20 climate-damaging foods

• Palm oil
• Almond milk
• Milk cartons

With the news that humankind has just 11 years to “stop catastrophic climate change,” many are seeking ways to do their part and diet is a great place to start, given that “food production is responsible for a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions.”

If you’re looking to help the environment, consider reducing your consumption of these 20 climate-damaging foods.

Beef

According to CNN, beef is the “most climate-damaging of all foods,” producing 26.5 kg of CO₂ emissions per kilogram of meat. Cows produce large amounts of methane, a potent greenhouse gas (GHG), and require a lot of water and land. So if you want the most planet-saving bang for your buck, cut beef from your diet.

Lamb

The second-most climate-damaging food is lamb, creating 22.9 kg of GHG emissions per kilogram of meat. A ruminant like cattle, sheep also produce a lot of methane gas. Together, beef and lamb account for roughly 50 per cent of all farmed animal emissions.

Red meat is typically resource-intensive, requiring a lot of fertilizers and pesticides to produce the feed. In particular, the fertilizer and manure used to grow corn and soy for feed releases nitrous oxide, a GHG that is 298 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

Butter

While vegetarians may leave a smaller carbon footprint than their meat-eating counterparts, if they eat dairy products, they’re still doing their fair share of damage. Butter, producing 12 kg of CO₂ per kilogram, is the third-most damaging food and the most climate-damaging dairy product. So think twice before you hop on the “Bulletproof” butter coffee trend!

Shellfish

While cows and sheep top the CO₂ charts with their methane emissions, flatulent shellfish are also on the hook for releasing large amounts of GHGs, producing 11.7 kg of CO₂ per kilogram of food. Scientists suspect shellfish emissions have been exacerbated by the run-off of agricultural fertilizers into coastal waters.

Cheese

Animal-based foods tend to have a higher climate impact than plant-based ones, and cheese is no exception, producing 9.8 kg of emissions per kilogram of food. If you can’t imagine life without cheese, you can reduce its carbon footprint by opting for local cheeses rather than imported ones flown in from faraway lands.

Asparagus

Even vegetables can leave a hefty carbon footprint if they’re flown in from distant lands, as is the case with asparagus, producing 8.9 kg of emissions per kilogram of food because it is typically transported by plane from Peru. But before you cut this fresh green veg from your diet, visit your local farmers’ market in the spring when asparagus is in season.

Pork

Bacon, ham, and other pork products are common climate-damaging foods. One kilogram of pork produces 7.9 kg of carbon emissions. The raising of hogs is a big factor, as well as processing, transporting, and cooking the meat.

Veal

Veal has a lower carbon footprint than beef because the calves are slaughtered at 20 weeks rather than 18 months. However, veal is still carbon-intensive, contributing 7.8 kg of emissions per kilogram of meat.

Chicken

If you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint but aren’t ready to go vegetarian, chicken is a good option. While the white meat still produces 5 kg of CO2 per kilogram of food, it’s five times less climate-damaging than beef. That said, tofu and lentils emit significantly less GHG!

Turkey

Like chicken, turkey has a much smaller carbon footprint than red meat, producing just 5 kg of CO₂ per kilogram. That said, like all foods, how you cook turkey will also have an impact on its carbon footprint.

Farmed salmon has a higher carbon footprint than wild salmon due to its higher energy requirements. According to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 1 kg of farmed salmon produces a CO₂ equivalent of roughly 2.5. The carbon footprint of salmon farmed on land also requires significantly more electricity than those farmed in open pens and is especially damaging if coal is used to create that electricity.

Tuna

Tuna fishing practices vary widely, so the fish’s carbon footprint depends on which kind you choose. “Skipjack tuna has a relatively small footprint,” whereas fishing for albacore requires much more fuel, and bluefin even more. By contrast, herring, sardines, and anchovies require very little fuel to catch, making them a much more climate-friendly option.

Palm oil

While palm oil isn’t likely something you purchase in a bottle, the tropical oil is used in roughly 50 per cent of all supermarket foods—from ice cream to laundry detergent—often under the umbrella term “vegetable oil.” Palm oil produces 6.3 kg of CO₂ per kilogram of oil and is responsible for vast deforestation and habitat loss, the equivalent of 300 football fields an hour.

Chocolate

Chocolate production is bittersweet, causing massive deforestation in West Africa and relying on child labour. Chocolate’s biggest GHG contributor is the milk powder it contains. So if you can’t bear to give up chocolate, opt for the dark kind.

Bananas

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits, but must be shipped or flown from countries such as Ecuador, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Colombia. To reach the U.K., for instance, the average banana travels 8,217 km (5,106 miles)—burning a lot of fuel on its journey from banana grove to fruit basket.

Avocados

Like bananas, avocados are also transport-intensive. The fruit is typically shipped or flown from countries such as Mexico, Central and South America, and Israel. To reach the U.K., for example, the average avocado journeys some 8,850 km (5,500 miles) to reach your plate. Avocados also require a great deal of water and chemicals to produce, cause deforestation, and require a significant amount of wood to safely ship them.

Almond milk

If you’re trying to avoid dairy, almond milk is not an eco alternative. More than 80 per cent of the world’s almonds are grown in drought-stricken California, and recent data shows that it takes 12 litres of water (3.2 gallons) to produce a single California almond.

Sugar

According to the World Wildlife Fund, about 120 countries combined produce 145 million tons of sugar a year—the cultivation and processing of which affects the environment through the “loss of natural habitats, intensive use of water, heavy use of agro-chemicals, discharge and run-off of polluted effluent and air pollution. This leads to the degradation of wildlife, soil, air and water where sugar is produced and of downstream ecosystems.”

Rice

Rice is an important staple crop for more than half of the world’s population, but growing rice produces the potent greenhouse gas methane, contributing roughly 1.5 per cent of total global GHG emissions. And as the world’s population continues to grow, this number is likely to rise too. We know how to drastically reduce the methane that rice paddies produce—implementing these practices, however, remains the challenge.

Milk cartons

A study by the University of Oxford found that “producing a glass of dairy milk results in almost three times the greenhouse gas emissions of any non-dairy milks,” reports the BBC. Dairy milk production also requires the use of significantly more land and water than milk alternatives made from rice, soy, oats, and almonds.