You Asked: Coffee vs Tea, Milk Choices & The Bioplastic Myth

Welcome to another This or That episode!

I break down the least impactful options from things you’ve been asking about.

This episode is actually a repost, because some of you have sent in these questions - clearly, we all have choices that keep us up at night. And often, what we expect isn’t actually the truth!

In this week’s selection we have tea vs. coffee, and which is worse for the environment, what the best and worst options are for the milk you use with your drink, and finally, what exactly are bioplastics? And, whether we should even be using them...

Transcript

Kia ora kaitiaki and welcome back. Today we have another This or That for you. These are some everyday decisions that might seem really small, but as we know, when they add up, they add up to a big impact on the environment.

We're looking at coffee versus tea, two of the world's biggest favorite drinks, of course, and which one might be better for the planet. Then we're going to have a look at milk options for that tea or coffee from dairy to oat and everything in between. And yeah, you probably know the answer to this one already. But then I'm going to have a chat about biodegradable plastics because so many people ask me about them. It's way more complicated than it sounds, but it's also way worse than you think it is.

So let's start easy with tea or coffee. I'm proud to say that I gave up coffee and it turns out that actually it was having no impact on my life at all and it doesn't give me energy whatsoever. So I don't miss it, but I am English. So tea is in my blood, which is good because it turns out that tea is infinitely better for the environment than coffee is.

So if we look at coffee, it's already got a reputation for having a heavier environmental impact, right? It's typically grown in tropical climates. Its production often involves deforestation, high water use, and significant greenhouse gas emissions. So to give you an idea, it takes about 140 litres of water to produce one cup of coffee. That accounts for growing, processing, and transportation of the beans. And that one cup of coffee will also emit around 60 grams of carbon dioxide.

On top of that, climate change is actually already affecting coffee production because yes, spoiler alert, climate change is already here. Coffee is mainly grown as either Arabica or Robusta beans. Arabica, which is considered the higher quality coffee, is more sensitive to temperature changes because of course it is. As global temperatures are rising and weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable, it's getting harder and harder to grow this coffee in traditional regions.

And in fact, we've got studies that are predicting that by 2050, which is really not that far away, about half of the land currently used for coffee farming will be unsuitable for growing those beans. Which means farmers will need to switch to more resilient species like the Robusta, but that comes with its own environmental challenges and unfortunately challenges for your palate.

But if we look at tea, it has a much lighter footprint. Growing tea requires far less water, it's about 35 litres per cup, which is still massive, don't get me wrong, but way lower than coffee. Tea plantations also don't result in the same level of deforestation as coffee farms, and the emissions from tea are lower as well, typically around 20 grams of CO2 per cup. That's about a third of what a cup of coffee produces.

But of course, tea bags contain microplastics. So if you are choosing tea, loose leaf is the best option, or at least try and find plastic-free tea bags. I know that Trade Aid does them. If you're looking for a great tea leaf option, Pick His Pocket, who are an Aotearoa-owned organisation, are a fab choice because they use Fairtrade tea.

So, I mean, this one's easy. Tea is the clear winner. Lower emissions, less water use, and fewer environmental impacts overall. Especially if you go for loose leaf. And please, please, please, if you can, go for Fairtrade. It makes all the difference in the world.

But if you really want to stick with coffee, you can still make a difference by choosing fair trade or shade-grown options, which help reduce deforestation and support more sustainable farming practices.

Okay, you have your tea or your coffee. What milk do you choose? If you drink your tea or coffee black, well, I mean statistically, you're more likely to be a psychopath. So no judgment, but just saying. But if you prefer milk, what is the most sustainable option?

Let's talk about dairy first. Now, just because someone is talking about the environmental impact of an agricultural product does not mean they are anti-farmer. I have an incredible depth of respect for farmers. They quite literally produce the food we eat. They have an incredibly difficult job.

But unfortunately, dairy is without question the worst milk option for the planet. Cow's milk is really resource intensive, especially in terms of water and land use. Now, brace yourself, it takes about 1,050 litres of water to produce 1 litre of cow's milk. 1,050! And on top of that, dairy farming is one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in agriculture.

