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Compare the carbon footprint, water use, and land use of dairy milk versus plant-based alternatives: oat, almond, soy, and coconut milk.
All plant milks have a significantly lower carbon footprint than dairy. Oat milk produces 0.9 kg CO2e per litre, soy 1.0 kg, almond 0.7 kg — compared to dairy at 3.2 kg CO2e per litre. However, almond milk uses significantly more water than other alternatives.
6
kg CO2e
💧 628 L water
🌱 8.9 m² land
2
kg CO2e
💧 48 L water
🌱 0.8 m² land
2
kg CO2e
💧 28 L water
🌱 0.7 m² land
1
kg CO2e
💧 371 L water
🌱 0.5 m² land
2
kg CO2e
💧 210 L water
🌱 0.6 m² land
Dairy milk's carbon footprint comes primarily from the cows themselves. Cattle produce methane through digestion (enteric fermentation), and dairy farming requires vast amounts of land for grazing and growing feed crops. A single litre of dairy milk produces about 3.2 kg CO2e — roughly 3x more than any plant-based alternative. Dairy also uses about 628 litres of water per litre of milk, largely for growing animal feed.
While almond milk has the lowest carbon footprint (0.7 kg CO2e/L), it has a significant water footprint — 371 litres of water per litre of milk. Most almonds are grown in drought-prone California, making this a genuine environmental concern. If water use is your priority, soy milk (28 litres) or oat milk (48 litres) are better choices.
Oat milk strikes the best balance across all environmental metrics: low CO2 (0.9 kg/L), low water (48 L/L), and low land use (0.8 m²/L). Soy milk is a close second, with even lower water use. The most important thing is that any plant milk is significantly better than dairy for carbon emissions.
Covers practical follow-up questions readers often ask
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