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Is Cow's Milk or Soy Milk Better for the Environment?

slate.com — We'll begin with the place where soy milk and cow's milk are most similar: as a source of protein. The Lantern has already discussed some of the environmental costs that come with raising cows —they require an enormous amount of energy to feed, they produce lots of waste, and they're a major emitter of methane.

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  • philodygmn, on 07/22/2008, -11/+39Hemp seed is a hell of a lot better than them both! It has scads of protein in ideal form, a fuller consort of essential fatty acids than any other natural source, all in perfect proportion for optimum human health. And it's good for the environment, _in addition_ to yielding 4 times more high quality cellulose per acre annually than trees, which can be used for all kinds of things including plastic feedstocks instead of petroleum. The list goes on:
    http://web.mac.com/dynamist/iWeb/dynamist/duh/D5A4 ...
    • alperea, on 07/23/2008, -3/+8Hemp. Is there anything it can't do?
    • thcobbs, on 07/23/2008, -1/+4Keep babies healthy?
      • Kazimieras, on 07/23/2008, -1/+5Feeding nursing babies anything but breast milk, or formula is a dangerous idea. Milk is ok for us big people, but the babies need the special formulation.
    • biogears, on 07/23/2008, -4/+0It slices, it dices - HEMP!

      Hemp, Obama, Gore and Linux will save humanity huh?
    • FLUX, on 07/23/2008, -10/+1the funniest thing about all the pot heads pushing hemp is that hemp has no thc and high thc content is a recessive gene so if hemp went into large scale production pot for smoking would become virtually extinct over night because the hemp pollen would destroy the hybrids used to create high thc pot

      http://www.marijuananews.com/marijuananews/cowan/w ...

      not only are they baking their brains smoking it there idiots to start with
      • UsedToVacation, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6they're* idiots
      • yodaj007, on 07/24/2008, -1/+1Calling people idiots when you have no grasp of punctuation and capitalization makes you look like an idiot yourself.
    • plarp, on 07/23/2008, -1/+4but does it taste good.. this trumps all when it comes to food.
      • div2n, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2I drink Living Harvest chocolate hemp milk every morning for breakfast. I think it has a great taste that is even better than chocolate soy milk.

        The flavor has a nutty tone to it. Think the consistency of soy milk with hint of nut instead of the distinct soy flavor is the best I can describe it.

        I've never tried the other flavors, so I can't comment on them.
      • N00F, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2I don't like the Hemp 'milk' product. Tastes too much like dirt.
    • hearsaysongs, on 07/23/2008, -4/+3noone should be drinking cow milk. period. now go digg my favorites!
    • Ladymongoose, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2Agreed. I give my kids a calcium supplement plus a hemp protein powder rather than milk or soy milk. Since both have milk allergies anyway, it works out fine. There is also a hemp milk that is supposed to be great, but it's pretty pricey. Yay for hemp!
    • GoteamVenture, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Agreed, hemp milk is superior to soy milk and it tastes much better. My toddler is allergic to dairy, nuts, and soy, so I don't know what I would do without hemp milk. Now the whole family drinks it as our dairy source. I just wish it was less expensive and more accessible.
    • blipblipbeep, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Step away from the cow!
  • Nysul, on 07/23/2008, -13/+5Neither, tit milk is.
  • btschul, on 07/23/2008, -40/+50Who the hell cares?
    • treetop23, on 07/23/2008, -12/+7seriously.
    • streetglowtyler, on 07/23/2008, -8/+3I concur
    • Pronation, on 07/23/2008, -4/+10Apparently digg does. :)
    • mike17032, on 07/23/2008, -11/+9The real question is what one tastes better?

