Plant Milk
VS
Dairy Milk

When you are going to the store, you can see there are many options to choose from in terms of MILK. There’s cow milk but also plant-based options, which are made of different plant sources such as soy, oat, coconut, pea, hemp, almond but which one of them is best? If you have an allergy to dairy or to nuts, then there is nothing to think about.

BUT…

What about people which don’t have any allergies and want to consume nutrition balanced and environmental save food?

Let’s dive into this problem…

Dairy, almond, soy or oat?

I’ve chosen the 4 most popular milk to compare.

Let’s see what is their nutrition packaging.

Dairy Milk

One cup (240 ml) of whole cow’s milk with 3.25% fat provides:

Calories: 152
Protein: 8.14 grams
Carbs: 12 grams
Sugar: 12 grams
Fiber: 0 grams
Fat: 8 grams

Almond Milk

One cup (240 ml) of store-bought unsweetened almond milk provides :

Calories: 40
Protein: 2 grams
Carbs: 1 gram
Sugar: 0 grams
Fiber: 0.5 grams
Fat: 3 grams

Soy Milk

One cup (240 ml) of store-bought unsweetened soy milk provides :

Calories: 80
Protein: 7 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Sugar: 1 gram
Fiber: 2 grams
Fat: 4 grams

Oat Milk

One cup (240 ml) of store-bought unsweetened oat milk provides :

Calories: 130
Protein: 4 grams
Carbs: 15 grams
Sugar: 0 gram
Fiber: 2 grams
Fat: 2.5 grams

As you can see most plant-based milks have less carbs and less fat than dairy milk. Meantime, dairy milk is packed with healthy nutrients such as vitamin D and calcium which don’t occur naturally in most plant-based milks. Compared to dairy milk, both almond and oat are low in protein. The best-known and most requested almond milk has the least nutrients of the four. Oat milk is a rich source of nutrients. It’s full of beta-glucans, a healthy type of fiber. On the other hand, soy milk has as much protein as cow’s milk and is a great source of potassium. It’s also the closest in nutritional value to cow’s milk.

Sooo, who is the winner?

For lactose-intolerant people, the clear winners are plant-based milks, but if you are allergic to nuts, then almond milk is out.

All these four milks are nutritious enough to be part of a balanced diet.

But…

What about our planet?

Milk best for you, must be milk best for the planet.

This sentence is something that everyone should think about!

Nowadays, our biggest problem is the destruction of our planet. Yep, every day we hear about it on the radio, see it on television, or on social media. It’s on us to change our behavior and make better decisions for our planet.

Soooo …

Which milk is the most sustainable option?

Environmental footprints of dairy and plant-based milks

As we can see any plant-based milk has a lower impact than dairy when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water use.

Why is that?

Easy. When you have a cow, it needs to eat, drink water and have a place where to live. To produce 1 glass of cow’s milk we need about 4 km2 of land, which causes deforestation and habitat destruction. A big part of that is land where cows live and the rest is used to grow their food. Many farmers feed their cows with soybeans or oats. It takes much less land to grow the oats or soybeans for milk than it does to feed a cow.

So, why not make milk right out of them?

In terms of the health of our planet, the best milks are made out of plants, especially soy milk or oat milk.