Personal impact calculator
What would one change add up to?
Say roughly what you eat and the change you are considering. We use global average food footprints. We show the difference over a year as a range, never a single number, with every factor listed.
Global average footprints. Adjust the starting servings to match what you eat.
1What do you eat in a typical week?
Prefilled with a world average diet. Adjust to yours. Servings per week; one serving is a typical portion (150 g meat, 140 g fish, a glass of milk, 30 g cheese, two eggs).
Averages hide enormous variation between and within countries. Illustrative servings derived from FAOSTAT 2023 supply (Japan 2022), not measured intake: red meat ×0.56, poultry ×0.60, fish ×0.40, eggs ×0.90, divided by 52 and portion weight. Dairy splits are provisional assumptions from research note 11, pending national-table verification. India uses 60% of NDDB milk availability for fluid milk/curd; Australian eggs assume about 250 eggs annually with 10% waste.
2What change are you considering?
Over a year, that would be
Estimates, some proxiedRemoving about 30 kg of animal foods a year, replaced with about 36 kg of lentils, tofu and chickpeas for the same protein.
Greenhouse gas emissions
kg CO₂e per yearAbout 310 kg CO₂e less(range 180–430)
That is: Roughly about 1 short-haul return flight (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, 2024)
All greenhouse gases released producing the food, from land clearing to retail, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents.
Land use
m² per yearAbout 690 m² less(range 410–960)
That is: Roughly about 2.6 tennis courts (International Tennis Federation, 2024)
Farmland needed to produce the food, including grazing and land for animal feed.
Freshwater use
litres per yearAbout 25,000 litres less(range 15,000–35,000)
That is: Roughly about 380 eight-minute showers (Energy Saving Trust, 2013)
Not scarcity-weighted; see the row below where available.
Scarcity-weighted water use
litres eq. per yearAbout 390,000 litres eq. less(range 240,000–550,000)
Weighted for water scarcity where each food is produced. Global factors reflect a mix of producing regions.
Animals not slaughtered
animals per yearAbout 3.6 animals fewer(range 2.2–5.1)
Approximate number of animals slaughtered for this amount of food. Small fractions mean one animal yields many portions. Zero for plant foods; dairy and eggs involve animals indirectly. Dairy and eggs are shown as zero because no animal is slaughtered per unit sold, but both systems involve animals; this metric only counts direct slaughter.
Factors used in this calculation
Every number below is per kilogram of food as eaten. Full assumptions are on the methodology page.
| Food | Metric | Value per kg | Range | Geography | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | Emissions | 99.5 kg CO₂e | 60–140 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lamb | Emissions | 39.7 kg CO₂e | 24–56 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Pork | Emissions | 12.3 kg CO₂e | 7.4–17 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chicken | Emissions | 9.9 kg CO₂e | 5.9–14 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Farmed salmon | Emissions | 13.6 kg CO₂e | 8.2–19 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cow's milk | Emissions | 3.2 kg CO₂e | 1.9–4.4 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cheese | Emissions | 23.9 kg CO₂e | 14–33 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Eggs | Emissions | 4.7 kg CO₂e | 2.8–6.5 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lentils (replacement) | Emissions | 1.8 kg CO₂e | 1.1–2.5 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Tofu (replacement) | Emissions | 3.2 kg CO₂e | 1.9–4.4 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chickpeas (replacement) | Emissions | 1.8 kg CO₂e | 1.1–2.5 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Beef | Land | 326 m² | 200–460 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lamb | Land | 370 m² | 220–520 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Pork | Land | 17.4 m² | 10–24 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chicken | Land | 12.2 m² | 7.3–17 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Farmed salmon | Land | 8.4 m² | 5–12 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cow's milk | Land | 9 m² | 5.4–13 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cheese | Land | 87.8 m² | 53–120 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Eggs | Land | 6.3 m² | 3.8–8.8 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lentils (replacement) | Land | 15.6 m² | 9.4–22 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Tofu (replacement) | Land | 3.5 m² | 2.1–4.9 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chickpeas (replacement) | Land | 15.6 m² | 9.4–22 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Beef | Water | 1,451 litres | 870–2,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lamb | Water | 1,803 litres | 1,100–2,500 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Pork | Water | 1,796 litres | 1,100–2,500 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chicken | Water | 660 litres | 400–920 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Farmed salmon | Water | 3,691 litres | 2,200–5,200 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cow's milk | Water | 628 litres | 380–880 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cheese | Water | 5,605 litres | 3,400–7,800 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Eggs | Water | 578 litres | 350–810 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lentils (replacement) | Water | 436 litres | 260–610 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Tofu (replacement) | Water | 149 litres | 89–210 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chickpeas (replacement) | Water | 436 litres | 260–610 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Beef | Scarce water | 34,733 litres eq. | 21,000–49,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lamb | Scarce water | 141,925 litres eq. | 85,000–200,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Pork | Scarce water | 66,867 litres eq. | 40,000–94,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chicken | Scarce water | 14,178 litres eq. | 8,500–20,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Farmed salmon | Scarce water | 41,572 litres eq. | 25,000–58,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cow's milk | Scarce water | 19,786 litres eq. | 12,000–28,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Cheese | Scarce water | 180,851 litres eq. | 110,000–250,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Eggs | Scarce water | 17,983 litres eq. | 11,000–25,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Lentils (replacement) | Scarce water | 22,477 litres eq. | 13,000–31,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Tofu (replacement) | Scarce water | 5,113 litres eq. | 3,100–7,200 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Chickpeas (replacement) | Scarce water | 22,477 litres eq. | 13,000–31,000 | Global average | Poore et al. (2018) |
| Beef | Animals | 0.0063 animals | 0–0.01 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Lamb | Animals | 0.08 animals | 0.05–0.11 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Pork | Animals | 0.016 animals | 0.01–0.02 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Chicken | Animals | 0.75 animals | 0.45–1 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Farmed salmon | Animals | 0.37 animals | 0.22–0.52 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Cow's milk | Animals | 0 animals | 0–0 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Cheese | Animals | 0 animals | 0–0 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Eggs | Animals | 0 animals | 0–0 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Lentils (replacement) | Animals | 0 animals | 0–0 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Tofu (replacement) | Animals | 0 animals | 0–0 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
| Chickpeas (replacement) | Animals | 0 animals | 0–0 | Global approximation | Nations (2024) |
Sources: Poore et al. (2018); Nations (2024).