Dairy cheese major cause of carbon emissions, shows major new study

A life cycle evaluation used to determine environmental impacts, including indicators for climate impact and land use, has revealed that switching to plantbased cheese could lower your associated climate impact by at least 50 per cent.

The research, carried out by sustainability consultancy Quantis (quantis.com), found that popular dairy cheese varieties such as cheddar, mozzarella, feta and parmesan yield between 6.4 and 13.4kog carbon dioxide (eq) per kilo over their life cycle. By comparison, the climate impacts of Violife vegan alternatives to dairy cheese are substantially lower, and create at least 3.7kg less carbon dioxide per kilo: the equivalent to driving a car almost seven miles.

Sally Smith, Director of Sustainability for Upfield, owner of Violife, said: “There’s a clear appetite among the public for more information about what we eat and how it affects the planet, but the environmental impact of dairy often slips under the radar. Our research found that if an average UK household of four switched from dairy cheese to Violife vegan alternative cheese for a year, they could save the equivalent CO2 emissions as they would driving a car 173 miles – roughly the same distance as London to Sheffield.”

The findings come as a survey of

2000 adults revealed that while many are interested in the impact of cheese production on the environment, one in three don’t understand the connection between food production and greenhouse gas emissions.