      And we all know the ***** answer. So buried.
    • vafada, on 07/23/2008, -5/+3yeah, who cares, i drink both of them!
    • dmark77, on 07/23/2008, -7/+2Word. Both make me ***** my pants.
    • brokoli, on 07/23/2008, -3/+3I prefer cow's milk any day of the week but I also like to know the damage I'm causing to the environment in which I live.
    • 180andback, on 07/23/2008, -3/+4I live down the street from about 20,000 cows. I care. I care because when I leave my bedroom window open at night, I get woken up at 3am by the smell of *****. I've stopped taking milk in my coffee. Now digg me down for the anecdote. I know how it works around here.
  • insanecee, on 07/23/2008, -9/+4breast milk...? no option there?............damn
  • btschul, on 07/23/2008, -10/+12No option for man milk.
  • computerusr, on 07/23/2008, -28/+5If you drink soy milk, you're a pussy. Period.
  • wnvoss, on 07/23/2008, -7/+22Dugg for never telling us.
    • asnider, on 07/23/2008, -0/+8It says at the very start that soy milk is slightly better for the environment.

      FTA: "The Green Lantern can't really stomach lactose and rarely drinks milk. But he isn't too keen on the taste of soy milk, either, so consider him a neutral arbiter when he concludes that soy is the somewhat more eco-conscious choice."
  • Hax0rJimDuggan, on 07/23/2008, -15/+10Breast anyone? (.) (.)
    • cryonix, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5Two please.
    • pinkcherry, on 07/23/2008, -0/+8those are some ugly looking breast... ( o Y o )
      • cryonix, on 07/24/2008, -1/+1yeah boy, nipples like dinner plates. anything smaller than a kneecap need not apply.
        /sarcasm
      • pinkcherry, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1That area is called the areola not nipple.
  • xsecretfiles, on 07/23/2008, -19/+6I thought Soy milk makes you gay??
    • krnldmp, on 07/23/2008, -5/+4Sure, but so do soy burgers.
    • HesNikke, on 07/23/2008, -4/+3no, the body reacts to soy just like it does to estrogen, so it'll shrink your balls and give you boobs.
    • mike17032, on 07/23/2008, -5/+2No, it doesnt.

      Drinking it just confirms that you were already gay.
    • br0ck, on 07/23/2008, -1/+5"The estrogen concentration in processed milk coincides with that of raw milk between first and second trimesters, reflecting the contribution of lactating pregnant cows to the final consumable product. The daily intake of total investigated estrogens through milk is 372 ng, which is dramatically more than currently recognized. "
      http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/abstract.cgi/jafcau/20 ...
  • kronzdigg, on 07/23/2008, -21/+13Is is good for man? Soy if you want man boobs and decreased libido (phytoestrogen effect). Political correctness really has run amok.
    • inhaler, on 07/23/2008, -4/+14Dropping political correctness, plant estrogen have no effect on human beings. Gratz on being big agriculture's bitch, though. You could do some research at a reputable website, or continue spouting propaganda. Your pick.

      The Soy vs Whey debate, covered here:
      http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/drobson71.htm
    • kronzdigg, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1Wow bodybuilding.com. Your so smart. Opps though I'm a doctor. Check out the medical literature. Here is just one article of hundreds which mention phytoestrogens effects on the human body.

      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18223379?ordina ...

      Nice group think on me being dugg down and you being dugg up. The group is not always right. Case in point "obama"
      • yodaj007, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2You're a doctor? Cool! I'm the Pope!
  • protogenxl, on 07/23/2008, -13/+56It's Soy Juice it can't be milk because there is no such thing as a Soy Tit.
    • Yimyack, on 07/23/2008, -7/+9Stealing more jokes there Dane Cook.

