Why are dairy-free cheeses not much more sustainable than regular cheese?
Most dairy-free cheeses are somewhat better than dairy cheese, with scores more likely to be around D vs around F for dairy cheese. The reason scores for non-dairy cheese are not much better is because most of these have about 15-30% coconut oil and making coconut oil involves using a lot of water. Coconut oil production carries a large environmental impact which brings the grade of such cheeses down.