Food system emissions
Food production accounts for a significant share of national greenhouse gas emissions, often exceeding 50% in some countries. In terms of total emissions from the global food system, the top six emitting economies in 2018—China, Brazil, the United States, India, Indonesia, and the European Union—together represented about 50% of global food system emissions. Especially the production of animal-based foods contributes a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
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Dietary emissions
Shifting towards plant-based diets is one of the most effective ways to reduce emissions and combat climate change. Numerous studies have evaluated the environmental impact of both plant-based and animal-based diets, although the results vary by region due to differences in dietary habits and production methods. While extensive research has been conducted on the impact of Western dietary patterns, studies assessing the environmental impacts of diets in other regions remain limited.
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Literature on environmental footprints of different diets
- Abejón, R., L. Batlle-Bayer, J. Laso, et al. (2020): Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context. Foods 9(11), Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 1677. Doi:10.3390/foods9111677.
- Abeliotis, K., V. Costarelli & K. Anagnostopoulos (2016): The Effect of Different Types of Diet on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Greece. International Journal on Food System Dynamics Vol 7 CentMA, 36-49 Pages. Doi:10.18461/IJFSD.V7I1.714.
- Arrieta, E. M., C. G. Fischer, S. Aguiar, et al. (2022): The health, environmental, and economic dimensions of future dietary transitions in Argentina. Sustainability Science doi:10.1007/s11625-021-01087-7. Doi:10.1007/s11625-021-01087-7.
- Bunge, A.C., R. Mazac, M. Clark et al. (2024): Sustainability benefits of transitioning from current diets to plant-based alternatives or whole-food diets in Sweden. Nature communications, 15. 951.
- Burke, D. T., P. Hynds & A. Priyadarshini (2023): Quantifying farm-to-fork greenhouse gas emissions for five dietary patterns across Europe and North America: A pooled analysis from 2009 to 2020. Resources, Environment and Sustainability 12 100108. Doi:10.1016/j.resenv.2023.100108.
- Ernstoff, A., K. S. Stylianou, M. Sahakian, et al. (2020): Towards Win–Win Policies for Healthy and Sustainable Diets in Switzerland. Nutrients 12(9), 2745. Doi:10.3390/nu12092745.
- Hallström, E., A. Carlsson-Kanyama & P. Börjesson (2015): Environmental impact of dietary change: a systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production 91 1–11. Doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.12.008.
- Jennings, R., A. D. Henderson, A. Phelps, et al. (2023): Five U.S. Dietary Patterns and Their Relationship to Land Use, Water Use, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Implications for Future Food Security. Nutrients 15(1), 215. Doi:10.3390/nu15010215.
- Martin, M. & M. Brandão (2017): Evaluating the Environmental Consequences of Swedish Food Consumption and Dietary Choices. Sustainability 9(12), 2227. Doi:10.3390/su9122227.
- Mertens, E., S. Biesbroek, M. Dofková, et al. (2020): Potential Impact of Meat Replacers on Nutrient Quality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Diets in Four European Countries. Sustainability 12(17), 6838. Doi:10.3390/su12176838.
- O’Malley, K., A. Willits-Smith & D. Rose (2023): Popular diets as selected by adults in the United States show wide variation in carbon footprints and diet quality. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 117(4), 701–708. Doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.01.009.
- Rosi, A., P. Mena, N. Pellegrini, et al. (2017): Environmental impact of omnivorous, ovo-lacto-vegetarian, and vegan diet. Scientific Reports 7(1), 6105. Doi:10.1038/s41598-017-06466-8.
- Scarborough, P., M. Clark, L. Cobiac, et al. (2023): Vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters and meat-eaters in the UK show discrepant environmental impacts. Nature Food. Doi:10.1038/s43016-023-00795-w.
- Scarborough, P., P. N. Appleby, A. Mizdrak, et al. (2014): Dietary greenhouse gas emissions of meat-eaters, fish-eaters, vegetarians and vegans in the UK. Climatic Change 125(2), 179–192. Doi:10.1007/s10584-014-1169-1.
- Schlatzer M. & Lindenthal, T. (2020): Einfluss von unterschiedlichen Ernährungsweisen auf Klimawandel und Flächeninanspruchnahme in Österreich und Übersee (DIETCCLU). Endbericht von StartClim2019.B in StartClim2019: Weitere Beiträge zur Umsetzung der österreichischen Anpassungsstrategie, Auftraggeber: BMLFUW, BMWF, ÖBf, Land Oberösterreich.
- Seves, S. M., J. Verkaik-Kloosterman, S. Biesbroek, et al. (2017): Are more environmentally sustainable diets with less meat and dairy nutritionally adequate? Public Health Nutrition 20(11), 2050–2062. Doi:10.1017/S1368980017000763.
- Silva, V., F. Contreras, R. Koide, et al. (2023): Analyzing Diets’ Contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Brasilia, Brazil. Sustainability 15(7), 6174. Doi:10.3390/su15076174.
- van de Kamp, M. E., C. van Dooren, A. Hollander, et al. (2018): Healthy diets with reduced environmental impact? – The greenhouse gas emissions of various diets adhering to the Dutch food based dietary guidelines. Food Research International 104 14–24. Doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2017.06.006.
- van Dooren, C., M. Marinussen, H. Blonk, et al. (2014): Exploring dietary guidelines based on ecological and nutritional values: A comparison of six dietary patterns. Food Policy 44 36–46. Doi:10.1016/j.foodpol.2013.11.002.
- Veeramani, A., G. M. Dias & S. I. Kirkpatrick (2017): Carbon footprint of dietary patterns in Ontario, Canada: A case study based on actual food consumption. Journal of Cleaner Production 162 1398–1406. Doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.025.
- Werner, L. B., A. Flysjö & T. Tholstrup (2014): Greenhouse gas emissions of realistic dietary choices in Denmark: the carbon footprint and nutritional value of dairy products. Food & Nutrition Research 58(1), 20687. Doi:10.3402/fnr.v58.20687.
- Wissenschaftlicher Beirat Agrarpolitik, Ernährung und gesundheitlicher Verbraucherschutz & Wissenschaftlicher Beirat Waldpolitik beim BMEL (2016): Klimaschutz in der Land- und Forstwirtschaft sowie den nachgelagerten Bereichen Ernährung und Holzverwendung. Berlin
More on the climate impact of diets
The global food system is a significant driver of climate change. Animal agriculture contributes a large portion of greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). Reducing our reliance on animal agriculture will cut emissions and free up land that can be used for carbon sequestration, delivering benefits for climate and food security.