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The environmental footprint of global food production

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin S. Halpern

    (University of California
    University of California)

  • Melanie Frazier

    (University of California)

  • Juliette Verstaen

    (University of California)

  • Paul-Eric Rayner

    (University of California)

  • Gage Clawson

    (University of California)

  • Julia L. Blanchard

    (University of Tasmania
    University of Tasmania)

  • Richard S. Cottrell

    (University of California
    University of Tasmania
    The University of Queensland)

  • Halley E. Froehlich

    (University of California
    University of California)

  • Jessica A. Gephart

    (American University)

  • Nis S. Jacobsen

    (Technical University of Denmark, National Institute of Aquatic Resources)

  • Caitlin D. Kuempel

    (University of California
    Griffith University)

  • Peter B. McIntyre

    (Cornell University)

  • Marc Metian

    (International Atomic Energy Agency–Marine Environment Laboratories (IAEA-MEL), Radioecology Laboratory)

  • Daniel Moran

    (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

  • Kirsty L. Nash

    (University of Tasmania
    University of Tasmania)

  • Johannes Többen

    (Institute for Economic Structures Research (GWS)
    Social Metabolism & Impacts, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Member of the Leibniz Association)

  • David R. Williams

    (University of Leeds)

Abstract

Feeding humanity puts enormous environmental pressure on our planet. These pressures are unequally distributed, yet we have piecemeal knowledge of how they accumulate across marine, freshwater and terrestrial systems. Here we present global geospatial analyses detailing greenhouse gas emissions, freshwater use, habitat disturbance and nutrient pollution generated by 99% of total reported production of aquatic and terrestrial foods in 2017. We further rescale and combine these four pressures to map the estimated cumulative pressure, or ‘footprint’, of food production. On land, we find five countries contribute nearly half of food’s cumulative footprint. Aquatic systems produce only 1.1% of food but 9.9% of the global footprint. Which pressures drive these footprints vary substantially by food and country. Importantly, the cumulative pressure per unit of food production (efficiency) varies spatially for each food type such that rankings of foods by efficiency differ sharply among countries. These disparities provide the foundation for efforts to steer consumption towards lower-impact foods and ultimately the system-wide restructuring essential for sustainably feeding humanity.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin S. Halpern & Melanie Frazier & Juliette Verstaen & Paul-Eric Rayner & Gage Clawson & Julia L. Blanchard & Richard S. Cottrell & Halley E. Froehlich & Jessica A. Gephart & Nis S. Jacobsen & Ca, 2022. "The environmental footprint of global food production," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(12), pages 1027-1039, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:5:y:2022:i:12:d:10.1038_s41893-022-00965-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00965-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Nouve, Yawotse & Zheng, Yuqing & Zhao, Shuoli & Kaiser, Harry M. & Dong, Diansheng, 2024. "A detailed demand analysis of plant-based meat alternatives vs. animal-based meat in the United States," 2024 Annual Meeting, July 28-30, New Orleans, LA 343798, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Pingali, Prabhu & Boiteau, Jocelyn & Choudhry, Abhinav & Hall, Aaron, 2023. "Making meat and milk from plants: A review of plant-based food for human and planetary health," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    3. Schulze, Christoph & Matzdorf, Bettina & Rommel, Jens & Czajkowski, Mikołaj & García-Llorente, Marina & Gutiérrez-Briceño, Inés & Larsson, Lina & Zagórska, Katarzyna & Zawadzki, Wojciech, 2024. "Between farms and forks: Food industry perspectives on the future of EU food labelling," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    4. Zhao, Congyu & Dong, Kangyin & Wang, Kun & Nepal, Rabindra, 2024. "How does artificial intelligence promote renewable energy development? The role of climate finance," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).

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