Additionally, a study published on BreastCancer.org found that eating full-fat dairy products can lessen breast cancer patients' chances of survival. They use less land, less water and generate lower amounts of greenhouse gases. Video, How saving endangered languages can save nature, The lost burial site of a 17th Century 'agent of Satan' Video, The lost burial site of a 17th Century 'agent of Satan'. The cashew industry has also become quite controversial due to working conditions in countries such as India and Vietnam, where workers discard the outer layers of cashew apples by hand, exposing themselves to dangerous corrosive acids. 2023 BBC. And while each product has its trade-offs, some plant milks are more sustainable than others. However, the popular Oatly brand oat milk company maintains its oats are certified glyphosate free. To help you keep up your sustainable habits year-round, Green Matters is hosting a giveaway for a five-year Thrive Market membership and $500 gift card on Instagram. Sales of so-called alternative milks are growing faster in the UK than sales of traditional milk, according to market researchers Mintel. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission Heres our process. Out of these three pea milk is the most environmentally sustainable milk since it is essentially equal to oat milk in its environmental impact. Don't cry because you can't play with our interactive. This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts. Here are the 9 best nondairy milks. If you are choosing your non-dairy milk simply based on whichplant-based milk is best for the environment,you need toknow that pistachios require half as much water to grow as almonds, and are on a par with oats as environmentally friendly crops. Check out our favorite recipes for oat milk and almond milk. Making your own plant milk not only gives you more control over the ingredients used but may also be more eco-friendly. A single glass requires 74 litres (130 pints of water) - more than a typical shower. The primary environmental drawback to soy milk is that soybeans are grown in massive quantities around the world to feed livestock for meat and dairy production. Producing rice milk requires a lot of water, but not as much as almond milk. Producing oat milk requires land, water and energy. The annual amount of water used is compared with a shower, based on figures suggesting the average shower lasts eight minutes and uses up 65 litres. The harmless hazelnut, a chocolate lovers' dream, is coming on strong. Monocultures may also deplete soil nutrients, reducing overall crop fertility (20, 21). It's an extract from the yellow peas, by Ripple Foods Company. Almonds need a staggering amount of water to grow. The mighty oat is actually a hero grain. Healthline Media does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. A glass of dairy milk produces almost three times more greenhouse gas than any plant-based milk. Soy milk Soy milk is made from soybeans and is probably one of the most popular plant-based milk alternatives, as it's very versatile and can be used in pretty much all recipes and drinks in place of cow's milk. Because coconut trees only grow in tropical climates, the pressure to meet global demand is causing exploitation of workers and destruction of rainforests. So how much of this glyphosate really is in that bowl of oatmeal or your oat milk latte? 100ml of cow's milk will contain around 3.4 grams of protein, versus 0.5 grams in almond milk. These are then compared with the emissions of other daily habits. What Is Potato Milk? Your email address will not be published. Transporting rice from Asia produces a significant amount of carbon dioxide. Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument. Since its a new product, there havent been many studies on this milks environmental impact. Assales of oat milk in the US have grown from $4.4 million in 2017 to $29 million in 2019, placing it first ahead of almond milk as the fastest-growing non-dairy milk, oats could one day become more of a commodity. As long as youre buying hemp milk made from hemp grown relatively locally, its a very environmentally friendly option. While it would be nice to think that cows naturally produce milk, and that the process of milking them is natural, unfortunately that is not the case. Making one liter of almond milk takes more than 6,000 liters of water! The United States alone is responsible for 35% of global soy production. Not to mention, drinking less dairy products means you're affecting less cows, who are artificially inseminated so they can produce breast milk, which humans then bottle up and drink. Its sweetness and creaminess is delicious in all types of coffee as well as alternatives like matcha or chai. Advantages: Among the reasons why many of its users consider the milk as the best alternative to dairy milk include; On the plus side, no deforestation is involved in producing dairy milk in the UK, as the land has been used for dairy farms for centuries. Avoiding this shipping step reduces these effects and makes any kind of milk produced in the western hemisphere inherently more environmentally friendly. Hazelnuts are the best source of nut milk in terms of environmental impact. Next, the protein is separated, purified and blended with other ingredients such as sunflower oil and water. For a cow to produce milk, a farmer artificially inseminates her; after she gives birth, her calf is taken away before they can nurse from their mother; her udders are then hooked up to a milking machine, and her breastmilk is taken from her. One thing is clear. According to the Oxford study, soy milk is the joint winner on the sustainability