It does still use less water than cow milk though, so if someone switches from cow milk to almond milk then it’s still a net improvement in terms of water usage
True but the cow is also used for things like beef once slaughtered. A nut on the other hand is simply used up after being harvested.
A lot of the cow water figures get complicated quickly as well since various calculations either include or ignore indirect water usage. Things like water usage for their feed. Or whether the water usage is counting across an entire cows average lifespan, including slaughter and all byproducts, or just the water usage while the cow is producing milk.
This makes it hard to directly compare to something more simple like growing a nut or oats where the end product is essentially singular. There are a lot of variables to consider when trying to compare to a product from a farmed animal.
The more steps of complexity there are in the system the less efficient it is, this seems incredibly obvious to me? Turning plants into cow flesh is less efficient than just eating plants.
I mean, if oat milk is going to make you less healthy, why are we concerned about the water usage if it’s still a better alternative to cows milk on both counts?
There’s no industrial water usage in sticks I find when out walking. That doesn’t mean I’m going to put them in my cereal (intentional hyperbole to make the point).
Almond milk also requires 6x as much water to produce than oat milk. Almonds in general are a very high water usage crop.
It does still use less water than cow milk though, so if someone switches from cow milk to almond milk then it’s still a net improvement in terms of water usage
True but the cow is also used for things like beef once slaughtered. A nut on the other hand is simply used up after being harvested.
A lot of the cow water figures get complicated quickly as well since various calculations either include or ignore indirect water usage. Things like water usage for their feed. Or whether the water usage is counting across an entire cows average lifespan, including slaughter and all byproducts, or just the water usage while the cow is producing milk.
This makes it hard to directly compare to something more simple like growing a nut or oats where the end product is essentially singular. There are a lot of variables to consider when trying to compare to a product from a farmed animal.
The more steps of complexity there are in the system the less efficient it is, this seems incredibly obvious to me? Turning plants into cow flesh is less efficient than just eating plants.
I mean, if oat milk is going to make you less healthy, why are we concerned about the water usage if it’s still a better alternative to cows milk on both counts?
There’s no industrial water usage in sticks I find when out walking. That doesn’t mean I’m going to put them in my cereal (intentional hyperbole to make the point).
A lot of nuts are very high water usage crops. It’s a gallon per almond but almost five for a walnut.