As we know, agriculture is a huge contributor to climate change, and this is mainly due to the methane produced by cows. In terms of emissions, dairy milk produces about 3.2 kg of carbon dioxide per litre. There are also concerns about fertiliser runoff from dairy farms, which if you're from Aotearoa, you'll be very familiar with because a lot of our freshwater systems have nitrate problems.

This is caused by fertiliser runoff from farms, which leads to nutrient pollution in waterways, which causes algal blooms and then harms aquatic ecosystems. Nitrates in water is actually very bad for you and is potentially one of the reasons that bowel cancer rates are increasing too, as an FYI. Obviously, there is the ethical side. Intensive dairy farming, which isn't something that happens as much in Aotearoa, but certainly offshore, definitely raises concerns about animal welfare.

The next most popular is almond milk. Yes, I say almond because it has an L, not an R, but that's a debate we can get into at a later date. Almonds might sound like a lighter option, but growing almonds is super water intensive, and we grow them in one of the driest areas in the world, so good choice. It takes about 370 litres of water to grow enough almonds for just one litre of almond milk, and most of these are grown in California. Renowned for its droughts, so it kind of raises concerns about the sustainability of large scale almond farming.

Additionally, there's a lot of pesticide use in these orchards, which of course leads to runoff. And of course, they have to truck in bees for pollination. And unfortunately, this can be pretty harmful for the bees with up to 30 to 40% of them dying every time. Almond milk absolutely has a lot of carbon footprint than dairy, but it's water use and pesticide impact. I think it makes it a pretty bad option, personally.

If we have a look at soy milk, this is where the Amazon comes into play. Everyone gets excited and says, ah, but the Amazon is being cut down for soy. Not really true. Well, it is true, but not for the reasons you think, because 98% of the soy that is grown in the Amazon is fed to livestock for meat production. Soy is actually a pretty efficient crop when it comes to water and land use. It takes only about 28 litres of water to produce one litre of soy, so that's obviously much less than the other two we've spoken about so far. In terms of emissions, soy milk is much lower, coming in at around one kg per litre, but it does have the deforestation associated with it.

If you are drinking soy milk, make sure you check where it's grown and make sure it's sustainably sourced. Australia grows a lot of soy, that's a great choice.

And finally, we have oat milk. Now, oat milk is the predominant plant milk, right? People consider it to be the most environmentally friendly plant-based milk, and they're not wrong. It uses far less water than both almond and dairy milk, which is about 48 litres per litre of oat milk. And in terms of emissions, it's one of the lowest as well at about 0.9 kgs per litre.

Oats are typically grown in cooler climates and they don't require as much land or pesticides, so they're easier to grow in a lot of places. But of course, it does still involve the use of synthetic fertilisers, which can contribute to runoff into waterways. Although, apparently, this is less intense compared to other crops. Oat milk also doesn't face the same ethical concerns as soy in terms of deforestation or dairy in terms of animal welfare. So it's a pretty solid choice.

Now, yes, there are some newer milk options out there like hemp, coconut, and rice, but there's not enough LCAs or life cycle analysis data there to give a full comparison. While they may be good options, I just don't have enough information to evaluate their environmental impact for you. But I'm sure that will come. Personally, I cannot stand coconut milk. It just gives me the ick. Rice milk feels kind of pointless to me. But I've never had a chance to try hemp. That's on the list. I have tried potato milk. And I will say that is the only thing where potato just does not shine. It was absolutely vile. Which surprised me because potato can do no wrong.

So oat milk takes the crown here. Low water footprint, minimal emissions and fewer land use concerns. Soy milk was probably a close runner up, but definitely check that sourcing. As for almond and dairy milk, if you can, skip them.

Finally, the big one for today. Bioplastics. There's a lot of buzz around bioplastics, right, and people are getting really excited. But frankly, it's just another form of greenwashing and it's driving me mad. So let's break it down. Ha, a pun, because of course that's what plastic doesn't do. Sorry.

