Cow's milk vs Soy milk
Key facts
- Compared
- Cow's milk vs Soy milk
- Unit
- per litre
- Metrics
- Greenhouse gases, Land use, Protein, Saturated fat
- Source
- Poore & Nemecek (2018), via Our World in Data · USDA FoodData Central · Fortification and nutrient content vary by product.
per litre
Source: Poore & Nemecek (2018), via Our World in Data: ourworldindata.org · USDA FoodData Central: fdc.nal.usda.gov · Fortification and nutrient content vary by product.
Verdict
Soy milk offers protein comparable to dairy with around a third of the emissions.
Questions people ask
Is soy milk safe for children?
Fortified soy milk is recognised by major paediatric bodies as a suitable dairy alternative from age one onwards.
Related comparisons
Data: Poore & Nemecek (2018), via Our World in Data · USDA FoodData Central · Fortification and nutrient content vary by product. · Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.
What the comparison can and cannot tell you
Check the denominator before interpreting a difference: a kilogram of food, a serving, a calorie and a gram of protein answer different questions. Equal weights are not automatically nutritionally equivalent meals. Keep the original source's system boundaries and preparation state when comparing values.
Environmental estimates depend on farming, processing, geography and the study's assumptions. A global average is not a measurement of your own purchase. Broad patterns can guide choices, but the size or ranking of a particular difference needs the relevant study rather than a blanket claim about every animal and plant food.
- Use the same unit and the same raw or cooked state for both foods.
- Check which impacts the source includes; carbon, water and land are separate measures.
- Do not infer a medical benefit from a lower footprint.
- Balance the replacement meal with suitable protein, energy and micronutrient sources.