Dairy cheese vs Cashew cheese
Cheese is the third most emission-intensive food after beef and lamb, because it takes around ten litres of milk to make a kilogram. Nut-based cheeses skip the animal entirely, though tree nuts remain water-thirsty.
Per per kg
Greenhouse gaseskg CO₂e / kg
Dairy cheese
23.9
Cashew cheese
3.5
Land usem² / kg
Dairy cheese
87.8
Cashew cheese
8
Freshwater withdrawalL / kg
Dairy cheese
5605
Cashew cheese
4200
Saturated fatg / 100 g
Dairy cheese
21
Cashew cheese
8
Source: Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science · Our World in Data · USDA FoodData Central
Verdict
Cashew cheese cuts emissions roughly 85% and saturated fat by more than half.
Questions people ask
Is cashew cheese healthier?
It is lower in saturated fat and sodium in most formulations, and free of the IGF-1 pathway concerns raised for dairy — but it is still an energy-dense food.