Episode Summary
Executive Summary: The episode examines whether plant-based "schmilks" are better for the environment than dairy. Using data from about 10,000 farms worldwide, Oxford researcher Joseph Poore explains that all alternative milks outperform dairy overall, though each has tradeoffs: almond uses lots of water, rice emits more greenhouse gases and fertilizer runoff, and soy/oat use more land. Despite no single winner, switching from dairy to any plant milk is still environmentally beneficial.
Main Topics: Dairy milk’s environmental footprint (Priority: 5/5): The episode establishes dairy as the worst option across the main environmental indicators: land use, water use, and greenhouse gas emissions. This frames the comparison with plant-based milks. Data-driven comparison of plant-based milks (Priority: 5/5): Joseph Poore’s large global database, covering roughly 10,000 farms, is used to compare dairy with soy, oat, almond, and rice milks on environmental impacts. Almond milk’s water intensity (Priority: 4/5): Almond milk is identified as especially water-intensive because almonds require irrigation, and most U.S. production is in drought-stressed California. Rice milk’s emissions and runoff (Priority: 4/5): Rice milk stands out for greenhouse gas emissions due to methane-producing microbes in flooded paddies, and it also creates significant fertilizer runoff. Soy and oat milk’s land use (Priority: 4/5): Soy and oat milks are described as having relatively higher land use among the plant-based options, with soy also raising deforestation concerns when grown in the Amazon. No perfect plant milk, but a clear improvement (Priority: 5/5): Poore refuses to name a single best plant milk, arguing that all have low impacts compared with dairy and that switching away from dairy would generally help the planet.
Key Arguments: Dairy milk is the worst option on every major environmental indicator discussed: greenhouse gases, water use, and land use. All plant-based milks considered are substantially better for the environment than dairy, even though each has specific drawbacks. Almond milk’s main environmental weakness is water consumption because almonds require irrigation, especially in water-stressed California. Rice milk has the highest greenhouse-gas footprint among the plant milks in the study because flooded paddies encourage methane-producing microbes. Rice milk also causes more fertilizer runoff than the other plant milks, which can damage aquatic ecosystems. Soy and oat milks tend to use more land than almond or rice, and soy can contribute to rainforest loss if sourced from the Amazon. A global switch from dairy to soy milk would free up huge amounts of land and water and cut emissions dramatically. Because plant milks are much lower-impact overall, choosing any of them instead of dairy is environmentally beneficial.
Data Points: Farms in database: About 10,000 farms - Global dataset used by Joseph Poore’s team to compare milk impacts Rice farmers in database: About 7,800 - Approximate number of rice farmers included Oat farmers in database: About 150 - Approximate number of oat farmers included Nut farmers in database: About 200 - Approximate number of nut farmers included Dairy land use: 830 million hectares - Global land area grazed by dairy cows Dairy vs plant milks land use: 9 times more land - On average, a glass of dairy milk takes nine times more land than the other milks Almond water use: At least 4 times more water - Worldwide study found almonds can take at least four times more water to grow than rice, oats, or soybeans Rice milk greenhouse gases: Highest among the studied milks - Joseph Poore found rice milk emitted the most greenhouse gases, though not by much Rice milk fertilizer runoff: About 3 times more - Rice milk creates about three times more fertilizer runoff than the other plant milks Land saved by switching global dairy to soy: Half a billion hectares - Estimated land savings if the world switched from dairy to soy milk Greenhouse gases saved by switching global dairy to soy: Almost a billion tonnes - Estimated emissions reduction from a global switch to soy milk Irrigation water saved by switching global dairy to soy: 250 km³ per year - Estimated water savings from a global switch to soy milk Water comparison analogy: Equal to stopping all showers or baths for a year - Used to illustrate the scale of the 250 km³ annual irrigation water savings
Pivotal Quotes: "The worst on every indicator is dairy milk." — Joseph Poore: Summarizing the overall environmental comparison across dairy and plant-based milks "I think they're all such low impacts compared to dairy milk. You know, if we chose to change to any of them, it would generally be beneficial." — Joseph Poore: Explaining why he would not pick a single best plant milk "It would save 250 kilometres cubed of irrigation water a year. So that's the same as if everybody in the world stopped having showers or baths for a year." — Joseph Poore: Describing the scale of benefits from switching global dairy consumption to soy milk
Implications: Listeners should not worry about choosing the perfect plant milk; any switch away from dairy is likely better for the planet. For industry, the biggest environmental gains come from reducing dairy consumption rather than fine-tuning among plant-based options.
About Science Vs
There are a lot of fads, blogs and strong opinions, but then there’s SCIENCE. Science Vs is the show from Spotify Studios that finds out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between. We do the hard work of sifting through all the science so you don't have to and cover everything from 5G and ADHD, to Fluoride and Fasting Diets.