Dealing with Dairy Part 3: Yogurt
For a short intro to “dairy”, check out the first installment of this series here.
What is yogurt? Yogurt (also called “yoghurt”, “yogourt”, or “yoghourt” depending on where you live) is a product of the bacterial fermentation of milk. More specifically, yogurt is the result of the fermentation of milk lactose, a process that produces the lactic acid that gives milk proteins the thick texture we’ve come to associate with yogurt, as well as the sour/tart flavor characteristic of unflavored, plain yogurts. As with many fermented foods, the origins of yogurt are thought to trace back to an accidental inoculation of milk with bacteria, as long as 7000 years ago in Mesopotamia. “In ancient Indian records, the combination of yogurt and honey is called ‘the food of the gods’” (I can attest to this). Throughout its long history, yogurt has existed in many cultures as a dietary staple, and even medicine.
Human’s consumption of dairy products (including milk and cheese) is estimated to have begun over 10,000 years ago, however its global ubiquity as an industrial product began in the late 19th century as pasteurization, production infrastructure, and promotion from dairy industry and supporting governments (regarding versatility and supposed health benefits) gained significant traction.
Dairy products have been an important asset to many communities/cultures/civilizations for millennia, both as a dietetic resource and an economic one. However, as is often the case, the most significant issues with dairy and the dairy industry are in relation to the current scales of production and consumption. As dairy production has scaled up, issues arise with regard to environmental impact and personal health.
In recent decades, dairy alternatives have risen in popularity and there are more options in many markets than ever before. In most cases, these are products derived from nuts, legumes, or grains, which have been processed and manipulated in ways that allow it to mimic the consistency/form (milk, cheese, cream, yogurt, butter) and flavor of dairy products. For people who consume dairy frequently, these alternatives can act as a way to mitigate health concerns associated with dairy products, reduce the impact their consumption may have on the environment, or simply provide a lactose-free product that still satisfied their needs/desires. Additionally, for those concerned with the morality of using animal products, these products provide an opportunity to use/consume dairy products without having to use animals as an industrial resource. However, not all dairy alternatives are created equal, and its important to understand how all of these choices, including traditional dairy, actually compare in terms of environmental impact, health, effectiveness as a food or culinary ingredient, affordability, and accessibility. In this article we seek to outline the different aspects and issues associated with dairy production, and work through different alternative options and how they compare to help you make the most informed decision you can.
With so many different metrics through which you can compare dairy products, we’ve decided to separate the discussion into 5 key topics. While we encourage you to read and assess all of the information (in addition to going out and learning more on your own), now is a good time to begin thinking about what kinds of metrics you place the most value on!
Environment
Environmental issues regarding the dairy industry are primarily based around resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). In terms of resources, it takes on average, nearly 144 gallons of water to “produce” one gallon of consumer-ready milk. Additionally, in the US, we allocate nearly 10% of our available agricultural land solely to produce crops intended to feed our cattle. To put that into perspective, that’s enough land to feed our nearly 10 million cattle 100 pounds of food per day (while the average person eats only 3-5 pounds per day). In terms of GHGs, livestock account for roughly 14.5% (of which, Cattle contribute approximately 65%) of the global GHG emissions annually. To put that into perspective, that’s approximately the same as the amount emitted by all of the cars, trucks, airplanes, and ships on our earth combined. It’s important to note that these statistics vary across countries, depending on which country you’re assessing (however, the above statistics regarding the US dairy industry are of lower impact than the global average).
Dairy-free yogurt alternatives are composed of a wide-variety of ingredients. Yogurt alternatives (of every variety) often include nuts, oils, as well as various types of starches. These ingredients add flavor, texture, and offer various degrees of stabilization (by that we mean they help hold the product together in a way that mimics the structure of dairy yogurts). However, these nuts, oils, and starches are not all created equal, and understanding which of these ingredients may be more impactful to the environment can help you make a more informed choice while shopping. Here’s a rundown of some common ingredients:
Coconut Oil
As one of the more environmentally friendly oils at face value (in terms of resources needed for production and processing), this is on which your diligence in seeking out the best producers can make a big difference! While some of the more environmentally conscious producers are farming with sustainable practices and paying their workers a living wage, many producers are clearing large areas of forest, using huge amounts of pesticides, and shortchanging the communities who rely on their businesses. So, we encourage you to buy organic, and buy fair-trade! It may be a couple of dollars more expensive than the alternatives, but those couple of dollars can make a big difference.
