The demand for milk alternatives, plant-based proteins and vegan snacks has doubled in the last five years, as consumers look to eat healthier products for both human and planetary health.

The proportion of people following either a vegetarian or a vegan diet has quadrupled in the UK and the US in the past five years alone, largely motivated by a combination of factors, including human and planetary health as well as animal welfare.

Healthy plant-based diets, which are the foundation of vegan diets, are associated with lower risk of obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Adhering to a plant-based diet could reduce cardiovascular mortality by about 20%.

The rapid rise of different milks is due to the perception that anything animal-based is bad for health, alongside an increase in lactose intolerance and cow's milk allergy in young children.

Plant-based milks are lower in saturated fat and calories than cow's milk, but many favorable components of the original plant are destroyed and additional ingredients are added.

There's no research to back up the claims that plant-based milks are healthier than dairy, and some alternatives like rice milk and oat milk lack essential nutrients.

Meat substitutes have an important place for transitioning to a plant-based diet, but the dietary quality varies, and some processed alternatives may be unhealthy.

For human health, dairy milk is preferred over plant-based milk, but for planetary health, it's more complicated due to the variability in plant-based milks.

The concern with plant-based milks is that people consume them thinking they have wonderful health benefits, but they may not deliver the expected benefits.