What milk to devote to?

Following the publication in October of an article on the Quebec brand DAM and its plant-based beverage concentrates, many of you wrote to us to point out how damaging the cultivation of almonds can be to the environment. While plant-based drinks are enjoying unprecedented popularity, our journalist tried to answer the thorny question: what is the best plant-based drink for the environment… and for you?

Unabated growth

The plant-based beverage market continues its growth that began during the pandemic, confirms Leslie Ewing, General Manager of Plant-Based Foods of Canada: “The non-dairy beverage category continues to show growth in dollars after the strong increase experienced with the COVID-19 in 2020”, i.e. 19% in 2020 and 4% in 2021.

Same story on the side of Danone, which owns the Silk brand, where growth does not seem to want to weaken, notes Geneviève Bolduc, director, innovation and portfolio. While the plant-based almond drink remains the best-selling product to this day, “it’s really oats that have the wind in their sails and are attracting new consumers,” she adds.

Co-founder of the firm ILOT, specializing in strategy and brand management in the food sector, Guillaume Mathieu notices that this trend speaks more to the youngest.

“It really is a generational movement. The brand images of these companies are very playful, with super bright colors. I am convinced that no baby boomer recognizes himself in the Oatly website! Looks like a fight to become the coolest brand. »

New on the shelves

New products that attempt to imitate the taste and smoothness of milk, such as NotMilk (based on pea protein) or NextMilk (a blend of soy, oats and coconut) seek to attract customers who have no not yet made the vegetable leap. “With this product, which is really experiencing strong growth, we want to meet the expectations of consumers who don’t necessarily like the taste of oat or almond-based drinks. It’s really a new type of product that is changing the dynamics of the market,” believes Geneviève Bolduc.

The long ingredient lists of these processed products can raise eyebrows. We have also seen the appearance of minimalist products, such as the new Naked oatmeal range from Earth’s Own, which has as few as four ingredients, without carrageenan (a thickener and stabilizer) or glyphosate (a herbicide). The popularity of oats is also attracting new Quebec players: Barista has just launched a barista drink made from Canadian oats bottled in Quebec, while Oatbox has just announced that it is launching the production of a oats with a view to soon marketing an original oat drink and a barista version.

The Almond Question

It is true that growing almonds in California – where 80% of the world’s production comes from – creates several problems. The huge amount of water required to irrigate almond trees raises doubts, as well as the dangers for bees, used to pollinate the huge almond orchards. At DAM, organic almonds from Spain are used in the concentrated almond drink, as well as local sunflower seeds, explains Annie Lafleur, co-founder. “In Spain, almonds are grown in a much less extreme way, over a larger area, with less intensive irrigation,” she says.

With 4% of the volume, this European country was the third largest almond producer in the world in 2018. Most growers use harvested rainwater to irrigate their plants. However, the popularity of almonds means that more and more intensive crops are increasingly appearing in Spain, which can be worrying for a country that is often the victim of droughts. M^me Lafleur adds that by using all the almonds in its drink concentrate – unlike traditional almond drinks, which are filtered – DAM does not produce any waste, and the consumer can benefit from all the minerals and fibers contained in the popular nut.

Soy and oats: the best choices?

While oats generally have a good press – it is a cereal grown in Canada that requires much less water than almonds – soybeans have a less good reputation, even if they are the only plant-based drink whose protein intake can rival milk. Its intensive cultivation in South America (much of which is intended to feed livestock) contributes in particular to the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and destroys ecosystems. In addition, this genetically modified soy requires a lot of pesticides.

The good news: very good quality soybeans are grown in Canada, particularly in Quebec, for human consumption.

A study published this year by the University of Goettigen, Germany, compared the environmental impact of the three most popular plant-based drinks (soya, oats and almond) with traditional and organic cow’s milk according to 12 factors: greenhouse gases greenhouse, water consumption, soil acidification, potential damage to ecosystems… The conclusion? Organic oat and soy beverages are said to have the least impact on the environment. But if we take into account the energy and protein intake of all these drinks, then cow’s milks obtain better scores than oat and almond drinks. “This superiority underlines the high efficiency of cows in converting natural resources into proteins”, add the authors of the study.

The Festival of Allegations

In short, it is far from obvious for consumers concerned about the environment, but also about their health and animal welfare, to make a truly informed choice. In addition to the ecological footprint, it is necessary to take into account transport, packaging, supply… This is without taking into account the various claims made by brands, which add to the confusion: “It’s the festival allegation! GMO-free, carbon neutral, water reduction, local… It becomes a little impossible to compare, because each company makes its claims based on the criteria that benefit it. Consumers no longer know where to find themselves,” says Guillaume Mathieu, co-founder of ILOT.

Cow’s milk is also trying to restore its image: in the United States, the Neutral brand markets organic milk that says “fight climate change”, and the Milk Producers of Canada have announced that they are aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050.

Imported organic almond drink or traditional local oats? Carbon neutral cow’s milk or vegetable drink? The answer, ultimately, will vary according to your criteria, values ​​and… budget!