Canola Oil
Canola Oil can have considerable negative impacts on the environment, however, like Coconut Oil, there are many producers that engage in highly sustainable practices, meaning that again, your diligence in seeking out the best producers can make a big difference!
Tapioca
While tapioca does require a considerable amount of water and energy in its production (growth and processing of the cassava plant, drying of the fibers and further processing into a flour), the impacts pale in comparison to that of dairy yogurt.
Almonds
As shown in our last article, almonds requires a considerable amount of water in their production, and should be avoided when choosing alternative products if possible!
Cashews
These are a very commonly used nut in the production of alternative cheeses, and their environmental impact is on the lower-side with respect to all nuts, with regard to water and land usage, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.
Soy
Soy, while in the middle tier of nuts with regard to embodied carbon emissions, fair substantially better than dairy, and performs quite well with regard to water and land usage (As shown in our last article). That being said, soy, in many cases, can be produced in unsustainable manners, and result in large amounts of deforestation. For this reason we recommend you shop for organic soy products, and research the companies and countries with which they’re associated!
Flax
Interestingly enough, Flaxseed cultivation has shown to have a positive impact on agricultural lands as they can improve soil structure when incorporated into crop rotations, require little-to-no pesticides/herbicides, do not require/consume huge amounts of nutrients from the soil, and have relatively low water demands.
Pea Protein
Peas fair incredibly well when it comes to land usage, water usage, and greenhouse gas emissions, not just in comparison to dairy but in comparison to other legumes! While the processing of them into protein isolates does require a fair amount of energy, peas are still considered one of the more environmentally conscious alternatives when it comes to your dairy alternative (as well as protein alternative)!
So, with all of that in mind, our overall recommendation with regard to the environmental impact of your choice is as follows: If you consume yogurt products regularly, we recommend choosing dairy-free products that exclude canola oil, as well as almonds; If you consume yogurt only on occasion, we encourage you to explore both dairy and dairy-free products!
Health
Prior to the industrialization of food, small-scale dairy operations served an important role in providing communities with proteins, fats, calories, and nutrients that may have been otherwise difficult to fully satisfy. However, as industrialization spread throughout all factions of our global food system, our need for dairy as a dietary staple decreased, but our ability to find and consume it sharply increased. As with the environmental impacts, health-related issues regarding dairy consumption are exacerbated by overconsumption. Frequent consumption of dairy products may offer an excess of calories, saturated fats, and undesirable hormones. Additionally, with over 60% of the world population possessing some degree of lactose intolerance, frequent consumption of dairy can cause mild or significant bodily inflammation and digestive issues.
However, yogurt is a particularly interesting dairy product in the context of health. As we previously mentioned, the fermented nature of the product offers a variety of live cultures (or “probiotics”) which can greatly benefit your gut microbiota (or “gut health”, which essentially just means that the live bacteria in your digestive system are active and balanced). Additionally, the processing done by this fermentation makes yogurt (particularly greek-style yogurt) very high in protein and variety of nutrients.
That being said, dairy alternatives offer avenues through which you can avoid some or all of the potential health-related risks of traditional dairy. However, they are certainly not all created equal.
As we previously stated, the wealth of yogurt replacement products typically include a large number of ingredients, so, first a foremost, we recommend looking at the ingredients and nutritional information on the back of the product. While individual needs may vary with regard to fats, sodium, carbohydrates, and protein intake, avoiding added sugars as well as saturated fats when possible is commonly regarded as best practice. That being said, in the absence of nutritional information, here are some quick comparisons between common ingredients:
When choosing between Almond, Cashew, Soy, and Pea based products, from a health perspective, It really depends what you’re after. If you are looking for a punch of protein, Peas are typically your best bet, with Soy as a close second. If you’re interested in a low-calorie option with tons of fiber, Almonds are probably your best bet. When choosing between Canola Oil and Coconut Oil, Canola Oil is typically preferred. While each oil contains a variety of different nutrients, what really sets them apart is their composition with regard to saturated and unsaturated fats. Canola Oil is primarily composed of unsaturated fats, while Coconut Oil is almost entirely composed of saturated fats. While Coconut Oil has had a resurgence in the health world due to the specific type of saturated fat it is composed of (MCTs, which are harder to break down into stored fats in the body), popular science still considers it a risk to individuals with high cholesterol.
