Many Marvelous Milks

Author: Lala Juaniza, 282

Date: January 27th, 2022

In the past century, the average temperature of earth has risen at an alarmingly fast rate. Extensive research indicates that the main cause for the earth’s warming is due to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is necessary to human life, but as the concentration of gases that become trapped in the atmosphere increase, the amount of heat radiated back to earth increases. The amount of these certain gases, greenhouse gases, has increased due to human activity like livestock production, the burning of oil, and the burning of coal. Methane is one of the top greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. Methane is produced through the cultivation of livestock, like sheep and cows. As a multipurpose product, milk has been in very high demand. As the demand increases, the cultivation of cows increases, therefore increasing the amount of methane produced by human activity. As milk has proven to be an important part of a balanced diet and provides its consumers with protein and calcium, suggesting that all milk production should be put to a stop would be unreasonable. Fortunately, options for milk have expanded. Before, the most commonly sold milk was cow’s milk, but now other options include almond, soy, oat, and more. These options could benefit human health, be a more sustainable option due to their smaller carbon emissions, and avoid the harming of cows.

The production of cow milk is not only unsustainable, but the cows residing at industrial farms undergo severely harsh treatment. From the beginning of their lives, female cows are proddled with to increase their milk production to unhealthy amounts. In nature, cows' diet consists of grass. Grass doesn’t provide the nutrients that the cows need to produce the amount of milk they are expected to produce. They are forced to eat a high protein diet and are kept in small spaces with many other animals. As stated in PETA's article, the normal lifespan for a cow is about 20 years, with 8-9 years of milk production, but on these farms, cows usually live until they are 4 or 5 maximum because of the high stress environment. Many other milk alternatives are not only more sustainable but also harm no animals in the production process, making non-dairy milk alternatives an appealing option.

The term “alt milks” has been used to label the relatively new non-dairy milk options. Commonly used alt milks include almond, soy, oat, and pea. These options vary in sustainability, but they still all have lower water consumption and carbon emission rates than cow milk, which has a carbon emission of 3.2kg of emissions per litre of milk and a water consumption of 628 litres of water used per 1 liter of milk produced. In comparison, almond milk has a low carbon emission of 0.7kg per litre, but it has the highest water consumption at 371 litres of water per litre of milk produced. Soy has the lowest water consumption at 28 liters of water per liter of milk produced and a carbon emissions of 1kg per liter of milk.

There are also newer non-dairy milks that have advantages. For example, macadamia milk produces no waste as the macadamia nut is turned into milk and the shells of the macadamia nuts are used as compost to promote soil health of the farms. Not to mention, since macadamia nuts are grown on trees, macadamia farms do not need to use the unsustainable farming practices of ploughing and herbicides. Therefore, the production of macadamia nuts increases the soil health of the farms where they are grown. Healthy soil means that farmers do not have to manually provide resources for the crops, such as water and macadamia milk has a smaller water footprint than other milk alternatives.

Another relatively new non-dairy milk option is pea milk. Pea milk is more sustainable than other milk alternatives due to pea’s ability to absorb nitrogen from their surroundings, making artificial fertilizers unnecessary for pea production. Pea milk also has a smaller water and carbon footprint than other milks. Pea is more nutritious than other milks, such as almond milk. This makes pea milk a better choice for people who are looking for a non-dairy milk that gives them more health benefits.

The most environmentally friendly milk alternative is pea milk. Pea milk is more sustainable, with its smaller carbon and water footprint and no need for artificial fertilizers. Also, due to the health benefits offered by this milk, pea milk is the most similar to dairy milk in terms of benefit. But, your optimal non-dairy milk option will depend on your own goals and priorities for drinking it. If you are prioritizing flavor, you might opt for oat milk, which is thought to be the best tasting milk alternative. If you are prioritizing your carbon footprint, you might buy macadamia or pea milk. Whatever your preference, make sure to make some marvelous meals with your milk!