Food carbon footprint index 2018

Methodology

This study looks at 130 countries around the world to determine how much carbon dioxide (CO2) each country emits, based on their diet. This is calculated through the amount of food supplied for consumption and how many kgs of CO2 per kg of produce, per person annually. This country-level data is split between animal-based and non-animal based diets.

The data looks at the amount of animal produce (pork, poultry, beef, lamb & goat, fish, eggs, and milk – including cheese) and non-animal produce (wheat and wheat products, rice, soybeans, nuts- including peanut butter) which is supplied for consumption in each country.

Definitions:

Supplied for Consumption (kg/person/year): The amount of food, in kg, which a country supplies for consumption. As this is a figure of supply intended for consumption this may also include a percentage of food which would not be consumed, such as food waste.

Kg CO2/person/year: Based on the amount of food supplied for consumption, this number indicates how many kgs of CO2 is produced annually per person.

Total kg CO2/year/person: This number shows total CO2 emissions per country based on a animal-based and non animal-based diet.

Difference – Kg CO2/person/year: Difference between the CO2 production of animal product and non-animal product, over a year. A low value means that a larger proportion of the population feeds on plant products which have a better carbon emission footprint. A negative value means that the majority of the population consumes more non-animal products than animal products and the carbon emissions caused by these products are higher in the country concerned than the total emissions caused by animal products.

The data is ranked highest to lowest based on the Difference – Kg CO2/person/year for animal products as compared to. non-animal products. The sum to calculate this value can be expressed as written below:

Total kg CO2/year/person Animal Products – Total kg CO2/year/person Non-Animal Products = Difference – Kg CO2/person/year

General Note: ‚0‘ does not necessarily mean zero as displayed in the data, as data is collected up to 4 decimal points.

Sources:

• Food for human consumption in terms of (kg/person/year) is taken from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations Balance Sheets.
• Population data is also extracted from FAO, as the data is already divided by population.
• Food categories are defined as by FAO, with the exception of Fish, which includes the FAO categories of Freshwater Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, and Marine Fish, Other. In addition, Nuts and Nut Products also include groundnuts (inc. peanuts).

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food Balance sheets. Items: Seed, Feed, Food, and Food supply quantity (kg/capita/yr), Wheat and products, Rice (Milled Equivalent), Maize and products, Soybeans, Bovine Meat, Mutton and goat meat, Pigmeat, Poultry Meat, Eggs, Milk (including cheese, excluding butter), Sunflower seeds, Fish: Freshwater Fish, Demersal Fish, Pelagic Fish, and Marine Fish, and Other. Data collected on 2018-03-06. Last update of FAO: January 8, 2018. Year of data points: 2013.

Additional FAO descriptions:

• Food Balance Sheet: “Food Balance Sheet presents a comprehensive picture of the pattern of a country’s food supply during a specified reference period. The food balance sheet shows for each food item – i.e. each primary commodity and a number of processed commodities potentially available for human consumption – the sources of supply and its utilization. The total quantity of foodstuffs produced in a country added to the total quantity imported and adjusted to any change in stocks that may have occurred since the beginning of the reference period gives the supply available during that period. On the utilization side a distinction is made between the quantities exported, fed to livestock, used for seed, put to manufacture for food use and non-food uses, losses during storage and transportation, and food supplies available for human consumption. The per capita supply of each such food item available for human consumption is then obtained by dividing the respective quantity by the related data on the population actually partaking of it. Data on per capita food supplies are expressed in terms of quantity.”
• Kg CO2/person/year is calculated by multiplying the supply for human consumption in terms of (kg/person/year) and the median of emissions intensity in the world for that product.
• Emissions intensities are from FAO (when available). Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Emissions intensities Items: Data collected on 2018-03-09. Last update of FAO: December 12, 2017. Year of data points: 2014

Emissions intensity (as described in FAO): „Intensities of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by production unit for a selection of agricultural commodities, kg CO2eq/kg product. The Emissions Intensities agri-environmental indicators are computed from FAO statistics, available in the Emissions and Production sections of FAOSTAT. The indicator is furthermore consistent with the System of Environmental and Economic Accounts for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The data provide first-order analyses of the GHG performance of a range of commodities, based on their efficiency of production, by country and over time. Derived by using a transparent methodology, the estimates are easily reproducible from the underlying FAOSTAT national data. At the same time, the GHG emissions used in the computation of the FAOSTAT Emissions Intensities indicator are limited to emissions generated within the farm gate. Additional emissions from upstream and downstream production and consumption processes and trade are excluded.”

• The study uses the median emissions data in order to discount the intensity of outliers, which would be a problem if an average was taken. The study uses the world level for CO2, because the study does not differentiate between imported products and local products, as well as consumption differences between the two. E.g. Brazil has a very high level of beef exportation, meaning its CO2 production levels are disproportionately high to the country’s consumption levels.
• The median global emissions data was used for the study.
• General note: Country level data sourced from FAO when available. For emission intensities that are not available for many countries (e.g. nuts, fish and soybeans), values provided in the following reports are used: MacLeod, M., Gerber, P., Mottet, A., Tempio, G., Falcucci, A., Opio, C., Vellinga, T., Henderson, B. & Steinfeld, H. 2013. Greenhouse gas emissions from pig and chicken supply chains – A global life cycle assessment. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome; Opio, C., Gerber, P., Mottet, A., Falcucci, A., Tempio, G., MacLeod, M., Vellinga, T., Henderson, B. & Steinfeld, H. 2013. Greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant supply chains – A global life cycle assessment. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome; Greenhouse gas emissions from aquaculture, A life cycle assessment of three Asian systems, FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 2017; Castanheira ÉG, Freire F, Greenhouse gas assessment of soybeanproduction: implications of land use change and different cultivation systems, Journal of CleanerProduction (2013), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.05.026; Climate change on your plate, WWF Germany, Berlin October 2012.

2017 Worldwide average CO2 emissions per food type, per person, per year:

• Pork = 3.54 kg
• Poultry= 1.07 kg
• Beef = 30.86 kg
• Lamb & Goat = 35.02 kg
• Fish = 1.60 kg
• Eggs = 0.92 kg
• Milk – including cheese = 1.42 kg
• Wheat & Wheat Products = 0.19 kg
• Rice = 1.28 kg
• Soybeans = 0.45 kg
• Nuts – including Peanut Butter = 1.77 kg