I'd like to see the methodology and assumptions for that and who was behind the research.
I'm not going to argue the point that cows produce methane, but I'd like to see what is included in the Co2 calcs for the alternatives.
Land use is presented as a negative, but UK dairy herds are often moved around fields to fit around crop rotation, so there's not an obvious opportunity cost to having cattle on the land. It's not as if grazing land can be used for too many other things either. I'd like to know more about the water calcs too. There must be a difference between water use in countries like the UK and drier areas.
There's lot's of money in milk alternatives. I know Oatly is looking at an IPO with valuations of around £10bn being bandied about so there's plenty of incentive to have research done the anti dairy argument.
Overall, there's no doubt in my mind that we need to eat less meat and by extension rear fewer animals. I also believe we should not be transporting food over huge distances.
If we follow the money and ignore the ethical arguments for a sec, the alternative milk industry could be described as a disruptor to the dairy industry because there's plenty of money to be made by persuading people that dairy bad, alternatives good.
It's never as simple as that, besides as someone touched on above, you don't get cheese from oatmilk
Wow!!!! Where to begin?
So much wrong with this post!! To paraphrase your words: "Meat/Dairy industry good and plant-based sector bad." You don't really have a good understanding of what you're talking about.
Have you any idea how rich and powerful the meat/dairy industry is, and how much they lobby governments?? As you say, "if you follow the money", you'll find out.....
Who do you think is responsible for most of the deforestation in the Amazon?
You might be happy to ignore the ethics, but I am not.
Paper where the BBC figure was taken from:
https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdfHere's some information on water usage:
The hidden water resource use behind meat and dairy
"
The consumption of animal products contributes to more than one-quarter of the water footprint of humanity.
The water needed to produce feed is the major factor behind the water footprint of animal products. Reviewing feed composition and the origin of feed ingredients is essential to find ways to reduce the water footprint of meat and dairy.
The water footprint of any animal product is larger than the water footprint of a wisely chosen crop product with equivalent nutritional value.
In industrialized countries, moving toward a vegetarian diet can reduce the food-related water footprint of people by 36%.
Reducing the water footprint of meat and dairy requires an international approach and product transparency along the full supply chain of animal products."
"The global water footprint of animal production amounts to 2,422 billion m3/year (87% green, 6% blue, 7% gray). One-third of this total is related to beef cattle, and another 19% is related to dairy cattle (Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010). The largest fraction (98%) of the water footprint of animal products refers to the water footprint of the feed for the animals. Drinking water for the animals, service water, and feed mixing water account for 1.1, 0.8, and 0.03%, respectively"
https://academic.oup.com/af/article/2/2/3/4638610?login=true