Milk's impact on the planet dairy, soya, rice, oat and almond compared

[editor]

Dairy milk really is a resource hog.

Producing a glass of dairy milk every day for a year requires 650 sq m (7,000 sq ft) of land, the equivalent of two tennis courts and more than 10 times as much as the same amount of oat milk, according to this study.

Almond milk requires more water to produce than soy or oat milk. A single glass requires 74 litres (130 pints of water) - more than a typical shower. Rice milk is also comparatively thirsty, requiring 54 litres of water per glass.

However, it's worth noting that both almond and rice milk still require less water to produce than the typical glass of dairy milk.

Which vegan milks are best for the planet?

 

[editor]

And a stark case for reducing beef intake

 

[hammerntongues]

You may have already watched it but Cowspiracy on Netflix goes along way to explain how these figures are arrived at , some shocking information that even allowing for some biased stats still give real cause to question what we generally believe to be the major contributor to GHGs , water use and food distribution and ultimately food shortages .

 

[alsoknownas]

Are those cow farts? (reasonably serious question)

 

[hammerntongues]

Are those cow farts? (reasonably serious question)

this exact question is addressed in the above docu

 

[skyscraper101]

I haven't yet been able to find a dairy substitute milk that tastes as good as semi-skimmed. Any opinions on what the best is?

 

[alsoknownas]

this exact question is addressed in the above docu

If it is I can't see it .

 

[alsoknownas]

I haven't yet been able to find a dairy substitute milk that tastes as good as semi-skimmed. Any opinions on what the best is?

Oat milk is the best all-rounder.

eta: Oat milk works best heated IME, out of the above.

I like Rice milk for a cold drink personally.

 

[alsoknownas]

this exact question is addressed in the above docu

Ah, do you mean the one you mentioned in your post? Care to spill the beans (so to speak!)?

 

[tim]

A pity cheese tastes so Good.

 

[hammerntongues]

sorry for cut and paste but its been a while since I watched the documentary , its worth an hour an a half .

There are approximately 1.5 billion cows on the planet, each and every one of them expelling upwards of 30 to 50 gallons of methane each day. We typically think of farts as being the culprit, but belches are actually the primary source of cattle-produced methane, accounting for 95 percent of the problematic greenhouse gas.

And problematic it is. Methane is about 30 times more efficient at trapping the Sun’s radiative heat than carbon dioxide over a timescale of about a century. There may be more CO2 in the atmosphere than methane, but by unit, it’s the more destructive greenhouse gas. Both NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System research initiative and the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI) contributed to the stu

 

[Nivag]

Apart from land use, the rest of them "milks” combined use more than dairy milk according to them stats.

 

[8ball]

Apart from land use, the rest of them "milks” combined use more than dairy milk according to them stats.

I'm not sure what your point is there.

 

[2hats]

Apart from land use, the rest of them "milks” combined use more than dairy milk according to them stats.

Which ‘stats’ are you referring to?

 

[8ball]

Which ‘stats’ are you referring to?

I think it's the bars on the first diagram.

Meaning if everybody transferred in exact even proportions, then used 4 times as much milk, then the impact would be higher.

Which is... enlightening?

 

[ska invita]

I've been buying hemp milk this month, grown in Devon, £1.10 a packet. It's very good.

 

[Fez909]

And a stark case for reducing beef intake

View attachment 158151

Does this account for British farming practices? AFAIK, lamb is not too much of a problem in the UK.

 

[CNT36]

Is comparing like for like in terms of a glass neccessarily the best measure? There are various nutrutional factors to consider. Protein in milks for example. IIRC Almond and oat have very little protein and although soya milk has more cow's milk it is still the best source overall.

 

[8ball]

Does this account for British farming practices? AFAIK, lamb is not too much of a problem in the UK.

Stop complicating things!

 

[8ball]

Is comparing like for like in terms of a glass neccessarily the best measure? There are various nutrutional factors to consider. Protein in milks for example. IIRC Almond and oat have very little protein and although soya milk has more cow's milk it is still the best source overall.

You too!!

 

[ska invita]

Soya has problematic land use iirc as it's driving Amazon deforestation.

Almonds a factor in drying up water tables in California

 

[cybershot]

Is comparing like for like in terms of a glass neccessarily the best measure?

I see what you did there.

There are various nutrutional factors to consider. Protein in milks for example. IIRC Almond and oat have very little protein and although soya milk has more cow's milk it is still the best source overall.

Most people just use for tea and cereal though, I doubt they give a shit about it's protein value.

 

[8ball]

Soya has problematic land use iirc as it's driving Amazon deforestation.

A lot of that soya is grown for animal feed though, iirc.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

And a stark case for reducing beef intake

View attachment 158151

I'm a bit confused by that graphic. It appears not to include transport emissions. Peanuts, for instance, do not grow in the UK.

 

[Fez909]

Most people just use for tea and cereal though, I doubt they give a shit about it's protein value.

Protein (and fat) content is what determines the cost of the milk.

 

[8ball]

LOOK - THE BARS ARE BIGGER FOR DAIRY AND MEAT - MOON ON A FUCKING STICK, YOU PEOPLE!!!

 

[editor]

sorry for cut and paste but its been a while since I watched the documentary , its worth an hour an a half .

There are approximately 1.5 billion cows on the planet, each and every one of them expelling upwards of 30 to 50 gallons of methane each day. We typically think of farts as being the culprit, but belches are actually the primary source of cattle-produced methane, accounting for 95 percent of the problematic greenhouse gas.

And problematic it is. Methane is about 30 times more efficient at trapping the Sun’s radiative heat than carbon dioxide over a timescale of about a century. There may be more CO2 in the atmosphere than methane, but by unit, it’s the more destructive greenhouse gas. Both NASA’s Carbon Monitoring System research initiative and the Joint Global Change Research Institute (JGCRI) contributed to the stu

Another reason to immediately cut back on meat production.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

A lot of that soya is grown for animal feed though, iirc.

Yep. To link to the other thread on the go about these matters, something like a third of all farmland in Argentina is now devoted to soya. Most of it is fed to cows that spend their whole lives in cramped sheds, sloshing through their own shit.

 

[editor]

I'm a bit confused by that graphic. It appears not to include transport emissions. Peanuts, for instance, do not grow in the UK.

Here is the source: Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers

 

[littlebabyjesus]

Here is the source: Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers

Can you comment on its methodology? How do nuts end up at near-zero when they have to be transported right across the world? What would the graph look like with transport emissions included? Probably still very favourable towards nuts and the like, tbh, but at least it would be meaningful.