3 ways plant-based diets positively impact the environment

In a world where we’re overwhelmed by choice — from whether to incorporate more plant-based alternatives into our diets to opting to eat-in or order-out — it can be hard to discern the impacts of our everyday decisions.

If there was ever any doubt, a significant report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed that switching to a plant-based diet is indeed a meaningful way to help fight climate change. Still, it can be challenging to understand just how effective these efforts are without seeing them quantified.

As the trend towards consuming more plant-based foods continues to gain momentum, for some, it can be difficult to know where to start and which brands to trust. But for those looking to make the switch, substituting milk is a great place to start. Oat and almond milk, like those made by Earth’s Own, lessen many of the environmental strains associated with dairy milk without compromising on taste or nutrients.

Their lineup of dairy alternatives — whose oat milk has been voted “best tasting” by Canadian consumers — are a delicious and sustainable way to consume more plant-based products. In an effort to help you grasp (the often abstract) positive environmental impacts of making the switch, here’s a look behind the scenes at the processes that make a difference and help combat climate change.

Save water

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Despite climate change being a top concern among consumers, only 4% of Canadians are aware that switching to a plant-based diet is one of the most crucial things you can do to fight climate change and safeguard the environment.

Eating a plant-based diet can save up to one-fifth of water used for agriculture and also reduces the transmission of water pollutants — a big deal when you consider that water covers 71% of our planet’s surface area. Oh, and that we literally need it to survive.

To get specific, oats are grown using seven times less water than dairy milk and also produce six times less water pollution. Earth’s Own Almond milk is also grown using half of the water needed to produce dairy milk.

Minimize greenhouse gases

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Greenhouse gas emissions, like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are some of the biggest contributors to climate change that exist. Once these noxious gasses get trapped within the atmosphere, it creates a destructive greenhouse effect (hence the name) that’s responsible for heating the planet.

Since animal agriculture currently accounts for about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it’s easy to see how what we choose to put in our coffee and cereal every day can make a big difference. In fact, by just eating plant-based, you can halve your carbon food-print. 

For instance, Earth’s Own Oat milk takes three times less greenhouse gas to produce than standard dairy products, while its almond milk generates four times less greenhouse gas emissions.

Less land

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Could consuming dairy milk every day really make that much of an impact? While it might seem relatively harmless, the answer is yes. In fact, you might be surprised to learn that if you were to drink a glass of milk each day for a year, it would add up to 7,000 sq ft of land that’s being used to house animals.

By switching to oat milk, there’s the potential to preserve up to 5,600 sq ft of land annually — that’s about two tennis courts worth of land. When it comes to almond milk, those benefits are actually amplified as almonds are grown using 16 times less land than cow’s milk.

Earth’s Own is straight-up one of the most delicious and effortless ways to reduce your environmental footprint.

To learn more about dairy alternatives and find your favourite plant-based milk, you can visit earthsown.com/eatplants.