02/28/2026
A growing number of people are interested in switching to plant-based alternatives to dairy. But are they better for the environment, and which is best?
In the chart, we compare milks across a number of environmental metrics: land use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and eutrophication (the pollution of ecosystems with excess nutrients). These are compared per liter of milk.
Cow’s milk has significantly higher impacts than the plant-based alternatives across all metrics. It causes around three times as much greenhouse gas emissions; uses around ten times as much land; two to twenty times as much freshwater; and creates much higher levels of eutrophication.
If you want to reduce the environmental footprint of your diet, switching to plant-based alternatives is a good option.
Which of the vegan milks is best?
It really depends on the impact we care most about. Almond milk has lower greenhouse gas emissions and uses less land than soy, for example, but requires more water and results in higher eutrophication.
All of the alternatives have a lower impact than dairy, but there is no clear winner on all metrics.
Learn more in our article, “Dairy vs. plant-based milk: what are the environmental impacts?”: https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks
