Differences in Environmental Impact between Plant-Based Alternatives to Dairy and Dairy Products: A Systematic Literature Review

Annika Carlsson Kanyama,Cecilia Katzeff,Björn Hedin

doi:10.3390/su132212599

Annika Carlsson Kanyama, Cecilia Katzeff + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212599

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Abstract

A large body of research suggests a more plant-based diet, including a switch to plant-based alternatives to dairy, is needed for lowering human-induced climate change as well as land and water use. With the help of a systematic literature review, we analyzed data from 21 peer-reviewed articles about the differences in emissions and resources used between various plant-based alternatives to dairy and dairy products. Emissions included were greenhouse gases, acidifying, eutrophicating, and ozone-depleting substances, and resource use included water, energy, and land. The results are presented as the quotients of the ratios of plant-based alternatives to dairy and dairy products. The comparison shows that the plant-based dairy alternatives have lower, or much lower, impacts in almost all cases, with two exceptions: water use for almond drinks (several studies) and emissions of ozone-depleting substances for margarine (one study). There is a lack of data concerning impacts other than greenhouse gas emissions for plant-based cheese alternatives; and in general, emissions of greenhouse gases are more highly covered than other impacts. In the quest for a swift transition to a low carbon economy, however, there is already enough evidence to proceed with a dietary change involving switching dairy products to plant-based alternatives.

Highlights

Introduction and PurposeLimiting climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and the UnitedNations [1] calls on all different types of actors to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [1]
The method has been a systematic literature review whose results have been translated into a measure of differences between PB alternatives and dairy products
We have recorded the following environmental parameters: greenhouse gas emissions, land, water, and energy use as well as emissions of acidifying, eutrophicating, and ozone-depleting substances. For some of these parameters, there are a lot of data, while the data on land and water use are lower, and the data on emissions of ozone-depleting substances only appear in one study

Summary

Introduction

Introduction and PurposeLimiting climate change is one of the great challenges of our time, and the UnitedNations [1] calls on all different types of actors to take measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [1]. In the past 20 years, many scientific studies have drawn attention to the fact that a diet changed towards a more plant-based one could have large positive effects on ecosystems [4,5,6]. These effects can be created by freeing up large areas of land, as fewer animals must be provided with feed, which gives more space for other organisms. The UN Climate Panel states in its report from 2019 that a diet with little or no elements of meat and dairy products can lead to large reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and land use [9]

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