Is Oat Milk Sustainable or is it Greenwashing?
This article was last updated May 2024.
Is Oat Milk sustainable or is it greenwashing?
Welcome to “Sustainable or Greenwashing” series where I’m sharing if brands and products are actually what they say they are.
Is oat milk sustainable or is it greenwashing?
The rise of oat milk in the US started in 2017 with the introduction of the brand Oatly into grocery stores plus the rise in desire for plant based milk alternatives. Plant based milk now makes up about 14% of sales in the US.
So most scientific studies compare 4 types of milk - conventional milk, almond milk, oat milk, and soy milk - so I’m gonna pull my information from those studies.
This graph is from a 2018 study that breaks down the milks into 4 different sectors based on land use, water use, water runoff pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions (sourced from Vox). As you can see, plant based milks are far less in comparison to dairy milk.
Here is the same study when you add all of that together into one graph (sourced from the Commons), which you can see soy milk and oat milk are at the bottom, meaning they’re the most eco friendly.
So is Oat Milk sustainable or is it greenwashing?
But even we you look at an even newer study published in 2022 (sorry no graphs to see for this one!), they agree that oat and soy are the best for the environment. So I’m saying yes, generally speaking, oat milk IS sustainable - but what do you think?
XOXO,
Krys
SOURCES:
https://bastyr.edu/about/news/which-milk-alternative-most-eco-friendly#:~:text=Oat milk typically uses the,other plants turned into milk.&text=It also has a relatively,soy%2C almond%2C and rice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TXDFp1EcM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bTUXaNsQJQ
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24072187/is-oat-milk-bad-for-you-or-healthy-wrong-question
https://www.thecommons.earth/blog/which-plant-based-milk-is-best-for-the-environment
