Milk Footprint in the Environment

Introduction

A quart of milk may sit in virtually every refrigerator, but milk has never been just another food. Its merits and dangers have been argued over the past decades, making it the centre of humanity’s longest-standing health-related, moral, and economic food debates. Food is produced and processed by millions of farmers and intermediaries globally, with substantial associated environmental costs. Given the heterogeneity of producers, what is the best way to reduce food’s environmental impacts?

Decarbonizing the global food system is a big step towards mitigating climate change. (2020, November 20). [Photograph]. Sustainability Times. https://www.sustainability-times.com/green-consumerism/decarbonizing-the-global-food-system-is-a-big-step-towards-mitigating-climate-change/

For more than 100 years, cow milk has been an essential part of human nutrition. Cow milk is under increased scrutiny due to its environmental impact and ethical considerations concerning animal welfare. Cow milk is considered to be healthier, more natural, and better for bones. Product image valuation was dependent on the (non-)consumption of plant milk. The rising emergence of lactose intolerance, milk allergies, environmental concerns, and problems due to diets rich in cholesterol are leading toward a growing demand for dairy alternatives.

Lee Crosby, R.D., nutrition education program manager at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, says diary milk also loaded with cholesterol that contains high in saturated fat, and cholesterol increase the risk of heart disease.  The Heart Foundation organization recommends that milk, yoghurt and cheese can be eaten as part of a heart-healthy diet, but most of the fat in the diet should come from fish, nuts and seeds, and healthy oils. Dietary lifestyles such as veganism and flexitarianism are drivers behind a rising demand for plant base milk.

Neha Grover. (2020, October 12). High Cholesterol? Add These 5 Low-Fat Recipes To Your Breakfast Diet [Image]. Food.Ndtv. https://food.ndtv.com/food-drinks/high-cholesterol-add-these-5-low-fat-recipes-to-your-breakfast-diet-2308025

In recent years, plant base milk has somehow become a lifestyle instrument, consumed by many not only because of dietary issues, but also because of individual beliefs. The available plant milk products on the market vary with respect to their nutrient and it is common practice to add vitamins, minerals, and proteins to them. Vegan plant milk alternatives often contain added calcium to serve as a comparable cow milk substitute. Soy, almond, coconut, oat milk and rice milk are rich in healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and protein which also harmless to our environment.

Emine Saner. (2015, October 21). Almond milk: quite good for you – very bad for the planet [Image]. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/oct/21/almond-milk-quite-good-for-you-very-bad-for-the-planet

Food production is responsible for 25% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a huge factor in our personal environmental footprints, and in the environmental footprint of humanity as a whole. The production of animals for food has the most impact of all food types, responsible for approximately 15% of our worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. The complexity of today’s food system is known to very few people. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many people aren’t aware that factory farming plays a huge role in climate change.

 Raising dairy cows requires a lot of land, the carbon opportunity cost for dairy milk is much higher than it is for any plant-based milk. In the past few years, climate-food researchers have begun changing the way they calculate emissions to better account for this lost opportunity to store carbon. That high carbon cost is the reason why environmental researchers argue dairy isn’t the best milk for the environment.

The primary reason dairy cows contribute so greatly to greenhouse gas emissions is their release of methane, a gas roughly 30 times more harmful than carbon dioxide. A 2018 study by researchers at Oxford University concluded that producing a glass of cow’s milk has at least three times more environmental impact than producing a glass of any non-dairy milk.

This is due to a combination of:

• Greenhouse gas emissions: around 0.6kg per 200 ml glass. Cows are a major producer of methane (via their burps) which is thought to be around 20x more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas.
• Land use: there are around 270 million dairy cows worldwide. That requires a hell of a lot of land space. Add on top of that the feed crops (mainly soy) needed to keep those 270 million cows alive, and the land required for that.
• Water use: A litre of cow’s milk uses around 1050 litres of water  to produce.

Haake, D. (2019, September 12). Which milk has the smallest impact on the planet? [Graph]. Data Wrapper. https://blog.datawrapper.de/cow-milk-and-vegan-milk-alternatives/

According to MotherJones 1 cup of yogurt requires 35 gallons ,1 scoop of ice cream requires 42 gallons, 2 slices of cheese require 50 gallons, 1 cup of Greek yogurt requires 90 gallons, 1 stick of butter requires 109 gallons. In comparison, it takes nine gallons of water to produce one glass of soy milk and some other similar ratio calculated on plant based milk. This could have an impact on drought and uneven water industry production.

Unhealthy air and the manure from animals on a factory farm is full of antibiotics and chemicals. Because these cows are living in mass in confined spaces, they need to be heavily medicated in order to prevent the spread of disease. These chemicals can plague native ecosystems. Packaging is also crucial to consider. Packaging contributes 45% of the global warming potential of California’s almond milk. And it’s worth keeping in mind that wasting milk has a much bigger environmental footprint, and questions the ethics of how humans exploit the animal world.

The dairy industry is destructive to animals, people, and the environment. And while many people become vegetarian and continue consuming dairy because the cows “aren’t killed,” the truth is setting many more people free. Cutting dairy will prevent cows from the pain and suffering of living an enslaved life of misery. It will also give beneficial effect for the environment and the rural, often very poor, communities surrounding dairy farms and it will make you healthier. Shift to sustainable or organic fresh produce whenever possible. By choosing right nutients to our digestion, this will help to encounter environmental damage.

Reference:

1. Erratum for the Research Article “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers” by J. Poore and T. Nemecek – February 20 2019
2. Winans, K.S., Macadam-Somer, I., Kendall, A. et al. Life cycle assessment of California unsweetened almond milk. Int J Life Cycle Assess 25, 577–587 (2020).
3. Bloomberg – Are you a robot? (n.d.). Bloomberg. Retrieved 2021, from https://www.bloomberg.com/tosv2.html?vid=&uuid=8ed41fe0-bc89-11eb-b2c5-57a591b42867&url=L2ZlYXR1cmVzLzIwMTktb2F0bHktb2F0LW1pbGstZ2xvYmFsLWRvbWluYXRpb24v
4. Gunawan, M. (2021b, February 3). The Environmental Impacts of Different Dairy and Dairy-Free Milks. Brightly. https://brightly.eco/the-environmental-impacts-of-different-dairy-and-dairy-free-milk/
5. Gunawan, M. (2021, February 3). The Environmental Impacts of Different Dairy and Dairy-Free Milks. Brightly. https://brightly.eco/the-environmental-impacts-of-different-dairy-and-dairy-free-milk/