By far the largest producer of almonds is the USA, I think California mostly, which in itself has a large environmental impact, not least because of the water required. I am in the UK so I can reasonably assume that a lot of the almond milk I see in supermarkets comes from Californian almonds somehow shipped half across the world, whereas there are cows within walking distance from my home. And, of course, in any case there is no actual dietary need for people to drink either milk or milk alternatives (though most people here would argue that milk is required in tea...)
Frankly, this is no more than commercial interests vs. other commercial interests and most people are not interested in complexity, they want simple 'solutions' to feel good.