https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01766-0 Skip to main content Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. Advertisement Advertisement Nature * View all journals * Search * My Account Login * Explore content * About the journal * Publish with us Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed 1. nature 2. news 3. article * NEWS * 01 July 2022 Transporting food generates whopping amounts of carbon dioxide Moving fruit and vegetables in refrigerated vehicles is particularly emissions-intensive. * Freda Kreier 1. Freda Kreier View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar * Twitter * Facebook * Email You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF Vendors unload crates of tomatoes from the back of a truck at a market in El Salvador Domestic and international transport of food accounts for a large proportion of food-system emissions.Credit: Camilo Freedman/SOPA/ LightRocket/Getty Transporting ingredients and food products accounts for nearly one-fifth of all carbon emissions in the food system -- a much bigger slice of the emissions pie than previously thought, according to the first comprehensive estimate of the industry's global carbon footprint^1. Clearing land for farming, raising livestock and moving food to and from shops adds a large amount of greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. The United Nations estimates that growing, processing and packaging food accounts for one-third of all greenhouse-gas emissions. This has led to an explosion of studies looking into how food systems impact the climate, from causing damaging land-use changes to releasing greenhouse gases, says Jason Hill, an environmental scientist at the University of Minnesota in St Paul. But the complexity of the food system has made it challenging to measure how much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a direct result of the system's emissions, particularly those from transportation. Previously, most studies underestimated emissions because they focused on only those generated by moving a single product -- such as a chocolate bar -- to and from the shop. This method tends to miss the multitude of other trucks, ships and aeroplanes involved in gathering all the ingredients needed to make the bar in the first place, says Li. Unequal emissions Hoping to close this gap, Mengyu Li, a sustainability researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia, and her colleagues amassed data from 74 countries and regions, and looked at where the food came from, where it went and how it moved from one place to the next. They found that, in 2017, food transportation added emissions equivalent to 3.0 gigatonnes of CO[2] to the atmosphere, up to 7.5 times what was previously estimated (see 'Food transport and production emissions'). The research was published in Nature Food on 20 June. [d41586-022] Wealthy nations were responsible for generating nearly half of international food-transport emissions, despite accounting for only around 12% of the global population. Low-income countries -- where around half of the global population lives -- generated just 20% of international food-transport emissions. This difference arises in part because wealthy nations are more likely to import food from around the world. They also use refrigeration when moving fresh fruit and vegetables, which is extremely carbon-intensive. Moving fruit and vegetables generated twice the amount of CO[2] produced by growing them. But the results don't mean that people should try to limit the amount of plants in their diet, says Nina Domingo, a sustainability researcher at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Many studies have shown that plant-based diets are better for the environment than consuming large amounts of red meat, because livestock need a lot of land and burp out greenhouse gases. Reducing the consumption of red meat and eating food produced locally could help wealthy countries to lower their climate impacts, researchers say. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01766-0 References 1. Li, M. et al. Nature Food 3, 445-453 (2022). Article Google Scholar Download references Related Articles * [d41586-022] Carbon emissions rapidly rebounded following COVID pandemic dip * [d41586-022] COVID curbed carbon emissions in 2020 -- but not by much * [d41586-022] Climate change is hitting the planet faster than scientists originally thought * [d41586-022] Climate change: Nature readers say their fears are growing Subjects * Sustainability Latest on: Sustainability Six research priorities to support corporate due-diligence policies Six research priorities to support corporate due-diligence policies Comment 28 JUN 22 Vast tropical tree farms push into biodiversity hotspots Vast tropical tree farms push into biodiversity hotspots Research Highlight 15 JUN 22 Fifty years after UN environment summit, researchers renew call for action Correspondence 01 JUN 22 Nature Careers Jobs * Postdoctoral Research Fellow University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), UR Rochester, NY, United States * Junior Research Group Leader - Dermatooncology German Cancer Research Center in the Helmholtz Association (DKFZ) Mainz, Germany * Operating Technician / Craftsperson for Sanitary Systems (f/m/d) Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin for Materials and Energy (HZB) Berlin, Germany * Postdoc (gn) - Single Cell Transcriptomics University Hospital of Muenster (UKM), WWU Munster, Germany You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF Related Articles * [d41586-022] Carbon emissions rapidly rebounded following COVID pandemic dip * [d41586-022] COVID curbed carbon emissions in 2020 -- but not by much * [d41586-022] Climate change is hitting the planet faster than scientists originally thought * [d41586-022] Climate change: Nature readers say their fears are growing Subjects * Sustainability Advertisement Sign up to Nature Briefing An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Email address [ ] [ ] Yes! Sign me up to receive the daily Nature Briefing email. I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Sign up * Close Nature Briefing Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter -- what matters in science, free to your inbox daily. Email address [ ] Sign up [ ] I agree my information will be processed in accordance with the Nature and Springer Nature Limited Privacy Policy. Close Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing Explore content * Research articles * News * Opinion * Research Analysis * Careers * Books & Culture * Podcasts * Videos * Current issue * Browse issues * Collections * Subjects * Follow us on Facebook * Follow us on Twitter * Subscribe * Sign up for alerts * RSS feed About the journal * Journal Staff * About the Editors * Journal Information * Our publishing models * Editorial Values Statement * Journal Metrics * Awards * Contact * Editorial policies * History of Nature * Send a news tip Publish with us * For Authors * For Referees * Submit manuscript Search Search articles by subject, keyword or author [ ] Show results from [All journals] Search Advanced search Quick links * Explore articles by subject * Find a job * Guide to authors * Editorial policies Nature (Nature) ISSN 1476-4687 (online) ISSN 0028-0836 (print) nature.com sitemap Nature portfolio * About us * Press releases * Press office * Contact us * * * Discover content * Journals A-Z * Articles by subject * Nano * Protocol Exchange * Nature Index Publishing policies * Nature portfolio policies * Open access Author & Researcher services * Reprints & permissions * Research data * Language editing * Scientific editing * Nature Masterclasses * Nature Research Academies * Research Solutions Libraries & institutions * Librarian service & tools * Librarian portal * Open research * Recommend to library Advertising & partnerships * Advertising * Partnerships & Services * Media kits * Branded content Career development * Nature Careers * Nature Conferences * Nature events Regional websites * Nature Africa * Nature China * Nature India * Nature Italy * Nature Japan * Nature Korea * Nature Middle East Legal & Privacy * Privacy Policy * Use of cookies * Manage cookies/Do not sell my data * Legal notice * Accessibility statement * Terms & Conditions * California Privacy Statement Springer Nature (c) 2022 Springer Nature Limited