Almond milk is still way more sustainable than cow milk. Maybe not as much as homemade but still an improvement.
Also assuming we’re talking per gram of protein and fat here. Cup for cup almond milk might be more sustainable but there’s far more nutrition in a cup of cow milk.
That doesn’t matter, sustainability-wise. What matters is that the cycle gets closed, not its duration. Insects typically live shorter than mammals, but eating them instead of cows and pigs is a net win.
”and a lot of water”
California produces about 80% of the world’s almonds, and each nut requires 12 liters of water that do not get replenished.
”It’s beyond unsustainable.”
Not that different from almonds.
The heuristic “plants are generally more sustainable” reads true to me. But “pick the better kingdom” seems like such a low bar to clear. I’d like to head towards actual understanding of embodied energy, cruelty, etc per unit of useful nutrition in specific meal plans.