How a College Essay Entered the Almond Milk vs. Cow Milk Debate

The dangers of blindly trusting sources: widespread and harmful misinformation can still catch us off guard.

Image source: artemtation on Pixabay

Let’s get this out the way first: on a per-unit basis, almond milk production is less water-intensive than cow milk production. But, that’s not really what this article is about.

Rather, I’d like to explore the problem of environmental fictions dressed up online as scientific facts — fuzzy data and outright falsehoods, cloaked in misinterpreted “authoritative links” and amateur research papers.

Let’s examine two case studies you might be familiar with: the NASA Clean Air Study and the water use debate regarding cow’s milk and almond milk.

Why You Might Think Your Houseplants Are Cleaning the Air

Spider plant, commonly described as a clean air champion. Image source: Lucian Alexe on Unsplash.

When it comes to trustworthy sources, you can’t beat NASA, right? So, how did they become the go-to source for a popular bit of misinformation?

In 1989, the NASA Clean Air Study researched the potential of indoor plants for improving air…