Do you eat oatmeal or yogurt for breakfast? Is your choice dependent on taste, diet or another factor? Is that other factor the environmental impact? I recently swapped out my yogurt for oatmeal to try something new. Then I looked into the comparisons of yogurt versus oatmeal beyond taste. First, the health impacts and then the environmental impacts. There’s a plethora of information on the health debate of yogurt versus oatmeal. I provided links at the bottom for you to make your own health choice. So who wins the environmental impact battle of yogurt vs. oatmeal?

My initial reaction is that oatmeal is better for the environment. Oatmeal is a plant, a grain. Yogurt is animal protein. In nearly all instances, plant-based food is better for the environment than animal based food. And it is that simple. In the battle for what’s better for the environment, oatmeal easily beats yogurt.

Environmental impacts of yogurt.

• Dairy production uses a lot of water. The global water footprint for animal agriculture is 25% of the total global water footprint. 19% of that is for dairy cattle. That’s 4.75% of our total global water footprint is for dairy cattle.
• Nearly all of that water use, 98%, is for the cow’s feed.
• Dairy production produces 4% of the total global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. That includes production, processing, transportation, and emissions.
• About half of those GHG are methane from cow farts. Yes, cow farts. A dairy factory farm with 700 cows releases 10 times the methane per day than a single fracking well.

It’s a rather simple equation. Oats are grown and then harvested into oatmeal for us to eat. To get yogurt, we need to grow grass, alfalfa, and/or corn for the cow to eat. The cows need a lot of water to drink. Then the dairy from the cows is processed into yogurt. Instead of eating the plant, we feed the plant to an animal to get another food.

For a deeper dive into the environmental impacts of various meats, check out Best Meat to Eat for the Environment.

My oatmeal recipe.

• 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats and 2/3 cup water cooked in the microwave.
• Add cut up bananas, raisins, and berries (blue or raspberry).
• Flavor with a pinch of cinnamon and a sprinkle of honey.
• Add a dusting of Orgain plant-based chocolate protein powder.
• Mix and enjoy.

Links to the health implications of yogurt vs. oatmeal.

Yogurt vs. Oatmeal from Livestrong.

Battle of the Breakfast Meals from Washingtonian

Are you an oatmeal fanatic or a yogurt aficionado? What’s your reason for eating one or the other – taste, diet, or environmental impacts?