scale. In my own search for the most eco-friendly plant milks, I found that different types have different footprints in terms of natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions. Combine all of the above ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor for 3060 seconds until creamy. But basically, as long as non-dairy milk is helping you to consume less animal products, you've already lowered your impact. This company, whose name stands for Just One Ingredient, makes plant milk concentrates instead of using water resources to make packaged milks. They have to pollinate all those almond trees! Large swaths of rainforest in the Amazon have been burned to make way for soy farms. There are also some soy milk companies, such as Silk, that claim to only use organic soybeans grown in the United States, which removes the Amazon deforestation factor. By Anna Clayton Last updated: Thursday 20th of February 2020 Share this: About Ethical Consumer Is Glyphosate (Roundup) Banned in the UK. They assessed the effect of these foods on climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions and the amount of land and fresh water used across all stages of their production, including processing, packaging, and transportation, but excluding the cooking process. Green Matters is a registered trademark. Soy has a relatively high concentration of certain hormones that are similar to human hormones and people got freaked out about that, says Emery. Other factors include how the farming of the crop affects people and native habitats in developing countries, the carbon footprint and water use. However, you need a special licence to grow the plant due to the legal status of cannabis. Milk is a contentious issue for many vegans as its production involves the exploitation of animals. Based on interviews with experts, here is a an environmental ranking of plant milks, from the disappointingly sour to the sustainably sweet. But the reality is you would have to consume an impossibly large amount of soy milk and tofu for that to ever be a problem. Recent studies have instead found that a moderate amount of soy is healthy, especially for women. Macadamia Milk requires significantly less water to grow and produce than almond milk or dairy milk. Still, farmers know the famous cases, eachlitigated in the public eye,but they continue to use the chemical for its effectiveness. Since hemp milk is made from excess seeds while the rest of the plant is used for other things such as making clothes, producing hemp milk doesnt require extra land. One study funded by the Almond Board of California estimated that it takes 3.2 gallons (12.1 liters) of water to produce a single California almond (11). But vegan options have drawbacks of their own, For environmentally minded consumers, the news is hard to swallow: almond milk is not healthy for the planet and the popular milk substitute is especially hard on bees. And known as alow-input crop, which, when grown in rotation, oats create crop diversity and reduce soil erosion and help lower the risk of plant diseases. Offers may be subject to change without notice. It depends on what measure you care most about: Water, land use, greenhouse gas emissions or all the climate-change factors combined. Macadamia nuts are considered to be moderately sustainable due to having lower environmental damage to air, water, land, soil, and forests, as long as pesticides have not been used. Follow these recipes to whip up a glass of hazelnut fig milk and other DIY plant milk varieties. Cows milk is probably the least environmentally friendly type of milk. Required fields are marked *. A study published by the Harvard School of Public Health found that dairy is the No. Oats are also primarily grown in the western hemisphere, cutting back the environmental costs of shipping. Hemp milk is made by blending water with hemp seeds. It's a milk carton whether it contains pasteurised or UHT milk. But almond trees are extremely thirsty and use copious amounts of water to produce all those little almonds. Soy wins for sustainability and also its protein content. Dairy is a disaster. Replacing cows milk with any alternative is a step in the right direction. But luckily, there are a few milks that are generally easier on the environment. And hemp seeds are rich in protein and healthy omega-3 fatty acids, making for a nutritious plant-based milk. We compared dairy, nut, soy, hemp and grain milks Published: October 13, 2020 2.49pm EDT Want to write? Nearly 70% of commercial bees in the US are drafted every spring to pollinate almonds. Searches for milk alternatives spike in January in the UK - especially soy milk and almond milk. The company strives for zero waste throughout its supply chain (32). Both cashew milk and macadamia milk are significantly better than dairy milk and use less water than almond milk, but choose organic versions where pesticides are not used. This is almost 90 times less than getting the same amount of . Its leaves and seeds are used to make oil and milk, while the stalks and roots are ingredients in construction material, textile fibers, and hemp paper and plastics (14, 15). Usually a small amount of sea salt is added. One thing to bear in mind is that vegan milks usually have several added ingredients such as vegetable oils which may have their own environmental costs. Strain the liquid preferably twice through a very thin towel into a large bowl to remove debris. The company Ripple claims that its pea milk requires 86% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than almond milk (27). Look for organic oat milk to avoid pesticide and herbicide contamination. Luckily, my favourite, oat milk comes out on