The meat vs plant emissions calculator compares the carbon footprint of different diets based on your weekly food consumption. Food accounts for 26% of global emissions — and what you eat matters far more than where it comes from.
Weekly Food Consumption
Enter typical weekly amounts. Skip items you don't consume.
Based on Our World in Data food emission factors (cradle-to-retail). Actual values vary by production method.
How to Compare Meat vs Plant Diet Emissions
Enter your typical weekly food consumption in each category. The meat vs plant emissions calculator estimates your annual diet carbon footprint and shows how much each food group contributes.
Why Beef Has Such High Emissions
Beef produces 27 kg CO2e per kg consumed — about 5× more than chicken (6 kg/kg) and 27× more than lentils (1 kg/kg). This is because cattle convert feed very inefficiently, emit methane during digestion, and require land that could otherwise be forest. Just eliminating beef from your diet has more climate impact than all other diet changes combined.
Comparing to a Vegan Diet
The calculator shows your diet's emissions compared to a typical vegan diet (~1.5 tonnes CO2e/year). A moderate meat-eater typically emits 2.5-3 tonnes/year from diet alone. Switching one beef meal per week to lentils saves about 200 kg CO2e per year — the equivalent of not driving for a month.
FAQ
Is this diet emissions calculator free?
Yes, completely free with no signup required.
How much CO2 does beef produce compared to vegetables?
Beef produces about 27 kg CO2e per kg consumed — one of the highest of any food. Chicken is about 6 kg CO2e/kg. Tofu is about 2 kg CO2e/kg. Lentils and beans are about 0.9 kg CO2e/kg. Switching 200g of beef per day to lentils saves about 4.6 kg CO2e daily — over 1.7 tonnes per year.
What percentage of global emissions comes from food?
Food systems account for about 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock accounts for 14.5% of all emissions — more than the entire transportation sector combined. Half of this is from cattle alone (beef and dairy). Shifting to predominantly plant-based diets globally could reduce food emissions by up to 80%.
Is a vegetarian diet significantly better than vegan for emissions?
Vegetarians still consume dairy and eggs, which have significant footprints. Dairy (cheese especially at 8-10 kg CO2e/kg) and eggs (4 kg CO2e/kg) mean vegetarian diets are typically only 35-40% lower in emissions than meat-heavy diets. Vegan diets are 50-60% lower than high-meat diets. The biggest gains come from eliminating beef and lamb.
Does the type of meat matter that much?
Yes, enormously. Beef and lamb have emissions 5-10× higher than chicken and pork per kg, and 20-30× higher than plant proteins. Replacing just beef and lamb with chicken or pork while keeping all other eating habits identical reduces diet emissions by 30-40%. Shellfish (3-5 kg CO2e/kg) are the most sustainable animal proteins.