      Lewis Black says you owe him some money : )
      • FatBird19, on 07/23/2008, -2/+3Yes, that's Lewis Black. That's the point. It's called 'quoting.'
      • heliox, on 07/23/2008, -1/+3Do you see little quotation marks? I don't.
        And it's "Soy titty", not "Soy tit".
    • FatBird19, on 07/23/2008, -2/+8"I don't know a lot, but I know you need a breast to make milk."
      • stonyhill, on 07/23/2008, -1/+7what about coconut milk? milk of magnesia?
      • cutchyacokov, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1I have breasts, but I don't think you would call what I make milk . . .
    • FatBird19, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6"No one's gonna *****' drink soy juice!"
    • screamingjoker, on 07/23/2008, -0/+8if there's coconut milk, then there can be soy milk. Go veggie!
    • xxTazxx, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1There is nothing such as a Milk Tit either per se.
    • Antimatter85, on 07/24/2008, -0/+0Greg Focker: You can milk just about anything with nipples.
      Jack Byrnes: I have nipples, Greg, could you milk me?
  • jetboyterp, on 07/23/2008, -18/+17Oh, fer cripes sake...drink your milk. The Earth will still be here.
    • btschul, on 07/23/2008, -2/+4eh
    • caseycoold, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2And for people who can't? I don't think anyone actually cares that much as long as it doesn't turn out that one is off the scale one way or another, but for those who can't drink milk, it's an option.
      Personally, like the fake cheese, it makes me sick. But if people want it, more power to them.
  • Saulidus, on 07/23/2008, -5/+23this is a pretty stupid article because some if us drink soy milk because we are lactose intolerant
    • Aidje, on 07/23/2008, -0/+18And some of us drink rice milk because we're allergic to both dairy and soy.
      • thallium205, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3Same here... It just sucks that rice milk (even the enriched) has like no nutrition to it at all.
      • MattB123, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Or almond milk. That's my favorite non-dairy "milk".
    • xsquirrel378x, on 07/23/2008, -1/+10I just prefer soy milk in general. I like the taste and its easier on your digestive system. If you do drink cow's milk, i recommend paying the extra dollar or two for the real deal and not the hormone ridden drugged ***** like most people drink.
    • ayiticherie, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1You mean the stuff that grows boobs on 9 year olds?
    • BrogMaN, on 07/23/2008, -0/+7Up until this past year I was a huge cow's milk fan just because that's what I grew up drinking.

      That was before I found out about all the ***** they put into it, mainly RBST the artificial cow growth hormone which causes all kinds of problems not only in the cows but also in humans.

      Cancer, Udder Disease, early puberty. No thank you.

      And besides, Soy milk doesn't really taste that much different IMO, it was easy for me to make the switch. Oh, and even some Organic milk brands still have RBST in them, make sure to look for "no RBST" on the label.

      For anyone was hasn't seen the documentary film The Corporation I highly suggest you do, it has a piece about RBST and many other scandals and scams happening currently in the US and around the world.
      • m8ymerc1, on 07/23/2008, -4/+1Soy juice not milk. You drink soy juice not soy milk.
  • katorga, on 07/23/2008, -18/+5Environmental costs of cows...give me the break. They are a symptom of the environmental costs of 7 billion people needing to eat. On an integrated, subsistence farm...cattle provide proteins and fertilizers. Nitrogen fixing fodder crops like beats or clover feed the cattle and replenish production fields. It makes a nice little interconnected ecosystem.
    • krnldmp, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1Right, in about .001% of the total beef market.
    • lazn, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Umm according to the UN: farm animals produce about 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions, where as cars, trucks and vans, about.. 20%

      http://motls.blogspot.com/2006/12/farm-animals-emi ...

      Going back to a agrarian society with more animals for each person would destroy our environment faster than increasing the number of cars per person..

      Cars are quite clean environmentally speaking when compared to their animal alternative.
  • dcshiderly, on 07/23/2008, -20/+2Soy has a large amount of an estrogen analog in it, and can cause serious endocrine problems in people, especially males. If you can get away with it, bovine milk is better for you as it has calcium in it. If you're lactose-intolerant, there are varieties with a lactose additive like Lactaid.
    • jonmlm, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5shhh. please. stop typing. walk away from the computer. take a little nap, then come back when you've read the real studies about PLANT BASED estrogen
      • dcshiderly, on 07/23/2008, -2/+0Yep, and I suppose it doesn't matter that soy was an "industrial" agricultural product until the mid-eighties, either. Kinda like aspartame suddenly got FDA approval once Reagan's crony Rumsfeld (yeah, that guy) was running the place.
    • caseycoold, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4*sniff*

