Overview
- The Nature Food study, published in July 2026, analysed diets across 149 countries from 2000–2019 and found adolescents and young adults have the highest per‑person food‑related greenhouse gas emissions.
- Researchers report global dietary emissions grew by about 2.1 GtCO2e between 2000 and 2019, with people aged 60 and over accounting for 25.4% of that increase because there are more older people.
- Young people’s higher per‑capita footprints are driven by greater intake of meat, dairy, processed foods and sugary drinks, while rising red meat consumption is the single biggest cause of emission growth worldwide.
- The authors call for age‑sensitive responses such as youth education and school food reforms to shift diets and low‑emission, nutritionally adequate options for older adults, rather than one‑size‑fits‑all mandates.
- Policymakers face a trade‑off in low‑ and middle‑income countries where higher‑emission diets have often improved nutrition, so reforms will need to pair demand measures with production and local‑food investments to avoid harming health gains.