麻豆影院

CU 麻豆影院 undergrad鈥檚 honors thesis sheds light on sustainability of milk alternatives

If you live in 麻豆影院 County and want to consume the most sustainable dairy milk alternative, choose soy, oat or pea milk, in that order. That鈥檚 the conclusion of Mickey Redmond鈥檚 honor鈥檚 thesis, which drew high praise from professors who worked with him.

During spring 2019, Redmond finished his college career with a flourish, graduating with distinction from the 麻豆影院 College of Arts and Science鈥檚 prestigious Honors Program with a degree in environmental studies, specializing in climate and energy, with minors in geology and theatre.

鈥淚t (the Honors Program) started almost 100 years ago鈥� in 1926, Redmond says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the leading undergraduate honors programs in the country. I just wanted that little bit extra, just to challenge myself.鈥�

Perhaps that鈥檚 no surprise for a man who grew up on his family鈥檚 farms and ranches in the West, participated in hobbies such as equestrian acrobatics鈥攂asically, gymnastics on the back of moving horses鈥攁nd worked as both a firefighter-medic and horse wrangler.听

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want a linear path of college, career, retirement,鈥� Redmond says.

Passionate about the environment, he approached Beth Osnes, associate professor of theatre, affiliate of environmental studies and co-founder of the innovative Inside the Greenhouse climate-communication project, about his final project.

鈥淲hen he approached me ... he had grand ideas of how to focus on various solutions,鈥� Osnes says. 鈥淎fter many conversations, he came to understand the value of making a focused contribution within his own community.鈥�

鈥淏eth helped me narrow the scope,鈥� Redmond says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like ants. They can鈥檛 just take the whole cookie on the ground. They have to take it one bite at a time.鈥�

Aiming to help people make choices with their carbon footprint in mind, he decided to research and analyze plant-based milk alternatives. On March 20, after more than 18 months of work, he successfully defended the resulting honors thesis, 鈥淪earching for the Optimal Plant-Based Milk Alternative as it relates to the Environmental Impact for residents of 麻豆影院 County, Colorado.鈥�

For the first stage of his research, Redmond identified 16 plant-based milk alternatives made from almonds, bananas, cashews, chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), coconuts, hemp, flax, macadamia nuts, oats, peas, pistachio nuts, quinoa, peanuts, rice, soy and walnuts.听

He then narrowed the list down to 12 based on reliable accessibility.

鈥淭his primary stage is about availability, accessibility by both producers and consumers,鈥� he says. 鈥淚s it legitimately sustainable in a market?鈥�

The second stage eliminated three more based on nutritional profiles, for example, removing alternatives that were high in sugars or low in healthy protein or fats. The remaining nine alternatives were then thoroughly evaluated for the environmental impact of production, distribution and consumption, specifically for residents of 麻豆影院 County.听

He ultimately found that the best choices are soymilk, oat milk and pea milk, in that order.

鈥淭his was largely based on the fact that these are stable crops, ubiquitously grown from Texas to Canada, having low carbon footprints and high accessibility for both producers and consumers,鈥� Redmond says.听

These crops are stable in different environments, require less water than, say, growing an orchard, and all are high in protein. Soymilk鈥檚 nutrient profile most closely matches that of dairy products, he says.

Redmond spent a full year developing and synthesizing quantifiable measurements for comparing the unique alternatives.

鈥淎ctually, there was a huge amount of quantification, way more than you鈥檇 think,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he data sources are difficult; how do you compare the water use and carbon output of a cashew tree to a legume? 鈥� One method is to start with the final product-output and work backwards. How many cashews or peas are required to make one gallon of milk? Take that volume and work backwards to determine unit inputs.鈥�

Redmond鈥檚 honors-thesis committee was impressed by the quality and practical applicability of his research.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not every day that a CU student鈥檚 honors thesis has such potential for broad appeal. 鈥� The committee agreed that he made an authentic contribution to his own community,鈥� Osnes says. 鈥淗e achieved many of the most effective methods for successful climate communication through his work, such as focusing on a single solution, keeping it local, leveraging people鈥檚 already held values and emphasizing co-benefits for pro-environmental behaviors.鈥