What is the carbon footprint of different foods?
Summary
Plant-based foods consistently produce far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than animal products. According to the largest meta-analysis of global food systems (Poore & Nemecek, 2018), producing a kilogram of beef emits about 60 kg of CO2-equivalents, while tofu emits about 3 kg and legumes under 1 kg.
Evidence Summary
The most comprehensive study on food's environmental impact is Poore & Nemecek (2018), published in Science. It analyzed data from approximately 38,700 farms across 119 countries, covering 40 food products. The study found that the food supply chain creates roughly 13.7 billion metric tons of CO2-equivalents annually, representing about 26% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Approximate emissions per kilogram of food (CO2-equivalents): - Beef (beef herd): ~60 kg
- Lamb &