top! When the latest Swedish invasion came to the states several years ago, in the form of Oatly, no one could have anticipated the love affair that was about to ensue. Last year, it's estimated thatone-third of thebees died from the pressures of this imbalance of growth. According to Sciblogs, about 1020 litres of water is required to produce one litre of cows milk. Potato milk is the latest plant milk on the blockthanks to Swedish brand Dug. Coconut Milk Like almond milk, coconut milk does not feature as many nutritional benefits as you might think. In a recent survey, 48percentof consumers are choosing to eat more plant-based for the sake of theplanet, as well as our human health. They takecarbondioxide from the air and water from the groundand theyrelease oxygen back into the atmosphere (photosynthesis!). Now that weve described our sorting criteria, we present our rankings, starting with the most environmentally friendly milk and ending at the least. water taken out of rivers or the ground, is included in the data. As an example, consider dairy farms as the source of regular milk. Satisfying continual demands for larger almond crops is also placing unsustainable pressures on US commercial beekeepers. To find out the climate impact of what you eat and drink, choose from one of the 34 items in our calculator and pick how often you have it. If you live in a country that produces coconut milk, that could also be a very eco-friendly option. We know, after the bad news about almond milk, you dont want to hear anything bad about soy milk. Hemp grows well in the UKs climate, and has been grown in this country since Roman times. The worlds biggest soybean producers include the USA, Brazil and Argentina. Most soya milk sold in the UK is made in the EU using imported soybeans. Almonds dont grow in the UK, so most almond milk sold here will be made from almonds grown around the Mediterranean in countries such as Spain and Italy. They are grown in relatively small quantities in the northern hemisphere, which makes them more environmentally friendly compared with a monoculture operation. The milk with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions is almond milk, because the trees lock up a lot of CO as they grow. Here's the low-down on your favorite cereal partner, milk or smoothie enhancer, or straight-up sip. Almond milk requires more water to produce than soy or oat milk. Coconut farming isnt linked to deforestation in the way that palm oil production is. Almond milk is the most popular alt milk by far. Kashmir battles alarming drug addiction crisis, The mother bringing autism out of the dark in Iraq, China's growing comedy scene feels censorship chill, How saving endangered languages can save nature. Bacteria breeding in rice paddies pump methane into the atmosphere and large amounts of fertilizer pollute waterways. Dont shoot the messenger. Update 22nd February 2019: This article has been updated to include more detail about the methodology used. Monocultures reduce the biodiversity of insects in the surrounding ecosystem, which may lead to an increase in pests and ultimately pesticide use. We also look at industrial farming, animal welfare, pollution, packaging and give our Best Buy recommendations. Rice milk is also comparatively thirsty, requiring 54 litres of water per glass. However, it compares favourably to most other types of milk. Laurence is the founder and editor of Naturaler. Design by Prina Shah, development by Felix Stephenson and Becky Rush. You may also choose to either make milk at home using raw nuts, grains, or legumes, or support one of the newer plant-based milk concentrate companies. However, the popular Oatly brand oat milk company maintains that its oats are certified glyphosate-free. Cooking with coconut oil may be a luxury, but peopleendureddifficult conditions to bringit to store shelves. Dairy milk also requires a huge amount of land that could be used more efficiently to grow crops. - EcoPanda UK Home Sustainable Living What's The Most Environmentally Friendly Type Of Milk? In the interest of brevity, this list is not comprehensive, although we try to cover the most popular kinds of milk used by coffee drinkers. The short answer is that oat milk is the most environmentally-friendly milk. See additional information. Not to be confused with the hemp used for marijuana, hemp milk derives from the seeds of a hemp plant. A lot of the coconut milk sold in the UK is made in Thailand. In fact, its environmental impact can even be considered net positive. As an example, consider dairy farms as the source of regular milk. This #veganuary @BBCScienceNews asks scientists 'Which are the best vegan milks?' So feel free to ignore all those reports about how almond milk uses too much water to be sustainable, because almond milk uses way less water than its dairy counterpart. Hazelnuts come from moist environments,like the Pacific Northwest, where water is more plentiful than in arid California. Seeds, in general, take less to grow than nuts and deliver healthy fats, minerals, and nutrients ounce per ounce. However, they produce less per kilogram of milk than cows. Your email address will not be published. Plant-based milk is better for the planet than dairy, but it can have a dark side. Last medically reviewed on June 14, 2021. More research is needed on plant milks environmental impacts to determine which ones rank best. Research shows that plant milks have a significantly smaller environmental footprint than dairy milk. Oats are healthy for you andtheenvironment. This article examines the environmental impacts of various plant milks and provides tips for choosing the most eco-friendly options. A scientist