Is America’s Favorite Non-Dairy Milk Bad for the Environment?

I am a big fan of almond milk—I put it in my coffee and in my overnight oats, and I dunk cookies in it. And I’m not alone in this: research shows that almond milk is the most popular non-dairy milk choice for U.S consumers. I always thought that it was an eco-friendly alternative to cow’s milk. After all, dairy cows take up a lot of space and resources, and they produce a lot of methane—a powerful greenhouse gas—thanks in part to their burps and farts. In fact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), a single cow emits up to 264 pounds of methane each year. And research has shown that a glass of dairy milk produces almost three times more greenhouse gasses than plant-based milks.

Is Almond Milk Bad for the Environment?

But back to the almond milk because, as you might have read, it has its own issues. It does produce among the fewest greenhouse gasses among milks (plant-based or dairy). And it requires less land than dairy. “Also, studies have shown that almond milk produces 78% fewer carbon emissions than dairy and can be successfully produced with far less carbon emissions than soy milk, oat milk and others,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, M.A., RDN, CDN, author of Read It Before You Eat It.

But those delicious little nuts take a lot of water to grow. Get this: just one almond needs around 3.2 gallons of water. And roughly 80% of the world’s almonds are grown in the Central Valley of California, a state that’s facing a massive water shortage.

Pesticides—such as insecticides and fungicides—may also be used to produce these crops, and there’s some evidence that they can be toxic to bee populations. And that’s a big deal because honey bees are responsible for pollinating more than 100 crops in our country, including those almonds.

The Bottom Line

So do I—and you—need to give up almond milk? “Almonds use water at rates not dissimilar to other fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in California,” says Taub-Dix. “And nutritionally speaking, almond milk can provide an excellent source of calcium, vitamin D and vitamin E. It’s also a good source of vitamin A. The versatility of these products enables families with health preferences and medical issues including lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance, vegetarian, kosher and dairy allergies, just to name a few, to enjoy a profile of flavors to meet their needs.”