      Yup, smells like BS to me.
  • spamcrusher, on 07/23/2008, -21/+10Are environmentalists so out in their own little world they expect me to change my diet based on what might be worse? Give me a break. I'm all for common sense environmental policies to keep things clean, but when they begin to tell me I can't drink a certain kind of milk they can go ***** themselves.
    • MattB123, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3Based on that I do not think you are the target audience for this stuff.
    • ayiticherie, on 07/23/2008, -2/+3All those hormones you're ingesting is making you hostile. Perhaps you should consider an alternative diet. :)
  • zbeast, on 07/23/2008, -20/+7Who cares..
    Cow milk tastes good.
    Soy milk tastes like ass.
  • Antz0rz, on 07/23/2008, -15/+4Soy protein is apparently pretty ***** protein.
  • Yimyack, on 07/23/2008, -15/+3I think whoever wrote this crap drank too much soy...
  • hotlatte, on 07/23/2008, -10/+10This story emits methane.
  • waxandwane, on 07/23/2008, -15/+40Soy Milk all the way. Drinking the Mother's milk of another species is weird.
    • xsquirrel378x, on 07/23/2008, -4/+12agreed. surprised youre not getting dugg down though. i love soy in general, soybeans are like the all purpose everything
    • Pronoiac, on 07/23/2008, -13/+5...Wierder than drinking beans?
    • Tweekster, on 07/23/2008, -3/+0It is soy juice
    • lonelily, on 07/23/2008, -0/+5My boyfriend feels the same way. The concept of it weirds him out. It's kinda cute actually.
      • triad203, on 07/24/2008, -0/+4It's not that weird compared to eating their flesh or eggs...
  • spyd3rweb, on 07/23/2008, -19/+52Cow milk is only good for baby cows.
    • serif69, on 07/23/2008, -3/+21And cheese. And ice cream. And butter. And yogurt. And caramel.

      Yeah. Cow milk ***** sucks...
    • Klianei, on 07/23/2008, -3/+4There is soy cheese, ice cream, etc. Some of it is obviously bad, but not all.
    • Michiko280, on 07/23/2008, -1/+9A lot of the vegan products are delicious! Toffuti Fruities are the most amazing ice cream sandwiches I've ever had. Chocolate Silk Soymilk is also particularly fabulous.
      • azurechaos, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4Purely Decadent ice cream is vegan and it's ***** amazing.
    • Tweekster, on 07/23/2008, -5/+0Real milk is one the healthiest things you can consume.

      Soy juice is not even close
  • ieee, on 07/23/2008, -3/+27If soy milk is a "niche product" ( RTFA ), it will not be for long.

    I live in the US Northeast and it is rare that I can't find soy milk in ordinary supermarkets.

    Almost all non-Caucasian adults have lactose intolerance and many Cacasian adults do as well. It is a natural thing. Once we aren't babies anymore our bodies stop making enzymes to digest milk.

    • tdogg241, on 07/23/2008, -1/+10Exactly. We aren't meant to drink milk our entire lives, let alone milk from other species.

      But to each their own. I'm lactose intolerant myself, and the only reason I take Lactaid is to eat cheese.
      • caseycoold, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Which is milk... from another species... that has gone bad....
        wtf?
      • tdogg241, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1Well...cheese is delicious. I figured that was obvious.

        Milk, on the other hand, isn't that tasty to me and gives me loogies for hours afterwards.
  • DiscoJohn, on 07/23/2008, -9/+7Don't particularly care. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7490202.s ...
    for information released last week about how diets high in soy may increase your risk for memory loss.
    • TheMachine1, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4"A third theory is that damage is caused not by the tofu, but by formaldehyde, which is sometimes used in Indonesia as a preservative."

