Almond Milk Is Not As Good As People Think: Unpopular Opinion

Despite its rise in popularity the past few years, let's talk about why almond milk is actually not as good, good for you or even good for the environment.

The Non-Dairy Appeal

As someone who is lactose intolerant I can absolutely see and understand the value in almond milk and have used it before or ordered it as a milk alternative at various coffee spots. However, every time I have it, I'm wishing it was something else.

Of course, not only is it a nice alternative for those like me who cannot tolerate dairy but it is also an option for vegans, those with soy allergies, and more...but there really are better options out there.

Let's Be Honest About Taste & Ingredients

One of my biggest gripes about almond milk is how watery yet also chalky it is and that is because, according to Mic, almond milk is "allegedly only 2% almond." Which automatically makes me think of that meme that says something along the lines of "almonds don't even have t**ties."

So what else is in it?

Well, Mic reports, citing Mother Jones, that when you drink almond milk, you are mostly just consuming "water, sugar, sunflower lecithin and carrageenan."

They also report the nutritional value of almond milk isn't all-that great either with 30 out of its typical 40 calories coming from fat as well as 180 mg's of sodium!

Sure, you can make your own at home, but doing that will also show you how much waste is involved in the process. Which leads us to the next issue with almond milk...

Environmental Impacts

The process of making almond milk leads to a lot of waste just in almond pulp which, I guess can be re-used for other things like being used in exfoliating products but are the big almond milk manufacturers really doing that?

Also, it takes a lot more water than you would think to make.

"As Mother Jones reported in February 2014, it takes about 1.1 gallons of water to produce a single almond," Mic says. "That's at least 25.3 gallons of water to produce a serving of almonds!"

This then can often take needed irrigation, especially during droughts, from other crops in order to keep up with the almond milk demand.