By Rob Brown2019-09-25T15:06:00+01:00
The dairy industry has a problem: the 270 million dairy cows on earth burp too much. About 6% of methane emissions from human activity come from cows’ belches and other releases (sometimes the gas goes the other way), says the UN.
With evidence of the damage mankind is wreaking on the planet mounting (see the Amazonian wildfires and fast-disappearing glaciers in Greenland), more and more Brits are dodging dairy and switching to plant-based. Twenty-three per cent now buy milk alternatives, up from 19% a year ago [Mintel].
Yet while environmental concerns are driving dietary changes, milk made from soyabeans - the crop described by Greenpeace as a ‘leading cause of deforestation’ - is Britain’s bestselling alternative.