How does this compare to dairy yogurt? In actuality, due to the high content of fatty oils and nuts, as well as sodium, sugar, and other additives to improve flavor, many alternative yogurt products are not significantly healthier (if at all) than most dairy yogurts. We emphasize the word “significantly” here, many yogurt alternatives are lower in calories and fat than their dairy alternatives, but this difference must be considered on a case by case basis and is amplified by the role of yogurt in your day to day diet. Similarly to our statement earlier : If you consume yogurt products regularly, we recommend choosing dairy-free products that exclude coconut oils and cashews; If you consume yogurt only on occasion, we encourage you to explore both dairy and dairy-free products!
Quality of Product
As with most “replacement” products, what one product might get right, another might get completely wrong. Yogurt alternatives have many common “issues”. If you’ve tried a variety of them before, you’ll know what I mean. Many have a “gelatinous” quality (which can be a huge bummer when what you wanted was a luxuriously creamy bowl of yogurt but instead you got a reflective, jiggly mass akin to some sort of space-food), others may curdle in unsettling ways (though it’s rarely an indicator of the product having spoiled, no one, and I mean no one, wants their yogurt to look or feel like cottage cheese), and many are surrounded by water that has separated from the rest of the product (though, to be honest, dairy yogurt does this at times as well, its equally as unsettling and maybe shouldn’t be counted against the alternative products). That being said, many newer products are doing amazing things to offer not just delicious flavor, but comparable texture.
If your main use of yogurt is to eat it straight-up or simply with some accompanying garnish (be it fruit or granola), here are some of our favorite picks:
Good Karma Dairy Free Flaxmilk Yogurt
Stonyfield Organic Dairy Free Soy or Coconut Milk Yogurt
Silk Dairy Free Soy Yogurt
So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk Yogurt
However, yogurt is often used in a variety of other forms. This could be a yogurt-based sauce of the Middle East or the Mediterranean, a creamy salad dressing, or a substitute for mayonnaise or sour cream (on something like a baked potato). In these contexts, alternatives can be difficult to use and I would warn to proceed with caution. These applications of yogurt rely on several really important factors. These include the stable and creamy texture of dairy yogurt, its distinct tanginess (from the lactic acid), and it high content of easily emulsifiable milk-fats. The loss of any of these factors can yield an effect far from what you originally intended. That being said, we never wish to deter your own creativity and ambition, nor do we claim that there aren’t any products that can get the job done! We simply encourage you to use products you’re familiar with and to make sure they’re unflavored! No one wants a vanilla baked potato... ok maybe some of you, who knows...
Price
Due to number of ingredients involved, as well as the processing required to combine them all into a cohesive product, yogurt alternatives are typically more expensive than their dairy counterparts. This difference is reduced when compared to Greek yogurt products, but when comparing non-Greek yogurts and their alternatives, the non-dairy version are typically priced 1.5 to 2 times as high (so while a 5.3oz container of dairy yogurt might cost ~$1.00, the same size of a non-dairy product might cost between $1.50 and $2.00, though sometimes even more). If price is a limitation but you don’t consume dairy often, or if price is not a consideration for you, then the dairy-alternative might be right for you! However, if you consume dairy often and are shopping on a budget, choosing the dairy-alternatives might be uneconomical for you. We recognize what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another, so we encourage you to do what works for you!
Availability
Most grocery stores these days will have at least a handful of alternative options. That being said, as we mentioned earlier, not all replacements are made equal, and finding a truly delicious and versatile product might require a trip to a local health-foods market, or a larger health-food grocery chain like WholeFoods or Trader Joes.
As we mentioned in the beginning of this article, there are a number of metrics that each individual can use to weigh their options before making a decision, based on what is most important to them and what fits into their lifestyle. We’ve tried to shed some light on a handful of notable comparisons between traditional dairy yogurt and a variety of common alternatives. While comparisons regarding environmental impact, health, culinary use, price, and availability may be important to you, we encourage you to follow your curiosity and explore more information about the food you eat, where it comes from, and how it plays into the larger picture of our food systems. In this same vein of curiosity, we encourage you to actually go out and experiment with different products! Topics regarding health and environmental impact are difficult to understand without pursuing outside resources like this article, but understanding prices and how these products work for you on an individual level in your own kitchen are factors that you will largely have to explore on your own!
Additionally, as we mentioned earlier, we encourage you to factor in your frequency of use when considering what option is best for you. Impacts are all relative, and should be considered as such.
Finally, we hope that rather than adding any complication or anxiety to your navigation through our food systems and your food choices, this article can be used as a tool to help you comfortably make decisions that are right for you on a daily basis.