Plant-Based Yogurts in Check: How Much Better They Are for the Environment

Almost every second plant-based yogurt is organic, while for cow's milk yogurts it is less than 30 percent, emphasized the NGO. According to Greenpeace, plant-based yogurts score points in terms of climate impact: Yogurts made from soy and oats cause only one-third of the climate footprint of those made from animal ingredients.

The NGO demanded in this context: "More reusable jars!" Currently, only cow's milk yogurt is available in reusable jars. Billa and Spar take first place in the comparison of assortments in the market check. "For our environment and the climate, a yogurt made from soy or oats is a significantly better choice than one made from cow's milk. Those who choose organic products make the most sustainable decision. Unfortunately, plant-based yogurts are not available in environmentally friendly reusable jars," said Sebastian Theissing-Matei, agriculture expert at Greenpeace.

Plant-Based Yogurts with Better Climate Balance

Eating more plant-based foods is a contribution to climate protection - even with natural yogurt. The selection in supermarkets is also available: More than half of the plant-based products are made from soy, about 20 percent each from oats and coconut, and the rest from almonds. For oats, half, and for soy, about a quarter comes from Austrian agriculture and otherwise mostly from the EU. For all organically produced soy yogurts, the soybeans also come exclusively from Austria.

Greenpeace pointed out on Monday that the best choice for people, animals, and the climate is environmentally friendly produced organic food. Here, genetically modified soy is not allowed even in the feed trough. Except for one exception, it was confirmed in the market check that no genetically modified soy was fed in conventionally produced cow's milk yogurts: Only the food company Danone could not provide confirmation of non-GMO feeding for its Activia yogurt.

Greenpeace saw room for improvement in packaging, as yogurts made from soy, oats, and others are not available in refillable glass. Reusable jars and bottles can be refilled about 40 times. Unfortunately, the environmentally friendly reusable jars are currently only available for cow's milk yogurt nationwide in conventional Austrian supermarket chains, it was said.

The Farmers' Association advocated "for an honest, unbiased discourse": "No one is helped by bashing dairy farmers. Organic and conventional should coexist and benefit from each other, just as animal husbandry and arable farming do. We therefore wish for a future of cooperation on equal terms, instead of playing off individual sectors against each other," emphasized Farmers' Association youth spokesperson Viktoria Hutter.

Hutter also pointed out that plant-based products can indeed have problematic ingredients: "Not even a quarter of plant-based yogurts come from our domestic agriculture. The rest comes partly from Europe, but also from overseas. Especially with almonds, this is quite problematic: 80 percent of the world's almond harvest comes from drought-stricken California, where artificial irrigation is often necessary. Up to 15,000 liters of water are used there for one kilo of almonds. This is anything but sustainable and climate-friendly," criticized Hutter.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.