This is the final article in a five-part series that helps you find ways to reduce your carbon footprint by exploring the main carbon culprits in the average American’s lifestyle.
Whatever deficiencies Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs may have, few people would argue with the idea that food is a basic necessity that outweighs most others. It’s only natural for people to become defensive and feel threatened when something as fundamental as their food is criticized. But the acronym SAD to describe the standard American diet is more than just a convenient pun. What could be sadder than depending on a diet that threatens your continued existence?
The way most people eat today is a major contributor to climate change as well as a poor basis for healthy living. And it threatens our ability to continue producing enough food in the future. If we don’t rethink how we eat now, the question becomes whether we will still be eating in a few decades.
Carbon Footprints
Because carbon dioxide emissions are a leading cause of climate change, the amount of carbon dioxide released by a particular activity can serve as a useful shorthand for its environmental impact. This measurement is known as a carbon footprint.
There are many ways to calculate your family’s overall carbon footprint, which can be higher or lower depending on the myriad major and minor decisions you make throughout the year. On average, each American generates 18.55 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, 3.5 times the global average of 5.3 tons.
Food Footprints: A Major Climate Impact
Recent research has revealed that our food choices have a significant environmental impact. Food production accounts for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. It takes up half of the planet’s habitable surface. Meat and dairy specifically account for around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization.
Americans are more accustomed to obsessing over the nutrition of their food than its environmental impact, but it turns out that our foodprint is a major portion of our carbon footprint, comprising 14% of our household carbon emissions.
You can significantly cut your foodprint. Be mindful of what you eat and how your food is grown, produced, and transported. If you’re not convinced that what you eat can have global repercussions, start by calculating the environmental footprint of your diet and reading about how food production contributes to climate change.
Good: Tackle Food Waste First
Every step of a food item’s life produces carbon. But a good place to start is at the end of the consumption process, with food waste. Recent studies show that over 1 billion tons of food—17 percent of all food available to consumers worldwide—goes into trash bins every year. Producing, transporting, and letting that food rot contribute more than 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, nearly five times the total emissions from the aviation sector.
If food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. More precisely, food waste accounts for around 6% of total global emissions. In the US alone, the production of lost or wasted food generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars worth of CO2.
The encouraging news is that by eating only what we need and reducing food waste, an individual can reduce their carbon footprint by up to 1.3 tons annually. Simple ways to reduce food waste include meal planning, shopping from a list, eating leftovers before preparing new meals, and storing food properly to keep it fresh for as long as possible.
Better: Choose Sustainably Produced Food
Although it often comes with a price premium, it’s better to buy sustainably produced food. Research shows that what you eat is much more important than how far that food has traveled or how much packaging it has. Transportation typically accounts for as little as 5% of food emissions, and this percentage is even smaller for the largest greenhouse gas emitters.
However, the type of food matters enormously. Producing a kilogram of beef emits 60 kilograms of CO2, while pea production accounts for just 1 kilogram per kg. Animal-based foods tend to have a higher environmental footprint than plant-based ones, with beef having the largest impact, followed by lamb, pork, chicken, then eggs, and fish.
Whenever possible, try to buy humanely raised meats. Humane farming practices are less carbon-intensive than industrial methods. Many consumers are skeptical of the value of regenerative and organic labeling, but the pesticides and chemical fertilizers used in conventional farming do produce additional carbon emissions and degrade soils, which are a crucial carbon sink. Eating organic can reduce our carbon footprint by up to 0.9 tons annually.
Rethinking Urban Agriculture
Recent research has challenged some assumptions about local food production. A groundbreaking 2024 study found that fruits and vegetables grown in urban farms and gardens have a carbon footprint that is, on average, six times greater than conventionally grown produce. However, tomatoes grown in open-air urban plots had a lower carbon intensity than those grown in conventional greenhouses, suggesting that urban agriculture is more effective for crops typically grown in energy-intensive conditions.
Take matters into your own hands and produce some of your food in a backyard organic garden, focusing on crops that are the most carbon-intensive when purchased commercially. Maximize your efforts by choosing to grow crops that benefit most from avoiding industrial production.
Cutting down on the most climate-damaging foods through tweaks like Meatless Mondays or swapping ingredients to create a vegan version of a familiar dish requires a little effort, but it can have a significant impact on your carbon footprint. They are also an essential step towards reducing carbon from your diet.
Best: The Power of Plant-Based Eating
Recent studies provide compelling evidence about the climate benefits of plant-based diets. A 2024 study published in Nature found that vegans have dietary CO2 emissions that are just 30.3% of those of high meat-eaters. Another recent study showed that switching to a vegan diet can reduce an individual’s annual carbon footprint by up to 2.1 tons, or 1.5 tons for vegetarians.
A study published in Nature Food in 2024 found that cutting red meat consumption by half leads to a 25% reduction in diet-related carbon footprint and may boost longevity by approximately nine months. The researchers emphasized that “we don’t need to go to major extremes.” Even modest reductions can be consequential.
A vegan diet is the most effective way for individuals to minimize the environmental impact of their food. Project Drawdown estimates that between 2020 and 2050, widespread adoption of plant-rich diets could prevent 78.33 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. A widespread transition to plant-rich diets could also prevent about 5 million premature deaths and about 11 million total deaths annually by 2050.
Like any significant lifestyle change, the switch to a sustainable diet is most sustainable when taken in steps. Start with the changes that seem most palatable to you – such as eliminating the most carbon-intensive meats first or eating one vegetarian or vegan meal per day or one day per week. Experiment with vegetarian proteins. Try substituting them for half of the beef in familiar recipes. Build up a palette of new meatless recipes before giving up animal products altogether.
The Hierarchy of Impact
Current research establishes a clear hierarchy for reducing dietary carbon emissions:
- Eliminating food waste can reduce individual footprint by up to 1.3 tons annually
- Reducing red meat consumption makes the biggest difference. Beef’s greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram are 7.2 times greater than chicken
- Choose plant-based alternatives that typically have 10 to 50 times smaller climate impact than animal products
- Eat seasonally and locally when possible, even though transportation accounts for only 5% of food system emissions globally
The evidence continues to accumulate that dietary changes are crucial for achieving climate goals. Even if we stopped burning fossil fuels tomorrow, food emissions alone would nearly consume our entire carbon budget for limiting warming to 2°C. Dietary shifts are not just beneficial but necessary for achieving international climate targets.
Recent research from major food companies shows promising developments. Companies like Nestlé have achieved 13.5% reductions in GHG emissions while continuing to grow their business, demonstrating that the food industry can decouple growth from emissions.
Going plant-based is challenging, but the benefits are significant. The latest research confirms that a diet beneficial for our health is also beneficial for the environment. Small, consistent changes can have a substantial impact on both personal and planetary well-being.
Read the first article in this five-part series: Good, Better, Best: Reducing Your Transportation Carbon Footprint
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on June 8, 2020, and substantially updated in June 2025.