Sometimes it feels like everything you are buying is somehow bad for the climate and so for planet. And yes, it often is. Take food, which is responsible for a quarter of world's greenhouse gas emissions and most of that comes from cattle farm. But some choices can be better than others.

Now have a look on plant based milks. It is ethical and healthy alternative to cow's milk. You might be thinking that plant based milks are just for rich vegan population, but they're not. Plant based milks have even broader appeal as most youngsters don't have the enzyme to properly digest the lactose present in cow's milk.

But there are several plant milks available in the market to choose from. The problem with rice milk is that rice production consumes a large amount of water. Rice is basically grown in flooded fields where bacteria releases methane into atmosphere. Paddy is the largest methane producers in the world after cattles. Therefore, rice milk is bad for the climate than other plant based milks. Then, there is almond milk. It has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions but has a small carbon footprint because nut trees are expending on to crop fields and sucking carbon dioxide out of the surroundings. But problem with almond milk is that it consumes massive amount of water for production. Another one is soy milk.  It is one of the most environment friendly milk you can find in the market. It is responsible for less carbon dioxide production than rice milk and uses less water than almond milk. What about oat milk? Oats are quite easy to grow without damaging the planet. They don't take much water to grow and their emissions are small.

Now you might be wondering about the health impacts of all plant based milks. The biggest question for these milks is whether they're as nutritious as cow's milk or not. Cow milk has more protein and nutrients than any plant milk, with the exception of soy milk, which is actually very higher in protein.

Well, oat and soy milk have the smallest environmental impact. They take little water to grow and have low emissions as well. Rice milk is not great on any measure, while almond milk kills bees and requires more water. But compared to cow's milk the difference between these vegan milks are pretty small.

So what's your idea about these environment friendly plant based milks? Do let me know in the comments.