WEBVTT 00:00:06.739 --> 00:00:08.999 If you go to the store in search of milk, 00:00:08.999 --> 00:00:12.409 there are a dizzying number of products to choose from. 00:00:12.409 --> 00:00:15.769 There’s dairy milk, but also plant-based products. 00:00:15.769 --> 00:00:18.619 To turn a plant into something resembling milk, 00:00:18.619 --> 00:00:23.703 it must be either soaked, drained, rinsed, and milled into a thick paste, 00:00:23.703 --> 00:00:26.753 or dried, and milled into flour. 00:00:26.753 --> 00:00:30.882 The plant paste or flour is then fortified with vitamins and minerals, 00:00:30.882 --> 00:00:33.842 flavoured, and diluted with water. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:33.842 --> 00:00:36.452 The result is a barrage of options 00:00:36.452 --> 00:00:39.562 that share many of the qualities of animal milk. 00:00:39.562 --> 00:00:42.712 So which milk is actually best for you? 00:00:42.712 --> 00:00:45.732 Let’s dive into some of the most popular milks: 00:00:45.732 --> 00:00:49.921 dairy, almond, soy, or oat? NOTE Paragraph 00:00:49.921 --> 00:00:55.513 A 250 ml glass of cow’s milk contains 8 grams of protein, 00:00:55.513 --> 00:00:59.981 12 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 to 8 grams of fat 00:00:59.981 --> 00:01:03.981 depending on if it’s skim, reduced fat, or whole. 00:01:03.981 --> 00:01:08.947 That’s approximately 15% the daily protein an average adult needs, 00:01:08.947 --> 00:01:14.399 roughly 10% the carbohydrates and 2 to 15% the fat. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:14.399 --> 00:01:18.956 Most plant-based milks have less carbohydrates than dairy milk. 00:01:18.956 --> 00:01:24.020 They also have less fat, but more of what’s often called “good fats.” 00:01:24.020 --> 00:01:29.589 Meanwhile, the healthy nutrients vitamin D and calcium found in dairy milk 00:01:29.589 --> 00:01:34.186 don’t occur naturally in most plant-based milks. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:34.186 --> 00:01:36.986 Looking more closely at our plant-based milks, 00:01:36.986 --> 00:01:41.447 both almond and oat are low in protein compared to dairy. 00:01:41.447 --> 00:01:45.137 But while almond milk has the least nutrients of the four, 00:01:45.137 --> 00:01:50.761 oat milk is full of beta-glucans, a healthy type of fibre. 00:01:50.761 --> 00:01:55.079 It also has a lot of carbohydrates compared to other plant milks— 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:57.469 sometimes as much as dairy milk. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:57.469 --> 00:02:01.698 Soy milk, meanwhile, has as much protein as cow’s milk 00:02:01.698 --> 00:02:05.111 and is also a great source of potassium. 00:02:05.111 --> 00:02:07.561 Soybeans contain isoflavone, 00:02:07.561 --> 00:02:11.301 which people used to think might trigger hormonal imbalances 00:02:11.301 --> 00:02:13.481 by mimicking the function of estrogen. 00:02:13.481 --> 00:02:18.038 But ultimately, soy milk contains very small amounts of isoflavones, 00:02:18.038 --> 00:02:22.102 which have a much weaker effect on our bodies than estrogen. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:22.102 --> 00:02:24.702 Depending on individual circumstances, 00:02:24.702 --> 00:02:27.682 one of these milks may be the clear winner: 00:02:27.682 --> 00:02:31.682 if you’re lactose intolerant, then the plant-based milks pull ahead, 00:02:31.682 --> 00:02:35.232 while if you’re allergic to nuts, almond milk is out. 00:02:35.232 --> 00:02:39.433 For people who don’t have access to a wide and varied diet, 00:02:39.433 --> 00:02:43.433 dairy milk can be the most efficient way to get these nutrients. 00:02:43.433 --> 00:02:46.993 But all else being equal, any one of these four milks 00:02:46.993 --> 00:02:50.383 is nutritious enough to be part of a balanced diet. 00:02:50.383 --> 00:02:53.393 That’s why for many people, the milk that’s best for you 00:02:53.393 --> 00:02:56.383 is actually the milk that’s best for the planet. 00:02:56.383 --> 00:03:01.869 So which uses the fewest resources and produces the least pollution? NOTE Paragraph 00:03:01.869 --> 00:03:07.328 It takes almost 4 square kilometers to produce just one glass of cow’s milk, 00:03:07.328 --> 00:03:11.541 land use that drives deforestation and habitat destruction. 00:03:11.541 --> 00:03:17.002 Most of that is land the cows live on, and some is used to grow their feed. 00:03:17.002 --> 00:03:19.912 Many cows eat soy beans and oats. 00:03:19.912 --> 00:03:23.752 It takes much less land to grow the oats or soybeans for milk 00:03:23.752 --> 00:03:26.292 than it does to feed a dairy cow— 00:03:26.292 --> 00:03:29.472 only about a quarter square kilometer per glass. 00:03:29.472 --> 00:03:31.942 Almond milk has similar land use. 00:03:31.942 --> 00:03:35.122 But where that land is also matters— 00:03:35.122 --> 00:03:39.122 soybean farms are a major driver of deforestation, 00:03:39.122 --> 00:03:42.482 while oat and almond farms aren’t. NOTE Paragraph 00:03:42.482 --> 00:03:46.052 Making milk uses water every step of the way, 00:03:46.052 --> 00:03:50.152 but it’s the farming stage where big differences emerge. 00:03:50.152 --> 00:03:55.847 Dairy milk uses the most water— about 120 liters per glass, 00:03:55.847 --> 00:03:58.867 mostly to water cows and grow their food. 00:03:58.867 --> 00:04:03.945 Almonds take second place, at more than 70 liters of water per glass. 00:04:03.945 --> 00:04:07.235 Most of that water is used to grow almond trees, 00:04:07.235 --> 00:04:11.095 which take years of watering before they start producing almonds. 00:04:11.095 --> 00:04:14.285 The trees must be watered consistently, or they die, 00:04:14.285 --> 00:04:18.451 while many other crops can be left fallow and still produce later. 00:04:18.451 --> 00:04:22.749 All told, soy and oats require less water to grow: 00:04:22.749 --> 00:04:26.459 only about 5 to 10 liters per glass of milk. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:26.459 --> 00:04:30.089 Milk production generates some greenhouse gas emissions— 00:04:30.089 --> 00:04:35.749 about 0.1 to 0.2 kilograms per glass for the plant-based milks. 00:04:35.749 --> 00:04:40.427 But for dairy milk, the cows themselves also produce emissions 00:04:40.427 --> 00:04:44.936 by burping and farting out large quantities of the gas methane. 00:04:44.936 --> 00:04:47.336 Overall, each glass of dairy milk 00:04:47.336 --> 00:04:51.934 contributes over half a kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:51.934 --> 00:04:54.734 So while depending on your dietary needs, 00:04:54.734 --> 00:04:59.277 any one of these milks may be a good fit, in terms of the health of our planet 00:04:59.277 --> 00:05:02.467 there’s a strong case for choosing plant-based milks, 00:05:02.467 --> 00:05:04.797 particularly oat or soy milk.