by training, there is no stone he has left unturned in the never-ending quest for the perfect cup of coffee. After all, while the dairy industry has received a bad rap for being resource-intensive, that doesnt mean plant-based milks have no environmental impact (1, 2, 3). The annual impact from eating a specific food is calculated by multiplying the impact of one serving of that food by the times it is eaten in a year, based on the weekly estimates submitted by the user. Environmentally Friendly Milk: The Criteria Growing The first measure of environmental impact is how much strain is caused by growing the source of the milk. Sesame milk is another environmentally-friendly choice since it uses less water. A chart has also been added showing the environmental impact of cow's milk, broken down by region. This is because rice paddies are known to contain bacteria that emit significant amounts of methane when flooded, a standard practice for rice crops (16, 17, 18). Heating the average UK home produces 2.34 tonnes of CO2eq annually, according to data from the Committee on Climate Change, and a passenger's carbon footprint for a return flight from London to Malaga is 320kg CO2eq, based on figures from the Carbon Neutral calculator. Can sci-fi films teach us anything about an AI threat? People tend to underestimate the greenhouse gas emissions from food, and dairy milk is no exception, according to research by Dr Adrian Camilleri, a psychologist at the University of Technology Sydney. Coconut milk is made by grating the white part of the coconut and soaking it in hot water. The downfall of cashews is the cruel treatment of cashew pickers. Looking at land use, the difference is starker still. You can easily make homemade plant milks, though they have a shorter shelf life than commercial ones. While all plant milks have their own pros and cons, hemp and pea milks may be less resource-intensive than others. In another study that compared the water footprint of nine crops in Australia, almonds had the highest footprint by far more than apples, grapes, tomatoes, oranges, peaches, cherries, potatoes, and carrots (12). Hemp is one of the most environmentally friendly crops in the world, actually helping remediate soil and isolate carbon. This factor may help even out coconut milks overall carbon emissions (29). Peas are native to areas that tend to get significant rainfall, which means that they require fewer existing water resources to grow. However, about 99% of the water required for dairy farming in the UK is provided by green water, or rainwater (source). When I first switched to a plant-based diet, there werent many nondairy milk options. You can make your consumption of cows milk more environmentally friendly by buying it from a local farm or getting it delivered in reusable glass bottles. Which Plant-Based Milk Is Healthier: Almond Milk or Oat Milk? A study by the Environmental Working Group found glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and a possible carcinogen, in all the foods it tested containing conventionally grown oats and even in one-third of products made with organic oats. Read More: Which Plant-Based Milk Is Healthier: Almond Milk or Oat Milk? Still, all plant-based milks have various pros and cons. The latest annual Transport and Environment Report 2020 (TERM) addresses the issue assessing the value of travel by train and plane, amid efforts to put in place the European Union's green deal. To be fair, most soy is grown to feed cattle, but the point remains that encouraging more soy farming is environmentally irresponsible. However, milk production was more energy efficient in Western Europe than other regions of the world, partly because the climate is more suitable for dairy cattle. The western world dominates global milk consumption, so any milk production that happens far from where milk is consumed will come with the environmental cost of shipping. When it comes to the environment, we all want to choose foods that do the least damage to our climate. You simply add water at home and blend. Soy milk. According to the Water Footprint Network, shelled or peeled almonds require about six times as much water to grow as oats, making oat milk a more sustainable choice when it comes to water use. Along with beef, soy is one of the biggest drivers of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest due to the amount of land required to meet demand. Glyphosate is often known by the brand name Roundup, which is made by Monsanto. This is the one that will break many coffee drinkers hearts. Concentrated almost entirely in Californias arid Central Valley, almonds are the largest specialty crop in the US and the orchards cover a region the size of Delaware. or environmentally minded consumers, the news is hard to swallow: almond milk is not healthy for the planet and the popular milk substitute is especially hard on bees. The main environmental concerns surrounding almond . Goats and sheep are also less picky when it comes to what they eat than cows, which means they can make do with lower quality pastures (land that wouldnt be very good for growing food crops). Cashews dont grow in the UK, so they need to be imported from countries such as Brazil, India and Vietnam. Naturaler is a UK website full of tips and recommendations for living a more eco-friendly, chemical-free and natural lifestyle. The popularity of vegan foods continues to grow, with January seen as a traditional time to consider giving them a try. Soya milk, which is the same thing as soy milk, is made by soaking and grinding soybeans, boiling the mixture and then filtering it. How is the environmental impact calculated? The coconut [trade] is an