Cow's milk vs plant-based milk

Cow's milk and plant-based drinks: two food categories

In the chilled or grocery aisle, cow's milk and drinks made from soy, oat, almond or rice look alike in use: you drink them, pour them on cereal, and cook with them.

This article compares their composition, explains why "milk" cannot be used for a plant-based product on the label, and gives benchmarks for choosing without misconceptions. For one particular plant, see alsoSoy: friend or foe?.

Composition: what the labels say

To compare, we looked at the values declared per 100 g or 100 ml on products sold in France in the Yumiq product database (powered by Open Food Facts). These aremediansacross several hundred references per type, not official values. I was unable to consult the ANSES Ciqual composition table, which was unavailable for maintenance when this was written.

• Semi-skimmed cow's milk: about 3.2 g of protein, 4.8 g of carbohydrates (lactose), 1.6 g of lipids and 120 mg of calcium.
• Whole cow's milk: about 3.3 g of protein, 4.8 g of carbohydrates, 3.6 g of lipids.
• Soy drink: about 3.3 g of protein, 4 g of carbohydrates including 3.4 g of sugars, 1.9 g of lipids.
• Oat drink: about 0.8 g of protein, 7.5 g of carbohydrates including 4.5 g of sugars, 1.4 g of lipids.
• Almond drink: about 0.7 g of protein, 3 g of carbohydrates including 2.5 g of sugars, 1.9 g of lipids.
• Rice drink: about 0.4 g of protein, 11 g of carbohydrates including 5.5 g of sugars, 1.1 g of lipids.

The main finding:only soy comes close to cow's milk for protein. Oat, almond and rice provide very little of it. Conversely, oat and rice are richer in carbohydrates. Be aware that these sugars are not necessarily added: processing cereals releases them naturally. However, some products contain added sugar (sugar, syrup) as an ingredient, which only the ingredient list can reveal.

These medians hide large differences from one brand to another: almond or oat content, presence of oil, sugar, calcium. Always compare the sheet of the product you are buying, not the category.

"Milk" or "plant-based drink": what the law says

On the label, you will not see "soy milk" on a product sold in the European Union. The name "almond milk" (like "coconut milk") is, however, on the list of exceptions in Decision 2010/791/EU. For marketing and advertising, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in principle reserves the name "milk" for milk of animal origin. The terms "cream", "butter", "cheese" and "yogurt" are likewise reserved for products derived from milk.

In a judgment of 14 June 2017 (case C-422/16, TofuTown), the Court of Justice of the European Union confirmed this reading for purely plant-based products. It added that specifying the plant origin, as in "soy milk" or "tofu butter", changes nothing: the name remains prohibited, unless the product appears on the list of exceptions, which is not the case for soy or tofu. Among the exceptions cited by the Court is "crème de riz" in French.

Hence the common wording:"soy drink","oat drink","plant-based drink".

Calcium and vitamins: the value of fortification

Cow's milk is naturally a source of calcium, with about 120 mg per 100 ml in our database. A plant-based drink does not naturally contain as much. Manufacturers therefore often add some, sometimes with vitamins, and the "calcium-enriched" claim then appears on the front of the pack.

In our database, at leasta quarter of soy drinksand between14% and 16%of oat, almond and rice drinks state a calcium content of 120 mg per 100 ml or more, which is close to semi-skimmed milk. The others do not specify it, or contain little. If you use a plant-based drink as yourmain milk substitute, choosing a calcium-enriched version is therefore particularly worthwhile.

Sugars, oils, thickeners: read the ingredient list

A plain plant-based drink can consist of two or three ingredients: water, plant, sometimes salt. Many recipes are longer. Depending on the brand, you may find:

• somesugar or syrup, sometimes under a less obvious name, added to the naturally present sugars;
• someoil(sunflower, rapeseed), which adds texture;
• somethickeners and stabilisers: gums (gellan gum, guar gum, for example) or carrageenans (E407);
• someflavourings, especially in vanilla or chocolate versions.

In our database, carrageenan is found in aboutone soy drink in five, compared with only a few percent for oat, almond and rice. And about a quarter to a third of drinks mention a gum, a carrageenan or gellan in their ingredient list.

In Yumiq, the product page shows the number of detected additives and sorts them into harmless, to watch or risky. The Yumiq-Score penalises controversial additives assessed by EFSA and ANSES, and the Yumiq star requires the absence of risky additives.

Dairy consumption benchmarks

In France, the adult PNNS benchmarks, set by the High Council for Public Health (HCSP) in 2017 based on ANSES work, recommend2 dairy products per day. Reference portions are 150 ml of milk, 125 g of yogurt or 30 g of cheese. This number can rise to three per day if the portions are smaller.

These benchmarks apply to dairy products. A plant-based drink is not counted as one: it is therefore not an automatic equivalent, hence the value of added calcium if you replace dairy products.

Special cases: intolerance, allergy and infants

• Lactose intolerance: the problem comes from milk sugar, not from proteins. Lactose-free cow's milk exists, and it remains cow's milk; plant-based drinks contain none of it. Advice from a healthcare professional helps you choose.
• Cow's milk protein allergy: it requires total avoidance of milk and dairy products, on medical advice. In infants, specific formulas are used, prescribed by a doctor.
• Infants: plant-based drinks are notinfant milks.

On this last point, ANSES's position is clear. In its opinion published in 2013, the agency states that plant-based drinks, sometimes sold as "plant milks", are not suitable for infants under one year and cannot replace breast milk or infant formula. An insufficient intake of energy, proteins, fats, minerals or vitamins can affect growth and, in the most serious cases, lead to severe malnutrition. ANSES then recommends a growing-up milk after one year. For these cases, medical advice is what matters.

Environment: a clear advantage for plant-based drinks

On this point, the data are fairly clear. According to Our World in Data, which draws on the meta-analysis by Poore and Nemecek (2018, Science, more than 38,000 farms in 119 countries), cow's milk is responsible for aboutthree times more greenhouse gas emissionsper litre than plant-based alternatives, and uses aboutten times more land. Among plant milks, almond produces fewer greenhouse gases and uses less land than soy.

These are global averages; the exact values per litre, shown in an interactive chart, could not be read.

Key takeaways

• Read the label: composition and ingredient list vary more between two brands than between two categories.
• Choose no added sugar, ideally with a short ingredient list.
• If the drink replaces milk, choose one enriched with calcium.Soy is the closest to milk for protein.
• Never a plant-based drink in place of infant milkbefore one year.
• Dairy products remain within the French benchmarks, but plant-based drinks have a lower environmental impact.

Sources

• Court of Justice of the European Union - Press release No 63/17, case C-422/16 TofuTown, 14 June 2017
• Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 on the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (EUR-Lex)
• HCSP - Opinion of 16 February 2017 on the revision of the dietary benchmarks for adults (PNNS 2017-2021)
• ANSES - Milk for infants under one year of age (2013)
• Our World in Data - Dairy vs. plant-based milk: what are the environmental impacts?
• Poore and Nemecek - Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers (Science, 2018)
• Open Food Facts - collaborative database of food products