Vegan, Mediterranean diets have lower carbon footprints than standard U.S. diet

Sean Brenner A UCLA study found that vegan, Mediterranean and climatarian diets create smaller carbon footprints because they rely less on red meat and processed food. Environment + Climate UCLA study suggests emissions from basic American diet are equivalent to driving a car up to 20 miles per day Environment + Climate UCLA study suggests emissions from basic American diet are equivalent to driving a car up to 20 miles per day Twenty-six percent of the United States' total greenhouse gas emissions comes from food production and consumption. So what people choose to eat matters — to personal health and to the global climate. A new UCLA study published in the journal Nutrients finds that diets centered on plants and unprocessed foods benefit the health of both people and the planet. The study analyzed six diets: standard American, Mediterranean, vegan, paleo and keto, as well as "climatarian" — a diet that minimizes the consumption of red meats and other foods, such as out-of-season produce, that have large carbon footprints. Carbon dioxide emissions associated with food come mainly from production, transportation and disposal in landfills, rather than from the food itself. The study's authors quantified the carbon emissions associated with each of the six diets by using previously published research and a database that tracks foods by their carbon emissions.