Dairy Alternatives and Animal Welfare

Plant-based dairy alternatives offer significant animal welfare benefits by replacing products associated with high welfare costs.

Key Facts

The dairy industry involves calf separation, extended lactation, lameness, and other significant welfare concerns
Plant-based milk alternatives including oat, almond, and soy milk have grown by over 300 percent in a decade
Life cycle analyses show plant-based milks have lower welfare costs than dairy across most metrics
Nutritional equivalence with dairy is achievable with fortified plant-based alternatives for most consumers
Fermentation-based dairy proteins are emerging that may allow traditional dairy products without farmed animals

Welfare Considerations

Replacing dairy with plant-based alternatives is one of the highest-impact individual actions available for reducing farm animal suffering. The welfare issues in dairy production — from calf separation to chronic lameness and mastitis — affect billions of animals. Consumer shift toward plant-based dairy drives proportional reduction in these harms.

What You Can Do

Trial plant-based milk alternatives and find types that work for your taste and uses
Progressively reduce dairy consumption as a welfare and environmental action
Choose fortified plant-based alternatives to maintain nutritional intake
Support investment in fermentation-based dairy alternatives
Advocate for plant-based alternatives to be offered in schools, hospitals, and public institutions