Coffee can be produced carbon neutrally, but if conventional cow's milk is used in cappuccino, its impact on the environmental balance is much greater. So what to do? Should we stop drinking cow's milk and only drink plant-based alternatives? We made a documentary film about it.
Whether it's espresso-based milk drinks or just a dash of milk in the coffee, almost all communication about the products focuses solely on the coffee itself. After all, that's what roasteries and cafes like to highlight—the story behind the bean, the taste, and the producers.
However, if we look at the mixing ratios of these drinks, the focus on coffee in no way reflects the large proportion of milk. In a cappuccino, we have roughly one part coffee to up to five parts milk. In a latte macchiato, it's even more extreme, with almost eight times as much milk.
It's clear that for many, it's about the coffee taste, and milk can positively support the coffee. This is true for us too. At the same time, we set ourselves the standard of being as strict in our ingredient selection as we try to be with coffee.
From "Who grew the coffee" to "where exactly does this milk come from"?
Cow's milk can be produced in a highly industrial manner, as is well illustrated in this documentary - or cow's milk can be produced on medium-sized and smaller farms. If we buy milk from regional brands, or even directly marketed milk, it is much easier to get information about the origin of the milk. From "coffee origin" to "milk origin".
So, if we ask ourselves the same questions as we do for coffee, we should ask:
- Who produces our cow's milk, where, and under what conditions?
- How good/harmful is it for the climate?
- Who earns how much here?
And that's exactly what we did. I drove to Jonas Plattner in Reigoldswil, who supplies milk for our Café Frühling and the Kaffeemacher Café at Basel train station.
Jonas Plattner in the cow shed.
I was accompanied by Elias Kaiser from Metaproductions, who co-conceived and produced the film. Caroline Siefarth from Delica contextualized milk within a scientific framework, and Daniel Baertschi discussed milk in a climate context.
Dr. Caroline Siefarth, Delica
The day with Jonas felt similar to visiting a coffee farm. I tried to ask similar questions, and this overview emerged.
Small-scale organic milk production in Switzerland, using the example of Jonas Plattner, Reigoldswil, BL
The Farm
- Jonas lets his cows graze on 30ha of land
- He owns 15 cows and 1 bull
The Cows
- The cows are a dual-purpose breed: they give less milk, but more meat when they are old
- Jonas' cows live to be about 15 years old, which is very old in milk production
- the bull is part of the cow herd
- the cows give milk twice a day, about 10l per cow in total
- in one week, the cows produce about 900l
The Feed
- The cows eat only grass, and hay in winter
- Concentrated feed like soy or corn is not used; Jonas also avoids silage
The Price
- Jonas markets his organic milk exclusively directly
- we pay him 1.85 CHF/l
- in Swiss supermarkets, 1l of organic milk costs about the same
- The price paid by a dairy for organic milk in Switzerland is currently (November 2021) 80 cents/l. The price for conventional milk is about 65 cents.
- Jonas can therefore earn about 1 franc more because he markets directly
Subsidies
- Swiss agriculture is heavily subsidized
- Jonas lives almost 100% from milk sales
- In reality, however, this 100% is only 50%, because the other 50% are the subsidies he receives as a farmer
- in this respect, the true cost, subsidy-free price for 1l of organic milk from Jonas would be double, i.e. 3.70 CHF
Key statements by Caroline Siefarth
- Milk powder is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially in emerging and developing countries.
- Milk is extremely nutritious - milk fat, milk sugar, milk proteins, minerals.
- There are different types of milk foam - protein foam (voluminous and firm) and fat foam (fine-pored and glossy).
- We ingest hormones from cows. As long as we consume milk in regulated amounts, it is not at all harmful to health because we absorb and break them down quickly. Compared to hormones produced by humans, the hormones in milk are very low and diluted.
- However, more hormones can enter the milk through feed, as can antibiotic residues.
Jonas' cows have horns because that's what feels right to him.
Key statements by Daniel Baertschi
- Good milk = Ideally, the animal has only eaten grass and spent a lot of time outdoors.
- There is too much milk, especially from cows fed with concentrated feed.
- There are agricultural areas not suitable for arable farming - but excellent for cattle farming.
- “feed no food” - we have land competition; it makes little sense to grow food (on land) that is then fed to cows.
the cow is not a climate-damaging animal if it doesn't eat concentrated feed. It is part of a cycle. If the cow eats grass and is outdoors, it is not a climate culprit.
- everyone who eats is connected to agriculture
- regenerative agriculture is a system where nature is promoted again - no standard, no certification, with a focus on healthy soils
- it aims to harmonize and regenerate the ecosystem with agricultural production
Cow's Milk - Quo Vadis?
Cow's milk, and cows in particular, have increasingly become a target in climate discussions in recent years. If a cow serves as a meat supplier, it has the highest impact on greenhouse gases. If it is understood as a dual-purpose breed, serving as a milk supplier and, in old age, as a meat supplier, its CO2 footprint is smaller.
The discussion is complex.
Whether cow's milk is climate-friendly should not seem like a trivial question to us - rather, we can see opportunities to question things in everything we consume.
Especially in the coffee industry, we should do this, as we have such a strong focus on coffee and its background. We must be fair to milk and recognize the opportunities.
Alternative milk, or plant-based drinks, are not just a trend, but the best alternative for anyone who avoids cow's milk for health, ethical, or sustainability reasons. However, there are also significant differences here - soy fares worse than oats, because oats can be produced regionally. You can find a good study on this from the Albert Schweitzer Foundation here. For a good insight into greenhouse gas emissions from coffee, you can find a good graphic here at The Conversation.
