The climate impact of your diet
The foods we eat each day have a far greater impact on the world than we typically imagine. Beyond their role in nourishing us, our daily meals and the intricate systems that produce them directly affect our planet’s climate.
The global food system is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, directly influencing the pace of climate change, as is clearly evident from the ProVeg Food Systems Data platform, which is designed to help you easily see and understand these profound connections.
To get a sense of the scale of the climate impact of our diet, consider the fact that in some countries, food production’s share of national greenhouse gas emissions exceeds 50%. According to 2018 figures, just six major economies – China, Brazil, the United States, India, Indonesia, and the European Union – collectively represented about half of the planet’s total food-system emissions.
Are your lunch meals driving deforestation?
A beef sandwich or chicken baguette might feel like an everyday choice – but simple meals like these are often linked to deforestation. Forests are vital for biodiversity and the stability of our climate, but they are under increasing pressure from agriculture.
High emissions from animal-based foods
It’s important to understand that a large portion of these emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), comes specifically from the production of animal-based foods, including both meat and dairy.
Greenhouse gasses are released at every stage of the food supply chain: from initial agricultural production, through processing, distribution, and retail, all the way to consumption in our homes and restaurants, and finally, waste disposal. Each step contributes to the climate impact of food, although the precise impact varies across countries.
To find out more about the relative amounts of food system emissions for your country or region, visit the interactive dashboards on the Food System Data Emissions page. The good news is that the data indicates that we are not as powerless as we might think. We each have a simple but powerful tool to make a positive impact on climate change: a shift towards more plant-based diets. The scientific evidence is clear – a change to a more plant-based diet is one of the most effective ways to significantly reduce individual food-related emissions and combat climate change.
Cutting down on animal-based products benefits us all
While dietary habits and production methods vary by region, the core finding is clear: reducing our reliance on animal agriculture directly cuts emissions. What’s more, it also frees up valuable land that can then be used for carbon sequestration, offering dual benefits for both climate action and global food security.
To explore how the emissions of different diets compare across 16 countries, you can delve into the data on the Dietary Emissions page.
The key lesson from all the data is that by making small, considered changes to what we eat, we can all contribute to a healthier planet. To take a deeper look into food-system and dietary emissions, and to get a taste of the data that underpins these findings, make sure to explore the Food System Data platform in detail. If you’re a data junkie – or just someone who wants to find out a little more about the impact of the foods we eat – you’ll likely find the results fascinating.
Simon Middleton
Senior Writer