      The link you posted was hardly conclusive.
    • Michiko280, on 07/23/2008, -0/+6That's funny... because studies also show that meat/dairy diets increase likelihood for alzheimers and dementia!

      It's really important to look into who is funding the research... because the meat and dairy industry funds a huge percentage of the research done. Slight bias there..
    • Ductapemaster, on 07/23/2008, -3/+1In spite of the title of the article, fermented soy products are much healthier for you to consume. Soybeans innately contain phytoestrogen, which can severely effect the human body (both men and women). It causes imbalances of hormones that can cause disruptions in women's menstrual cycles and affect hormone production in the brain. In men it imbalances testosterone levels, which has many effects. The process of fermentation reduces the amounts of phytoestrogen, while normal processing doesn't remove it.

      As promoted as it is (as a "superfood" or whatever they call it) non-fermented soy products are actually quite unhealthy...
      • ieee, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3Cancer researchers believe that phytoestrogens protect people against cancer because they BLOCK real estrogen and pollutants that are similar, but STRONGER then estrogen, pesticides.
  • computerusr, on 07/23/2008, -17/+6Tit Milk > Cow Milk > ***** > Soy Milk
    • ayiticherie, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1At least you have "tit milk" in the right place.
  • Ethek, on 07/23/2008, -13/+4 Soy may lower sperm count. FYI
    • ieee, on 07/23/2008, -1/+5Not true, have a citation?

      • Ethek, on 07/23/2008, -2/+1Not true? cough up your citation.

        I said 'may'. If it does not coincide with your belief matrix of what you know to be true then by all means don't take it as a fact or look into it.

        If you think it 'may' be true then file that away, or look into if for your own good.

        Won't someone think of the sperm
    • heliox, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Wouldn't that be a good thing if you are a woman
    • doublefelix, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=3741133& ...
    • TheMachine1, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Too bad countries with heavy soy consumption have insane population growth rates anyway.
  • nellshini, on 07/23/2008, -8/+8Out of all the things harming the environment, we're focusing on cow milk?
    • quill, on 07/23/2008, -4/+6No, we're not focusing on cow milk. We're investigating cow milk as one of the many factors out there. Moving from cow milk to soy milk is a very easy thing to do, so if it has positive environmental effects, then it should be explored.

      NEWSFLASH: The people investigating soy milk are not the people working on the electric car.
    • ieee, on 07/23/2008, -1/+6Food production, especially meat production rivals or even surpasses contributions to global warming, regular pollution, disease ( salmonella from live stock *****, etc )
    • TheMachine1, on 07/23/2008, -1/+5Cows make a lot of methane and its much worst than CO2 in warming up the atmosphere. Cows are anywhere from a few percent to as high as 18% of the man induced global warming problem.

      http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/sto ...
      • askantik, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2ieee and TheMachine1 hit the nail on the head. Google the UN's "Livestock's Long Shadow" report.
  • apr35, on 07/23/2008, -13/+11I am a fairly left leaning guy, but I must say, this is the epitome of a Hippie question!
  • The_Red_Monkey, on 07/23/2008, -13/+4Since soy milk makes men grow breasts and produce excessive amounts of estrogen I am voting against soy.
  • WiretapStudios, on 07/23/2008, -8/+29My stomach doesn't appreciate milk. Therefore I drink soy. Now that I have drank it for a few years, it tastes like milk to me. Also, I don't like pus in my beverages.

    http://www.milksucks.com/pus.asp
    • triad203, on 07/24/2008, -1/+1Pus is not made up of somatic cells. That link may be accurate about pus in milk, but the two substances are quite different.
      • WiretapStudios, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Hmm after researching further, I don't see any 'evidence' of pus in milk online other than the link. I still don't trust what chemicals may still be present in milk though.
  • wire02, on 07/23/2008, -13/+3There is no soy milk because there is NO SOY TIT....its soy juice
    • heliox, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3Way to rip off a joke...and still get it wrong.
  • veganpa, on 07/23/2008, -4/+26Soy milk is definitely better for the cow -- she doesn't have her calves taken away, she doesn't have to live in industrial "farms" (often not able to go outside), and doesn't get slaughtered in the end.
    • zip000, on 07/23/2008, -3/+2Well if we're honest about it...if she isn't being used for milk production what happens to her?

