Oat Milk Ice Cream for the Win

Breyer’s Oat Milk Vanilla Ice Cream is the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had, while oat cream and oat milk are the very best additions to coffee — far better than dairy.

But are oat milk products environmentally better than dairy milk, and if so, by how much?

It turns out the answer is YES, and by a WHOLE LOT.

Oat milk requires roughly 90–99% less land to produce the same volume of cow’s milk. To put it another way, dairy uses 10 to 11.5 times more land than oat milk to produce the same volume of milk

Beyond land, oat milk production is far more sustainable, using significantly less water, producing less waste, and bypassing all kinds of public health and animal welfare cautions, from antibiotic loads to the pain and suffering of lame and sick animals.

How about calories?  Oat milk and dairy milk have comparable calories, typically ranging from 100–130 per cup for oat milk and 90–150 for dairy. While similar in calories, oat milk is generally higher in carbohydrates and lower in protein and fat compared to whole cow's milk.  Looking for a lower calorie substitute fir dairy milk?  Try almond milk, which is available at just 30 calories a cup, and which is a perfect substitute in most cases.