Our milk alternatives really better for the environment as meat and dairy production gives off lots of greenhouse gases, and dairy cows give off more emissions than cows bred for consumption, meaning that reducing overall dairy production can have meaningful impacts all on its own.
But what’s the alternative? Almonds and their milk often come from California where water is limited, but even though the trees are water guzzlers, they need less water than cows. This soy milk data shows that its production often uses pesticides that are toxic to freshwater habitats, but if we cut out the pesticides, all soy milk could be less eco-toxic than cow milk. And while oat milk uses lots of land compared to the other milks, it’s still way less than cows, so even the least environmentally friendly aspect of making these non-dairy milks still does less harm than dairy milk.
All things considered, researchers rank cow, almond, soy, and oat from worst to best for the environment.