      The answer is probably not so good for the cow because I highly doubt that it's frolicking in a pasture.
      • askantik, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4And let me guess... if we didn't eat the meat, either, then there'd be cows everywhere and what would we do??? Oh noes!!!!!!!!!!!! Never have I heard that one before.

        -A vegan who is tired of hearing BS like this
      • ieee, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3The natural lifespan of a cow is about 25 years. Dairy cows die after about 5 years, in large part, due to the stress of the horrible conditions they live in.

        Once they reach that point, dairy cows are turned into meat anyway.

        Since cows have to be kept pregnant to produce milk, they are kept pregnant most of their lives. Male cows don't grow up to produce milk so they are turned ......via a BRUTAL process into veal.

        Translation: using dairy isn't a friendly way to get food from cows. The cow and her children lead abusive lives and are killed, just like cattle for meat.

        Milk is liquid meat
      • zip000, on 07/24/2008, -0/+1Ah - you people missed my point.

        I'm not saying that milk is good for cows, I'm just saying that if it weren't for the milk then the cows would most likely go straight to the slaughterhouse.

        I'm opposed to eating meat; I don't eat it, I advocate that people don't eat it, and for all intents and purposes I'm against milk too. I don't like the subjugation of the animal, but in our industrial sprawl society I doubt that there is anywhere where cows are going to be allowed to just roam free.

        It's a societal problem, we're destroying the habitats of all animals (including us). I just can't imagine that cows would survive in this world if we weren't actively protecting them for a specific purpose; they require a great deal of space and we aren't likely to give up much of that space if we aren't getting something out of the deal - like meat or milk.

        Sure I'm against those things, but I'm afraid that unless there is a big shift in the way we treat all animals and perhaps more importantly their habitats, then cows have no chance on their own.
  • belebih, on 07/23/2008, -6/+24I think Lewis Black said it best:

    "There’s no such thing as soy milk. It’s soy juice. But they couldn’t sell soy juice, so they called it soy milk. Because anytime you say soy juice, you actually start to gag… We all know there’s no soy milk, because there’s no soy titty, is there?"

    For more /rage enlightenment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCZRXW-pFcE
    • heliox, on 07/23/2008, -3/+1Beat me to it...damn it.
      LB is god
    • caseycoold, on 07/23/2008, -1/+4Not even the first time that has been said...wow, does anyone read other's comments first? I cound at least three other posts of the same stupid *****.
  • bioprez, on 07/23/2008, -10/+6environmentally speaking, yes, cows do tax the ecosystem, just like alot of other things do. However, the health-conscious side knows that cow milk is superior to soy milk 10-fold if your a male. The problem with soy milk and men is that is contains isoflavones that replace natural human estrogen levels, and actually contributes to bone cell loss over time. I don't want to take anything that adds more estrogen in my body and contributes to a risk of osteoporosis later in life.

    For women, the jury is still out, some studies say it may increase risk of breast cancer, others are unsure.

    With soy, its just like prescription drugs, there are benefits and risks involved, so you have to make a conscious choice on how much to consume.

    As one digger pointed out, Hemp milk is better than both cow and soy milk. So is goat milk.
    • askantik, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2And there's also evidence that every single healthy food causes cancer. And there's lobbyists and special interest groups that fund these things. Your point is?
    • prometheanspark, on 07/24/2008, -0/+2Another thing not pointed out is that cows and soybeans aren't an either/or proposition. Cows are usually raised in areas where other crops cannot grow. Wisconsin for instance is too cold for corn/soy in it's dairy region, California OTOH puts it's cows on hills that are too steep to grow other crops. The cows can climb up and get the grass up there, but there's no other way to make use of that land, agriculturally. Dairy farms are also the #1 source of manure, which is pretty critical to the organic industry (unless they want to start using human waste for their nitrogen...). Cows can also be fed the leftover waste from making bio-fuels, and the waste from the cows used to fertilize bio-fuel crops. When a crop of corn fails, it gets made into silage and fed to livestock, recovering value from what otherwise would have been a 100% loss.