OK, first, let's talk about normal plastics. These are obviously made from fossil fuels like natural gas, which is non-renewable and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The big issue is of course what happens after we use them. Normal plastic takes hundreds of years to break down and of course it doesn't really break down, it breaks up. They don't decompose, they fragment into microplastics, which ends up in our oceans, in our wildlife and even our own bodies. Because don't forget, microplastics have now been found in every single person sampled, even in people that are by and large untouched by the Western lifestyle. It's been found in balls, it's in testicles, it's been found in brains, hearts. It's a little bit terrifying.

Globally, only around 9% of plastic is actually recycled. I know all these people in the comments shouting at me saying that their bottle will be recycled. Statistically, no it won't. Just because it can be, doesn't mean it will be. Most of it ends up polluting the planet, clogging landfills and getting in our oceans.

So surely bioplastics are a better option? Well, no, not really. There's kind of two types of bioplastics, right? Plastics that are biobased, so they come from a biological source, or biodegradable plastics, but they are not the same thing.

So if we look at an example, PLA, which is polylactic acid, is usually made from cornstarch, so it's a biobased, it comes from a plant. But it does not break down naturally. PLA is called compostable, but it only degrades under specific conditions. And typically, these are only found in industrial composting facilities with high heat and specific microbes. If it ends up in a landfill, it will take just as long to break up into those little microplastics behaving much like conventional plastic. And in your home compost, it's not gonna do anything.

Bioplastics are often marketed as being better for the planet, but they're not. Many of them don't break down in the natural environment, but even those that do still release microplastics if they're not decomposed properly.

As for biodegradable plastics, the research on them is a little bit gray. So there's something called PVOH, basically polyvinyl alcohol. This is the stuff that dissolves in water. It's the stuff that your dishwashing tablets are wrapped in, for example.

Now, one study has shown that these actually just degrade into microplastics when they're not treated properly through water treatment systems. But that study was done by a company called Blueland, who are absolutely financially incentivized to find this conclusion, because they are anti-PVOH. They are anti these water-soluble plastics. So it's a commercial decision for them.

So can we rely on that research? Let's take it with a grain of salt. But the issue is, I don't think we know enough about these water-soluble plastics to know for certain they don't cause these issues. There is other research out there that says that in most situations they are okay. I am of the belief that let's use them sparingly until we know more for sure.

But the bigger issue for me is that bioplastics are sold as the eco-friendly option when really they're just shifting the problem. We've all seen those fricking cups with the green writing on the outside saying, I'm made of plants. Air New Zealand is a worst one for this. It means absolutely nothing.

But I can hear you saying, okay, fine. They all end up in the same place and they don't break down, but surely making something out of plants versus oil is better? No, not necessarily, because growing crops for bioplastics takes up lots of land and resources that could be used for food production. So it actually leads to a greater environmental strain.

We do not have enough land on the planet to produce enough bioplastic for the amount of plastic that we use. Large scale bioplastic production would compete with food production, would lead to more deforestation and habitat loss and biodiversity destruction, all in the name of producing so-called green plastic that still ends up behaving exactly like the regular stuff.

So this one isn't really a this or that. It's not bioplastics versus traditional plastics. It's no plastic at all. Because bioplastics are not the solution to our plastic problem. They're just a different kind of plastic with a cute green label slapped on. It is classic greenwashing.

As we know, the best thing we can do is reduce our reliance on single-use plastic altogether. Get your reusables, recycle when you can, of course, and focusing on home compostable materials are better options. Although, of course, just to bear in mind that even if it is compostable, single use is still not a good option. So don't get fooled by the bio in bioplastic. It's still plastic and it's all a big scam.

So there you have it. Short and sweet episode today. I'm going to go enjoy an oat milk tea in a normal cup, of course, not a disposable cup. But as always, remember, it's not about being perfect. Once you know better, you can do better. And it's about making informed choices that are better for the planet.

Because at the end of the day, our individual choices aren't going to save the planet, sure, but they do make a difference. And they are a great stepping stone to making you feel a little bit better about the state of our planet. Because action is the antidote to apathy.

So I will see you next week. Kia ora.