What is the most ecological milk (vegetable or animal)?
Which milk is the most ecological? Should we choose cow's milk, soy milk, almond milk or even coconut milk or rice milk? Let's see which milk is better (or worse) for the environment.
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Milk is an extremely common food in Western acidified diets in particular. In France, on average we consume 50 liters of milk per year. That is approximately one bottle per week per person. Given this high consumption, it may indeed be interesting to know what is the most ecological alternative between classic cow's milk, other animal milks (goat, sheep, etc.) and vegetable milks (almond, soy, coconut). or rice for example).
So which milk has the biggest impact on the environment? Let's see what scientists say about it.
Which milk is the most ecological: some elements to understand
Several studies have been done to compare the ecological footprints of different forms of milk. These studies are called LCAs or Life Cycle Assessments. Their goal: to assess the environmental impacts of a product or service, from the initial phase of its production to its end of life. The problem is that no study has apparently been conducted to compare all types of milk at the same time. Basically, there is one study that compares almond milk to cow's milk, another that compares coconut milk to other plant milks, another study that compares soy milk to cow's milk. Some studies have compared the ecological footprint of dairy products made from goat's milk with those made from cow's or sheep's milk. But no study has compared all these elements at the same time.
However, each of these studies or LCA is based on different hypotheses and protocols, so it is difficult to compare them with each other. However, based on their results, general conclusions can be drawn that give an idea of the ecological footprint of different types of milk.
All milks have a strong ecological footprint
So what do these studies say? Let's see the comparisons type of milk by type of milk.
Soy milk or cow's milk?
A study was conducted by a group of Swedish researchers to compare the LCAs (Life Cycle Assessments) of the production of conventional industrial cow's milk with those of the production of Alpro brand soy milk, produced in Belgium. The results of the study show that, contrary to popular belief, there is no definitive answer to the question of whether soy milk is more environmentally friendly than cow's milk.
Thus, the study concludes that "Milk from soy has a greater direct environmental impact (particularly because of soil degradation and deforestation), while cow's milk can in turn have greater long-term impacts. on aspects like global warming, ocean acidification and eutrophication.” This result shows above all that in reality, each milk has different impacts on different problems. Another point to note, the study compares two quite different types of production: on the one hand, classic cow's milk, from industrial agriculture, on the other, relatively sustainable soy milk, produced in Europe, based non-GMO soy. A comparison with organic cow's milk from sustainable agriculture, or with soy milk from Brazilian cultures, would undoubtedly have given different results.
Cow's milk or almond milk?
Regarding almond milk, a study has made the comparison, also with conventional industrial cow's milk. The results, here again, are rather divided. Indeed, the study notes that while the carbon impact of almond milk seems much lower than that of cow's milk (0.36 kg/L for almond milk, 1.6 kg/L for cow's milk), the impact on water resources is nearly 20 times greater for almond milk than for cow's milk. In summary: on one of the impacts, almond milk will be better, on the other it will be cow's milk. The problem is that almond trees require a lot of sun, little cold, and dry air to grow, which forces them to be grown in particularly hot regions (Spain, California, Turkey, Morocco, etc.), where the impact on water resources can be a real challenge.
The other problem with almond milk is that it causes a lot of the nutrients in the almond to be lost. In fact, once the almond milk has been produced, manufacturers end up with an “almond pulp” that is difficult to recover, but which nevertheless contains fibers and other useful nutrients.
Coconut milk, almond milk, or soy milk?
A third study, commissioned by a producer of plant-based nut milks, shows that coconut milk and almond milk have a lower carbon impact than soy milk. But the other environmental impacts (impact on water, soil, deforestation) were not taken into account in the study, so it is difficult to draw a definitive conclusion. Especially since the complete study is now inaccessible.
And rice milk, or other animal milks (goat's milk, sheep's milk?)
Finally, it would still be necessary to analyze the other alternatives to milk: rice milk, goat's milk, sheep's milk, even hemp milk or even pea milk... Regarding rice milk, it seems difficult to find a study that quantifies its environmental impacts. Nevertheless, we know that rice has important impacts on the environment. Thus, a study conducted on greenhouse gas emissions from rice crops shows that rice could well be the largest source of methane emissions in the world, ahead of ruminants and livestock. It can therefore be assumed that rice milk has a rather high environmental impact.
Concerning other animal milks such as goat's milk, sheep's milk, or even donkey's or camel's milk (yes, that exists), their consumption being relatively anecdotal, it also seems difficult to find scientific information on the subject. On the other hand, a study carried out on cheeses made from different animal milks shows that goat cheeses have an environmental impact equivalent to that of cow's milk, and that sheep's milk is even more polluting. We can therefore assume that milk production follows roughly the same curves.
The most ecological milk: what if it was simply a question of production?
In the end, it is difficult to give a single answer to the question of which milk is the most ecological. As we can see, each milk has significant but specific impacts on the environment. Some will emit more greenhouse gases, others will rather contribute to deforestation and still others will weigh on water resources.
In any case, the most important factor in determining the environmental impact does not really seem to be the type of milk (vegetable or animal, soya or almond) but the type of production. For example, one study showed that the carbon footprint of cow's milk could be significantly reduced by switching to sustainable pasture-based farming. It makes sense: if cows are fed grass rather than grains, soybeans and oilseeds, all of the environmental impacts associated with the production of feed for ruminants disappears. And on the contrary, it improves carbon storage in the soil. Similarly, a study showed that feeding cows grass reduced the production of methane linked to enteric fermentation.
Regarding vegetable milks, it's the same thing: if the impact of almond milk on water is so strong, it is because Californian almonds (which constitute the majority of world production) are grown in monoculture. industrial with unsustainable irrigation systems. Moving to more sustainable forms of agro-ecology could reduce this impact.
In the end, whatever the milk studied, if the production is industrial, in monoculture, and if it is not based on principles inspired by agro-ecology (see the definition of agro-ecology), the impacts environmental will be important. In this context, the best choice we can make to choose an ecological milk is first to consume less (or more reasonably) and then to choose vegetable or animal milks from sustainable production.
Vegetable milk, animal milk: why shouldn't they be opposed?
Finally, the opposition between animal milk and vegetable milk is very often artificial. Indeed, these different "milks" do not have the same uses for the same people. Cow's milk does not contain the same nutrients as vegetable milk, which itself does not have the same qualities. Thus, if cow and soy milks are relatively rich in protein, this is not the case with almond milk or rice milk. Soy milk is rich in iron, which is not the case with cow's milk. Coconut milk is high in saturated fatty acids, unlike soy milk. Calcium levels also vary a lot between different types of milk. In addition, vegetable milks are very useful when lactose intolerant people want to find alternatives, while other consumers will tolerate cow's milk very well.
But above all, in terms of production, the opposition between animal and vegetable milks makes no sense. Thus, the production of soy milk often contributes to the production of cow's milk. Indeed, soy pulp residues from the production of soy milk are very often used in livestock feed… which in turn produces cow’s milk. In other words, these different milk productions can add value to each other within the framework of a form of circular economy.
There is therefore no real reason to make clear-cut choices: the different types of milk can co-exist, and each brings its own ecological advantages if they are produced in a sustainable way. This is the main challenge because today, to support demand, producers are forced to adopt production methods that are often not very ecological. The only solution: reduce consumption.
