Just thinking about how it seems like we are just starting to realize the full magnitude of how bad plastics are both for the environment and for human health%20and%20reduced%20fertility.)
Also thinking about the studies showing that cooking with gas stoves can be extremely bad for you.
What are some things you know about that aren't widely known to have similar ill effects?
Making milk substitutes like almond milk requires an insane amount of water to produce.
Not to say it's more destructive or inefficient than dairy milk or any other food production practice; it's just surprising the sheer amount of water required to both grow the almonds, and then process them into the liquid solution.
Oat milk gang. While Almond milk is a water hog, it is worth pointing out that it still uses less water than dairy milk. Interesting number crunch The primary issue with almonds is that their high water use is happening in a region (they are almost entirely grown in california) where that water is scarce. I hope more people switch to soy or oat, much better for the environment.
That being said, I hope that non-dairy milk in general gets better at packaging, since right now it's a lot of plastic and plastic-coated paper which is difficult to recycle.
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Homemade oat milk can get so slimy though, I've never gotten it to last a few days.
Coconut milk can also be made very easily at home.
Yes, I tried to be careful not to accidentally make this point in my comment. Dairy milk requires WAY MORE if you consider keeping the cow itself hydrated as part of the production process.
I have been seeing more waxed-paper containers near me (like dixie cups you can scrape the wax off with a fingernail), which is better but still not ideal imo.
Wax and paper are both biodegradable, no? What would be better?
It's not very rugged, and the wax can break down shortening shelf life
Oh I thought you meant like from a waste disposal standpoint, not a functional one. Gotcha. Yeah you don't want the carton to start breaking down before you're done with it.
Right. Like ,from an environmental perspective waxed-paper is a solid approach. But for it to be a truly excellent replacement for plastics you gotta take other things into consideration too.
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Mushrooms are the future, hard agree. You can make almost anything out of mushroom if you really want to. I remember years ago reading articles about the mushrooms that would replace leather and being super excited about that.
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I'd argue for just going back to reusable glass bottles. It's what milk used to be put in only a handful of decades ago.
Still less water than dairy cows require
Yes, I worded my comment specifically so that it would not imply that it is worse than dairy farming.