Preface
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This briefing examines why using almond production’s environmental impact to distract from veganism is both logically flawed and environmentally unsound.
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| Text: | |
| Key Points | 3 |
| Counterclaims | 0 |
| Advocacy Notes | 2 |
| Footnotes | 8 |
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| Presentation Slides | 0 |
| Flash Cards | 22 |
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Summary
A concise summary of the briefing (see below for citations).
Using almond production as a criticism of veganism and a justification for animal cruelty is flawed. Vegans can avoid almonds and still be vegan, and comparing environmental impacts to the violence of animal agriculture is a category error. While almond farming uses more water than some crops, almond milk and other plant-based milks have far lower environmental impacts than cow’s milk in terms of land, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and eutrophication, as shown in a major global study.
Context
Places this topic in its larger context.
Detractors from veganism often point to the environmental impact of almonds as an attempt to discredit veganism and divert attention away from both animal ethics and the environmental devastation caused by animal agriculture.
In the bigger picture, neither vegans nor anyone else is required to use almond milk or almonds in any capacity. So the point about almonds is flawed anyway.
Key Points
This section provides talking points.
This is not a vegan issue.
Vegans can choose not to consume almonds and still be vegan.
This point may seem obvious, but it highlights the fact that it is illogical to say that veganism is problematic, or that vegans are hypocrites, because almonds are a plant and not a product of animal agriculture.
As an analogy, it’s nonsensical to say that veganism is problematic because addictive substances are derived from plants and not from animals, or to say that vegans are hypocrites because some vegans may be drug addicts.
Vegans are often at the forefront of advocating for sustainable and environmentally friendly practices, so it’s likely that many vegans choose other nuts and nut milks over almonds and almond milk because of almonds’ environmental impact relative to other nuts.
Comparing the relative environmental impacts of one particular nut to violent slaughter and cruelty is a category error.
Veganism focuses on avoiding animal exploitation and suffering as much as possible. Almonds, while potentially resource-intensive compared to other nuts, do not contribute to animal suffering in the same way animal agriculture does.
Attempting to invalidate veganism based on the environmental impact of a single nut, which individuals can choose to avoid, is not a sound argument.
Compared to just almond milk, cow’s milk has a much higher environmental impact.
Almond milk is still lower in water use than cow milk, and results in far fewer emissions, far less land use, and far less eutrophication than cow milk, as shown below.
Cow milk compared to almond milk in particular:
- causes over 4 times the GHG emissions
- uses over 17 times more land
- causes over 7 times the eutrophication
- uses over 1.6 times as much water.1
Note: The data analyzed was largely from the 2018 Joseph Poor led study from Oxford which has been called “the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet,” having examined 38,700 farms in 119 countries representing 90% of the world’s protein and calorie consumption. (The Guardian2; “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers”, published in Science Magazine3)
Counterclaims
Responses to some yes but retorts.
Counterclaims are often not included in objection-type briefings because the objection itself functions as a form of counterargument.
Supplementary Info
Additional information that may prove useful.
We’ve compared almond milk to cow’s milk, but it’s also telling to add other plant milks into the comparison. All plant-based milks significantly outperform cow’s milk on all environmental impact measures.
Using data produced by the comprehensive 2018 Oxford study, analysts found that “Cow’s milk has significantly higher impacts than the plant-based alternatives across all metrics.”
Cow’s milk….
- “causes around 3 times as much greenhouse gas emissions;
- “uses around 10 times as much land;
- “uses 2 to 20 times as much freshwater;
- “and creates much higher levels of eutrophication.”4
Note: The data analyzed was largely from the 2018 J Poor led study from Oxford which has been called “the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet,” having examined 38,700 farms in 119 countries representing 90% of the world’s protein and calorie consumption. (The Guardian2; “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers”, published in Science Magazine3)
The visual below is from OurWorldInData.org 7
Further Study
Sources providing a deeper understanding of the topic or related topics.
Other Resources
The Food Revolution Network article “Are Almonds Sustainable?” acknowledges the high water usage but argues that almonds are more water-efficient than dairy and beef production, and that the industry is working on reducing water use and bee-related issues.8
Advocacy Resources
Information to help with outreach and advocacy.
Additional media and advocacy resources are on the way, though not every briefing will feature every type of media.
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Advocacy Notes
Tips for Advocacy and Outreach
When addressing an objection, try to respond briefly and steer the conversation back to the animals. These briefings provide detailed, cited responses, which you can share by inviting others to visit this website. This allows you concentrate on the animals without getting bogged down in all the specifics of an objection during the discussion.
It’s useful to apply Socratic questioning, mirroring the key points in the briefing:
- “Do you think that it’s necessary for a vegan to eat almonds or drink almond milk?”
- “As an analogy, do you think vegans are hypocrites because some vegans are drug addicts, and drugs are plant-derived?”
- “How do you compare relative water consumption to animal cruelty?”
- “Have you seen the data comparing the environmental impact of almond milk to cow’s milk, showing that cow’s milk causes over 4 times the GHG emissions, uses over 17 times more land, causes over 7 times the eutrophication, and uses over 1.6 times as much water?”
Footnotes
Our sources, with links back to where they’re used.
- Ritchie, Hannah. Dairy vs. plant-based milk: what are the environmental impacts? Our World in Data Research Group. January 19, 2022. ↩︎
- Carrington, Damian, Environment editor. “Avoiding Meat and Dairy Is ‘Single Biggest Way’ to Reduce Your Impact on Earth.” The Guardian, May 31, 2018. sec. Environment ↩︎
- Poore, J., and T. Nemecek. “Reducing Food’s Environmental Impacts through Producers and Consumers.” Science 360, no. 6392 (June 2018): 987–92. ↩︎
- Ritchie, Hannah. Dairy vs. plant-based milk: what are the environmental impacts? Our World in Data Research Group. January 19, 2022. ↩︎
- Carrington, Damian, Environment editor. “Avoiding Meat and Dairy Is ‘Single Biggest Way’ to Reduce Your Impact on Earth.” The Guardian, May 31, 2018. sec. Environment ↩︎
- Poore, J., and T. Nemecek. “Reducing Food’s Environmental Impacts through Producers and Consumers.” Science 360, no. 6392 (June 2018): 987–92. ↩︎
- Ritchie, Hannah. Dairy vs. plant-based milk: what are the environmental impacts? Our World in Data Research Group. January 19, 2022. ↩︎
- Robbins, Ocean. “Are Almonds Sustainable?” Food Revolution Network, 7 June 2019. ↩︎