absolute tragedy and it makes me really sad, says Isaac Emery,a food sustainability consultant. Forthe best dairy-free creamers to add to your coffee, check outourtaste test, and add your own rating to the Beet Meter for thecreamer you like the best. Most cows milk consumed in the UK comes from the British farms, but some is imported from countries such as Ireland and Germany. A latecomer to the party, pistachio milk is enjoying a moment in the spotlight. But its greenhouse gas emissions are amongst the lowest, at 0.14kg CO2e per glass. There are so many reasons to switch from drinking cow's milk to non-dairy milk and one of the biggest is dairy's environmental impact. The main drawback of coconut milk is scarcity which leads to significant shipping requirements. Copyright 2023 Coffee Affection.All Rights Reserved. according to a University of Oxford study. Hazelnuts are environmentally superior to almonds in that they are pollinated by the wind rather than commercial honeybees and they grow in moist climates, such as the Pacific north-west, where water is less of an issue. After skimming the cream off, the liquid is squeezed through a cheesecloth. Only "blue water", i.e. 3. The European Green Deal includes the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emission from . Why the city that never sleeps is slowly sinking. Coconut trees require very little water to produce. Their products minimize commercial water use and waste. Like almond milk, cashew milk is made by blending the nuts with water and then sifting out the solids. The top milk-producing counties in the UK include Devon, Dyfed and Cumbria, who together produce about 20% of the UKs milk. The Numilk Home machine works similarly to a coffee maker. Roundup Alert:Oats areusually grown in mass-produced industrial aggri-operations, wherefarmers spray them with the Monstanto glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup before harvesting. Bonus: soy milk is also our Test Kitchen's favorite vegan "egg" wash. The study added that cashew crops are pretty low-yielding, meaning cashew milk is probably not the most eco-friendly option. How do you call a box of milk? When choosing a plant milk based on environmental footprint, bear in mind that hemp, pea, and coconut milks may have less environmental impact than other varieties. Try to buy organic and non-GMO Macadamia Milk if you can! Coconut trees also help remove carbon dioxide from the air. At that point, she is slaughtered for beef. However, plants used to make commercial milks still require finite resources like land and water. How saving endangered languages can save nature. This article was amended on 4 February 2020. The FAOs report looked at all aspects of the life cycle of dairy milk, including producing and transporting feed, and transporting the end product to supermarkets etc. It may be best to rotate between a few kinds to see which you prefer and support local companies that promote sustainability. Hemp, pea, and coconut milks may be better options. Choosing the best one may depend on which environmental factors are most important to you and exploring the available data. If it makes sense for your household, buying organic plant milks may also help the planet. However, cashews need to be imported from the tropics, and there are concerns about working conditions. Coconut sounds like a vacation drink: It looks like something a caveman (or woman) would have loved. Pea milk has a similar environmental impact to soy milk, but without needing to be imported from abroad. To help you keep your non-dairy milk deliciousness as zero-waste as possible, we've dug around the internet to figure out which one has the lowest impact. Whether its pistachio, oat, almond, soy, or another choice, simply drink the plant milk that you like best since they are all better for the planet and animals than real dairy. That has since changed but with so many plant milks to choose from today, its also important to consider their environmental consequences. Read about our approach to external linking. A report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2010 found that global milk production produced roughly 2.4 kg of CO2 emissions per kg of milk. According to Inhabitat, coconut milk, hemp milk, pea protein milk, and oat milk are generally low-impact, because they either require less water to grow or produce less emissions than other plant milks. Most plant-based milks have a . Though dairy milk is widely consumed, some can't or choose not to drink it. If you cannot view the food calculator, click to launch the interactive content. The only drawback with this trendy and guilt-free option is that most oats come from mass-produced, monoculture operations where they are sprayed with the Roundup pesticide right before harvest. According to soya milk manufacturer Alpro, their soya milk uses 2x less land, 4x less water and create 2.5x less CO2 than cows milk. Check out The Best Non-Dairy Milks. Here. (Land is required to pasture the cows and grow their feed, which the animals belch out in the form of methane.). Each type of milk has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on a person's diet, health, nutritional needs, or personal taste preferences. But for now, there are enough oats to keep us on Oatly for years to come. We tried Tache, and Elmhurst also makes pistachio milk. According to DUG, potatoes need half the space of oats to grow, 98% less water than almonds, and have a low climate footprint of 0.27 kg CO 2 e/kg. Based on current data, it appears that almond requires the most water, oats are extremely land-intensive, and rice emits excessive greenhouse gases.
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