Explore the Climate Impact of Food Production

Navigate through a graphical representation of the climate impact of food production.

What and how we eat has a tremendous impact on our environment, but how, exactly? Let's begin with two important indicators: the greenhouse gas emissions and the scarcity-weighted freshwater use for each kilogram of food product.

All Foods

Common Protein Sources

GHG and Food Production

Water Use and Food Production

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Explore more about the effects of food production by clicking on the options below:

Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Supply Chain GHG Emissions of Beef

Supply Chain GHG Emissions of Poultry

Supply Chain GHG Emissions of Wheat

Sources of Global Freshwater Withdrawals

Agriculture-Driven Deforestation

How significant is food production's contribution to our total global greenhouse gas emissions? Accounting for 26% of global emissions, it is indeed significant. In general, animal-based foods have a greater footprint than plant-based, as demonstrated in the bar graph above. These emissions are derived from 7 stages of the supply chain: land use change, farming, animal feed, processing, transportation, retail, and packaging. See how these stages contribute to the overall emissions of beef, poultry, and wheat by clicking the options above. (1)