Most people drinking dairy alternatives are getting enough protein without the dairy alternative though. I was obviously not including dairy which is objectively the worst. The problem with almond is that almonds are a very thirsty crop (ONE almond, like a single nut, takes 3 gallons of water to produce IIRC) and they are often grown in areas that are extremely water-scarce or approaching it rapidly. This is much worse for the environment than greenhouse emissions at this point given the systems they put stress on (80-85% of almond milk comes from California)
tbh I'm having a terrible time finding good stats comparing water use, now. The oft-cited one from 2018 seems to not have any data on almonds at all? I'm very confused.
Yeah I am a climatologist so I feel you on finding sources being annoying in regards to specific industry. The ones I’m seeing are showing almonds alone account for 5% of California’s yearly water usage
Most people drinking dairy alternatives are getting enough protein without the dairy alternative though. I was obviously not including dairy which is objectively the worst. The problem with almond is that almonds are a very thirsty crop (ONE almond, like a single nut, takes 3 gallons of water to produce IIRC) and they are often grown in areas that are extremely water-scarce or approaching it rapidly. This is much worse for the environment than greenhouse emissions at this point given the systems they put stress on (80-85% of almond milk comes from California)
tbh I'm having a terrible time finding good stats comparing water use, now. The oft-cited one from 2018 seems to not have any data on almonds at all? I'm very confused.
Yeah I am a climatologist so I feel you on finding sources being annoying in regards to specific industry. The ones I’m seeing are showing almonds alone account for 5% of California’s yearly water usage