      Those reasons point that clearly cows/meat/milk have a continual place in agriculture.

      There's nothing stopping dairies from using bio-diesel and wind power anymore than it does Silk, so arguments about it's carbon footprint don't really matter. Sorry but EVERYTHING has a carbon footprint and everything will get de-carbonized eventually. It's not dairy farms are some how impossible to get off fossil fuels, they're just set in their ways because their industry has been around for about 4000 years longer than the soy milk industry. Soy has a more liberal customer base so it's no surprise they'd be quicker to buy carbon offsets.
  • Mononuclear, on 07/23/2008, -10/+6Cows provide a lot more than just milk with basically the same environmental cost. A soybean can be used once for milk or for something else. A cow can be milked all it's life repeatedly, the manure used for fertilizer, the skin used for leather, the meat used for more food. With all the things you get from one cow it is much better for the environment than soy milk.

    If you assume the cow makes only milk and nothing else then yes soy milk is better for the environment, but that just isn't how it works.
    • Michiko280, on 07/23/2008, -2/+4That's precisely what's so horrilbe. I cannot find reason to justify such horrific treatment of cows for a product that could easily be replaced by a product that is both healthier for us and better for the environment!

      Also, to produce milk cows must have babies every year. Many of these babies are then used for veal. So supporting the dairy industry is also indirectly supporting the veal industry. Most people by now at least avoid veal because they are horrified by the horrific treatment of the baby calves.
      • jbmcb, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1All the more reason to drink milk and support the production of delicious baby cow meat. Veal Picatta for the win!

        By the way - if they want to get a good price for the leather they have to treat dairy cows well, so they don't scar up or otherwise damage the hide. Good leather is expensive, and lucrative.

    • askantik, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1You're exactly right-- a cow can be "used" repeatedly. But it must also be fed and watered and be provided for repeatedly. That loses all of its so-called efficiency. Is is less efficient to eat a cow that eats plants than to just eat a plant. That's why the largest animals on earth are herbivores, not carnivores. Food chain FTW.
    • corripio, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1I may be remembering incorrectly, but aren't soy beans one of those good crops you should rotate into fields, since they adds a lot of nitrogen to the soil?
    • prometheanspark, on 07/24/2008, -1/+2Don't forget that most cows are kept in areas that are unsuitable for other crops, IE wisconsin is too cold for corn/soy and california keeps cattle on hills that are too steep. It's not like we can replace all those cows with soybeans. Cows convert weeds in unproductive areas into food for people, and they will always have a place because of that.
  • todlo, on 07/23/2008, -3/+5hempseed milk FTW.
  • readerz, on 07/23/2008, -4/+3neither - have a good day!
    • Kenzan, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Yeah..
      i'm thinking if you are over the age of 18 and drink either of these on a daily basis...
      ...yeah...you're pretty much a loser.
    • lenaveg, on 07/27/2008, -0/+0i agree.
  • simplehiker, on 07/23/2008, -2/+4"A specialty product like soy milk—despite its growing popularity, its market is about one-twentieth the size of regular milk's—is probably going to have to travel farther to the average consumer simply because fewer people produce it."

