Nutritional content, protein quantity, protein quality and carbon footprint of plant-based drinks and semi-skimmed milk in the Netherlands and Europe.

Objective: To compare the nutritional composition of bovine milk and several plant-based drinks with a focus on protein and essential amino acid content and to determine the ratio of essential amino acids to greenhouse gas emission.

Design: Nutritional information on the label was extracted for semi-skimmed milk, soy, oat, almond, coconut and rice drink from the Innova database between January 2017 and March 2020 for the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Sweden. Protein and amino acids were measured and carbon footprint was calculated for a selection of Dutch products.