Dairy vs plant-based milks – how do the environmental impacts compare?

LOOKING TO REDUCE your carbon footprint? Switching to a plant-based milk could be a positive step.

Research by Boring Oat Milk and The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust found that oat milk production in New Zealand creates 93 per cent fewer emissions than dairy milk. Furthermore, the study found that land use for farming oats is more efficient, with oats using 70 per cent less land than dairy to produce a litre.

Other vegan milks, such as rice, almond, and soy, are available too –but which one is “best”? That arguably depends on which eco-aspect you’re most focused on. For example, compared to soy milk, almond milk requires far less land but much higher freshwater use.

Therefore, although all plantbased milks have less environmental impact than dairy, there’s no clear winner overall.

Environmental footprints of dairy and plant-based milks

Impacts are measured per litre of milk. These are based on a meta-analysis of food system impact studies across the supply chain which includes land use change, on-farm production, processing, transport, and packaging.