    I love factual statments that use key words such as "probably". Your heads in the cloud if you 90% of the milk you buy in the store is "local". Meijer and Wallmart have no problem shipping that stuff all over the country because it cost them less then monitoring thousands and thousands of local diaries. Your milk comes from a megafarm in the midwest.
  • roseman5285, on 07/23/2008, -9/+3"There is no such thing as soy milk. Because there's no soy tit, is there...I may not know a lot, but I know that you need a breast for milk. It's soy juice, and nobody is gonna drink soy juice" - Lewis Black
    • Airforcefalco, on 07/23/2008, -2/+3lol beat me to the punch! The same goes for Rice "Milk"
    • caseycoold, on 07/23/2008, -3/+2And that'd make you at least number 5. Thanks for playing, ass!
  • FukUrCouch, on 07/23/2008, -10/+3I only drink the finest breast milks. 100% Cambodian immigrant breast milk....
  • roflmcwaffles, on 07/23/2008, -12/+3Too bad soy milk tastes like crap. Mankind didn't climb up the food chain just to drink the juice from soybeans.
    • Tweekster, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1It tastes like crap and it isnt very good for you

      Somehow the vegs in this country convinced people that crap called soy is actually healthy. It isnt
  • fr0mundacheese, on 07/23/2008, -12/+4Buried as Irrelevant. This topic is for Al Gore to decide, and no one else.
  • WhoDoneIt, on 07/23/2008, -7/+7Nothing like pussy, bloated, bloody cow teat juice.

    I'll stick my soy thanks. And I'm not a ***** hippy either.

    P.S. I think that's how you spell the plural of puss. :)
    • evenstarred, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Pus is a viscous fluid, I don't think that a plural form exists (not that I have seen anyway).
      Maybe "pus laden, bloated, bloody cow teat juice." instead?
    • Tweekster, on 07/23/2008, -1/+0Raw milk straight from the farm. Soy milk is for 90 lb weaklings.
  • Mommymassa, on 07/23/2008, -3/+6WOW. I'm a biologist and some of the "facts" in comments made my eyebrows knit in concentration trying to fit them into soy facts of which I'm aware ; best to double check (most of them). More importantly, soy milk makes my tummy hurt. Now water is my beverage of choice. Cheers!
    • sanosuke001, on 07/24/2008, -0/+0Guinness has water in it, does that count?
  • Pronoiac, on 07/23/2008, -9/+4This article is mostly about "carbon emission" ***** and all the experts agree that the best way to reduce your carbon footprint is to stop drinking milk all together and kill yourself. Hanging via a rope is ideal because gunshots and leaving your car on in the garage create emissions. Slitting of the wrists and jumping off of bridges can waste and pollute water and pills can be downright ineffective. So please, go buy a rope(hemp only) and do your part for the environment!
    • Danskiii, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Actually drowning yourself in a swamp would be even better preventing all the carbon in you from reaching the atmosphere. Not suggesting anyone should do it, just pointing out the facts.
    • wunksta, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0carbon emissions from what again? livestock produces methane and no2 emissions, not carbon. you fail at life there buddy.
  • CoMpUtErITGuY, on 07/23/2008, -4/+3I prefer mommy's milk.
  • inyearstocome, on 07/23/2008, -6/+2Moo Cow ***** Milk, please.
  • BECoole, on 07/23/2008, -9/+2"Is Cow's Milk or Soy Milk Better for the Environment?"

    Who cares?
    • wunksta, on 07/23/2008, -2/+1seeming as how we have to live in the environment, i would say we all should.

      otherwise, we should have no concern for toxic waste being pumped in to the fields and oceans. environmental and resource management are necessary for practical and efficient social development.
    • nbyn, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2I would say the electricity you'll save be not reading this useless article will be better for the environment.
      • wunksta, on 07/23/2008, -1/+0depends on where you are, now wouldnt it? theres plently of places that utilize green energy.
    • Tweekster, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Dairy farms around me have as much impact as a soy farm would.
      It is nice being able to get milk straight from the farmer
  • doublefelix, on 07/23/2008, -6/+1If Tuscan Whole Milk isn't manufacturing it, I'm not drinking it.
  • Totz83, on 07/23/2008, -7/+1Since when do Soy beans have nipples? It's ***** juice, not milk. If it is milk i'll call my milk boob juice from now on
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