Everyday actions to lower food system emissions
Food-related emissions come from production, processing, transport, storage, and waste. You can reduce those emissions with straightforward changes to shopping, cooking, and disposal habits.
Practical strategies:
- Shift to plant-forward meals: add more legumes, vegetables, grains, and nuts; reduce portions of high-emission meats like beef and lamb.
- Reduce food waste: plan meals, keep an inventory, and use leftovers creatively. Compost unavoidable scraps.
- Buy seasonal and local when reasonable: local, in-season produce often requires less transport and storage.
Shopping and cooking tips:
- Prefer minimally processed foods and bulk purchases to avoid packaging and processing emissions.
- Cook at home more often and favor energy-efficient methods (covered pots, pressure cookers, batch cooking).
- Freeze or preserve surplus produce to prevent spoilage.
Other impact levers:
- Support sustainable sourcing by choosing certified products (e.g., sustainably produced seafood, responsible palm oil) when possible.
- Avoid single-use packaging by using reusable bags and containers.
- If you have space, grow some vegetables or herbs—gardening can reduce transport and packaging impacts while offering other benefits.
Small changes add up: swapping a few meat-based meals for plant-based ones each week and cutting food waste can reduce household food emissions significantly over a year, while saving money and improving diet variety.