass of milk equals 0.65 kg of emissions, 1.75 m2 of land, and 120 L of water. Whereas a 200mL glass of oat milk equals 0.18 kg of emissions, 0.17 m2 of land, and 10 L of water. You might be thinking, the emissions for 200mL isn’t that much. And you’re right. But the average Canadian chugs back 290 x 200mL glasses a year. Those emissions add up fast.

So, if you’re looking to reduce your global footprint through your diet, THIS is a great place to start!

What’s important to note is that there are also a lot of other milk alternatives that weren’t mentioned in the data above. While there isn’t enough scientific data on their emissions (yet), here is what we know:

Cashews, Hazelnuts, and Macadamias are all nuts which gives them a great flavour, but require A LOT of water to grow.
Coconuts only grow in tropical climates so the pressure to meet global demand is causing exploitation of workers.
Pea milk is packed with protein and is on the come up! (Check out Ripple if you haven’t heard of pea milk before).
Flax (and hemp) are both considered niche contenders and are grown in small batches.

Honestly, regardless of what your preference is, as long as it’s not animal dairy, you’re doing the planet a favour.

My recommendation is to experiment with a few types and see what flavours you are interested in. Your palate might need some time to get used to it, but your global footprint reduction will be worth it. 💪

My turn to hear from you!! Do you have any questions about what brands to try? At-home recipes to experiment with? Which dairy alternative makes the best latte? (Hint: it’s oat)! If you’re curious about anything, let me know below!